Last weekend saw Royal Tunbridge Wells Monson Swimming Clubs young Academy Swimmers, along with some slightly older seasoned campaigners, travel to the Sevenoaks Leisure Centre for the first Round of this year’s Kent Junior League Division I.
Monson knew that the competition would be tough as the newly promoted team to the top flight of the five division league and looking for a good start to ensure a second year at this level.
The first event of the 53 event programme, saw Caitlin Fearon (12 years), dominate the girls 13/under 200m Freestyle, another comfortable win in the boys 11/U 50m Breaststroke by Thomas Leman (11 years) and a creditable second place and massive Personal Best (PB) by Hannah Lambert (10 years) in the girls 9/10 years 50m backstroke got Monson off to a solid start.
Annabel Guye-Johnson (13 years) showed her class in winning the girls 13/under 100m breaststroke by a clear four seconds and was followed by an ‘under the weather’ Ella Ryan (11 years) who produced an excellent second place under the circumstances swimming close to her PB in the girls 12/u 50m backstroke.
Despite this good start Monson found themselves in 5th place at the end of 12 events.
The next 12 events only yielded two finishes in the top three with third places in the girls 13/under 4x50m Medley Relay comprising Anna Bayley, Guye-Johnson, Fearon and Ami King and girls 9/10 4x25m Medley relay of Lambert, Anna Leman, Issabella Wessesl and Ruby McNamara-Yorke. Three disqualifications in quick succession cost Monson dear during this period and after 24 events were 11 points adrift of the other teams.
The girls 12/under Medley relay of Emma Sneddon, Stephanie Andrews, Erin Humphries and Anna Wessels dug deep to win their event with Andrews (12 years) pulling of a superb second place and swimming huge PB in the 12/under 100m breaststroke shortly after to start the fight back.
There was a third for Thomas Leman (11 years) in the boys 12/under 100m breaststroke and Erin Humphries (12 years) in the girls 100m Butterfly, both swimming out of age. After 36 events Monson were back in 5th place and determined to hold to it.
The next 17 events saw two more third places from: Fearon in girls 13/under 100m backstroke in a race that boasted three regional backstroke champions, underlining the quality of competition in division I of the league, and in the girls 12/under Freestyle relay from the quartet of Ryan, Wessels, Sneddon and Humphries.
Monson finished a satisfying 5th for a newly promoted team but will be left wondering what might have been with disqualifications that cost them dear, key swimmers missing and several suffering the effects of summer bugs.
Other swimmers contributing to a solid start to Monson’s Kent Junior League campaign this season were: Rebecca O’Brien, Olivia Moran, Betty Smith, Josh Cruz, Leo Sneddon, Cole Bridges, Aiden Crewe, Kody Bradbury, Freddie Cunningham, Max Irving, Harry Green, George Blair, George Pepper, Joe President,
Monson swimmers are in action again next weekend at the Hastings Open and the 63rd English Schools Swimming Association Championships to be held at the Liverpool Aquatic Centre.