Swimmers place fourth at Swim Champs

A squad of 36 St Paul’s Collegiate School swimmers competed at the 2017 Waikato Secondary Schools Swimming Championships at Waterworld last month, earning five gold, six silver and nine bronze medals.

Following the departure of many of the team’s top swimmers at the end of 2016, the current team stepped out with something to prove.

Of the 25 regional schools competing, St Paul’s girls placed sixth while the boys finished an impressive second, placing the entire team fourth overall.

Thomas Griffin (Year 11) emerged as a standout performer, securing three gold medals in the 100m butterfly, 200m individual medley and 200m freestyle. He also earned a silver and bronze in the 100m freestyle and medley relay respectively.

Earning the last of the golden positions was Darius Hasan-Stein (Year 13), who finished first in the 50m freestyle and 100m individual medley. Darius also earned bronze in the 100m freestyle.

St Paul’s teacher-in-charge of swimming, Roger Bell, is pleased with the results from his “wonderful squad”.

“They certainly gave it their all for the entire day of heats and finals.”

Full results:

• Thomas Griffin (Year 11) – Gold in 100m butterfly, 200m individual medley and 200m freestyle, silver in 100m freestyle relay and bronze in 100m medley relay.
• Darius Hasan-Stein (Year 13) – Gold in 50m freestyle and 100m individual medley, bronze in 100m freestyle.
• MacKenzie Batters (Year 12) – Silver in 50m backstroke and 100m backstroke, bronze in 100m medley relay.
• Brendan Hunt (Year 12) – Silver in 50m backstroke and bronze in 100m backstroke
• Joshua Gibbs (Year 9) – Silver in 50m backstoke and bronze in 100m backstroke
• Matthew Waddell (Year 9) – Silver in 100m backstroke
• Jess Allen (Year 11), Jacob Gibbs (Year 11) and Nick O’Neill (Year 10) – Silver in 100m freestyle relay and bronze in medley relay.
• Charlotte Dingemans (Year 12) – Bronze in 100m breaststroke and 100m medley relay
• Kate Littlejohn (Year 13) – Bronze in 50m and 100m backstroke and 100m medley relay.
• Oliver Larcombe (Year 9) – Bronze in 200m freestyle
• Olivia Warlow (Year 13) – Bronze in 100m medley relay