Sligo swimmers were in top formas the County Slgo SwimmingClub hosted the first ConnachtRegion B/C Gala of 2010.

The Gala began with the Boys U-11Freestyle, where Sligo fielded elevenswimmers. The first of these home wasAdam Scanlon in fourth place overall,receiving the ‘B’ Silver medal. He went onto secure two ‘A’ Certs in the other eventson the day. The next to land wasCollooney swimming star Cian Whitesidein sixth place. He went on to win the ‘A’Cert in Butterfly later. Adam Higgins waseight home overall followed by JackMcDonagh in ninth place. Jack has beensteadily cutting away at his times and isbeginning to show great promise. EoinAnderson, James McCole and ThomasMaher arrived next, with each swimmersputting in a great performance. DavidWatters was next in line with ‘eyeopening’ technique.He was just ahead ofteam mates, Conor Melvin, EamonnKeaveney and Adam Lynch.

The Girls U-11 Freestyle saw KateAnderson and Deirbhile McCloskey eachreceiving ‘A’ Cert’s. Kate was first homeoverall with a record breaking swim,closely followed by equally talentedDearbhle who took second place. The nextSligo swimmer to finish was MaedbhKennelly who arrived in fifth place,winning ‘B’ Gold. She received the ‘A’Cert later for Butterfly. This is the ’icingson the cake’ for Maedbh following the two‘A’ Certs she received just beforeChristmas at the Claremorris Gala.

New Talent, Ciara Redmond gave agreat account of herself in eighth spot.Roisin Shaw was the next of the Sligobunch home, followed closely by MegHerrity who took ‘C’ Bronze. Ellen Smithfrom Ballincar was in superb form,finishing just ahead of Collooney’s AoifeWhiteside.The next swimmer to finishwas Dionne Timbs who was followed byMaria McCloat, Maeve Keaney, ClaraStafford, Megan Corcoran, MaireadKavanagh and Liadan HanleyIn the Boys U-13 Freestyle, Dylan Cartywas on top form, taking a well deservedfirst place overall and the ‘A’ Cert. Thisyoung swimmer would repeat the trendin the Butterfly winning a second ’A’Cert, and would record first place in theIndividual Medley, where he received’ B’Gold

Evan Kelly was just behind by afraction getting second place and receivedan ‘A’ Cert. Darragh Corcoran was nextgetting ‘B’ Gold, with team mate DavidLynch just behind, David took ‘B’ Silverfor this excellent swim. They werefollowed by Luke Banks, Peter Wattersand Stephen Regan

Ellen McCole gave a glimpse of hertrue potential in the Girls U-13 Freestylewhere she received the ‘A’ Cert andsecond place overall.. She was followed byLisa Gerrity in third place, who alsosecured a well deserved ‘A’ Cert. JadeMurphy (‘B’ Silver), Sinead Lynch (‘B’Bronze) and Cara Osbourne were thenext bunch home. Cliodhna Hanley won‘C’ Silver while Laura McMunn, AoifeKeaney and Kelly McMunn were next toland

Sligo was represented by Jack Tahenyin the Freestyle boys under 15 , winningthe ‘B’ GoldThe County was ably represented inthe Girls U-15 Freestyle by MuireannMorrissey and Ciara Gilmartin.Muireann came home in second place,winning ‘B’ silver, while Ciara took the‘C’ Gold

In the Boys U-11 Butterfly, AdamScanlon left no one in doubt as to hisability, taking first place and receivingthe ’A’ Cert. He was just ahead of teammate Cian Whiteside, who also won the‘A’ accolade for his outstandingswimming. Adam Higgins, DavidRattigan and Jack McDonagh recordedeight ninth and tenth places, whileJames McCole was next home followed byConor Melvin who took a well deserved‘C’ Gold.

Meadbh Kenneally took first placeoverall in the girls U.11 Butterfly, securingthe ‘A’ Cert. Ciara Redmond won ‘B’ Goldfor her club, followed directly by MegHerrity who took ‘B’ Silver. Roisin Shawarrived in fifth place. Newly promoted ‘B’Swimmer, Aoife Whiteside was in topform, coming home in eleventh place. Shewas just ahead of Sarah Watters who wonthe ‘C’ Silver medal. Ellen Smith andDionne Timbs were fantastic in thispunishing event.

Dylan Carty took the ‘A’ Cert withrelative ease in the Boys U-13 Butterfly.He was followed by Declan Martin whowon the ‘B’ Gold. Luke Banks had a greatswim to achieve fifth place, while talentedswimmer Peter Watters won the ‘C’ Goldmedal. Aoife Keaney was excellent in theGirls U-13 Butterfly, winning ‘C’ Gold forthe County.

The Boys U-11 Individual Medley wasanother triumph for Sligo’s AdamScanlon who finished second securinganother ‘A’ Cert. Other notableperformers here were Adam Higgins (BSilver) and Jack McDonagh (B Bronze).Next home was James McCole followedby Eoin Anderson. Thomas Maher won Csilver, David Watters took C Bronze whileConor Melvin, David Rattigan, AdamLynch and Eamonn Keavney all turned ingreat performances.

Deirbhile McCloskey won the Girlsunder 11 Individual Medley, elevenseconds ahead of her nearest rival. CiaraRedmond won B Bronze while RoisinShaw finished in 8th place. Dionne Timbstook a well deserved C Silver whileyoungsters Ellen Smith, Sarah Wattersand Liadan Hanley all showed greatpotential.

Dylan Carty rounded off a wonderfulday with another win in the boys U-13Individual Medley. He took the ‘B’ goldhere. Declan Martin was third, winning‘B’ Bronze. Evan Kelly landed in fourthplace just ahead of Darragh Corcoranand Luke Banks (‘C’ Gold). David Lynchhad a great swim to win ‘C’ Bronze.Promising swimmer Stephen Regan wasnext home

Ellen McCole was again to the fore inthe Girls U-13 Individual Medley, securingfirst place and winning ‘B’ Gold. LisaGerrity was fourth in this event. SineadLynch recorded sixth place. CliodhnaHanley gave a great account of herself,winning the ‘C’ Gold in style, her secondmedal of the day. Laura McMunn won ‘C’Silver; and was closely followed by hersister Kelly who took the ‘C’ Bronze.Aoife Keaney was excellent in this event.Jack Taheny was on top form in theBoys U-15 Individual Medley, winning theevent and securing the ‘B’ Gold Medal inthe process. Muireann Morrissey andCiara Gilmartin were again in the medalsfor the Girls U-15 Individual Medley.Muireann won ‘C’ Gold while Ciara tookthe ‘C’ Silver.

The enjoyable day ended with theFreestyle Squads. The Boys U-11 race,showed the Sligo B. team take first place,with Sligo A. coming home in second. Inthe Girls U-11 event, Sligo A. finishedthird. The Boys U-13 race had the Sligocrew in second place, while in the Girls U-13 race, Sligo A. finished first in a nailbiting race.

County Sligo Swimming Club wouldlike to thank Therese Anderson (B/CGala coordinator) and all the parents whohelped to make this gala another hugesuccess for the swimmers. Thanks toClub Coaches, Sheila Ryan and StephenO’Hara who attended the gala toencourage and mentor their swimmers,taking note of each one’s performance onthe day. Finally, a work of thanks to theClub Chairman, David Smith, Secretary,Martina McLoughlin and the Committeeof County Sligo Swimming Club who putin long hours ‘above and beyond the callof duty’, to promote swimming in CountySligo.