Billingham Autumn Meet 2016 – Report by Ian Faulds

The first gala of the season took place at the Billingham Autodrome on the final weekend of September 2016.  City of Sunderland put out a huge squad of swimmers, a fantastic start to the season, which saw the club win a total of 66 medals: 22 gold, 21 silver and 23 bronze.

BOYS 200M I/M

The gala kicked off with the boys 200 I/M.  In the 9/10 age group, Alfie McGuire won sliver with a new personal best (pb) and Luke McGee won bronze.  In the over 17 category, Callum Walker took the bronze, with top 10 places in their respected age groups for Louis Bradley-Godfrey, Josh Convery (pb), Kenneth Juan, Joseph Robbins and Adam Boxall, with Fran Proctor achieving a new pb, finishing 15th.

GIRLS 50M FREESTYLE

The girls’ 50m freestyle was the next event and strongly contested.  In the 9/10 age group, Tilly Abbott romped home for the silver in a new pb time of 34.39.  Helena Wyness, also in a pb of 35.63, was 4th, Riona Sorianosos 6th and Yuki Faulds 7th.

The rest of the Sunderland squad in this event improved their pb times – Millie Davies, Eve Foster, Lucy Smy, Holly Stoker, Heather Robinson, Mary Ellis, Emily Barber, and young Sophie Harrion, Clara Birchall, Scarlett Palmer. The girls showed improvement all round. Great swims girls!

In the 11/12 age group, there were pbs from Imogen Nicholls, Layla Trueman, Millie Foster, Elizabeth Mckinnon, Sophie Graham and Alice Cammock.

The 13/14 age group saw Caitlin Cambrook win the silver in a time of 29.42, with top ten finishes from Lara Greggs, Vanessa Rubio, and Maria Birchall.

BOYS 50M BREASTSTROKE

Louis Bradley–Godfrey took the silver in a pb of 45.44, Alfie McGuire won bronze in 46.60, with Arran Robinson coming 4th in a pb of 49.16. Top ten finishes for Oliver Dodsworth and Harry Trueman.

In the 11/12 age group, there was a new pb for Josh Convery in 45.97, with Jack Allones also getting a pb, just in front of Fran Proctor.

In the 13/14 age group, Joseph Robbins won the bronze in a time of 37.46.

Congratulations to Callum Walker in the 17 year group, who won gold in 33.22 seconds.

GIRLS 200M BREASTSTROKE

In the 9/10 age group, Ayumi Faulds started the day off with which was to be the first of her 7 gold medals of the day, in a pb time of 3:18.98.  Riona Sorianosos took bronze in 3:37.32, Helena Wyness achieved a pb in 4th place with top ten finishes for Heather Robinson, Eve Foster (pb) and Clara Birchall.

In the 11/12 group, Imogen Nicholls was 6th, and Sophie Graham 9th, with a new pb of 3:39.16.  Millie Foster again showed improvement with a pb, as did Alice Cammock with Jess Ord and Grace Brewerton sandwiched between the two.

In the 13/14 category, Lara Greggs won gold with Ilaisa Redda taking bronze, Grace Abbott, 5th and Madeleine Smith 6th place.

BOYS 100M BACKSTROKE

In the 9/10 age group, Luke McGee took silver in a pb of 1:23.86 with young Oliver Dodsworth finishing in 8th position.

Kenneth Juan won gold in the 11/12 age group in a time of 1:18.96, with Jack Allones also swimming a pb of 1.49.25.  In the 15 year age category, Adam Boxall won gold in 1:10.35.

GIRLS 100M BUTTERFLY

This event saw Ayumi Faulds in the 9/10 age group winning gold no. 2, in a pb time of 1:22.67.  Her sister, Yuki, won silver in a time 1.31.53.  Tilly Abbott took 4th also in a brilliant pb time of 1:38.47.  In the 11/12 group, Layla Trueman was 5th with Elyssa Palmer also swimming a pb of 1:50.72.

In the 13/14 age group, Caitlin Cambrook was 4th, with Vanessa Rubio, Maria Birchall, Ilaisa Redda and Molly Joyce (pb) all in the top 10.

GIRLS 200M BACKSTROKE

The 9/10 year group saw a fantastic Sunderland 1, 2, 3 finish.  Ayumi Faulds won gold in a new pb of 2:50.63.  Yuki Faulds took silver in 3:01.00, with Riona Sorianosos taking bronze in 3:07.82.  Tilly Abbott came in 5th place and there were top ten finishes for Eve Foster and Millie Davies both in pb times.

The 11/12 age group saw top ten finishes and new pbs for Elyssa Palmer, Sophie Graham, and Elizabeth McKinnon.

The 13/14 age group showed Sunderland’s dominance in this event with another 1, 2, 3 finish.  Caitlin Cambrook took gold, Lara Greggs silver, and Iliasa Redda bronze.

BOYS 100M FREESTYLE

In the 9/10 age group, Luke McGee took bronze, with Alfie McGuire 5th in a new pb of 1:18.75.  Louis Bradley-Godfrey finished 8th and Alexandru Lazar was in 11th place.  There were top 20 placements for Arran Robinson, Oliver Dodsworth (pb) and young Harry Trueman.

In the 11/12 group, Kenneth Juan swam a pb to bring home the bronze medal, with Josh Convery, 9th and Fran Proctor swimming a pb in 11th place.  Jack Allones also swam a pb of 1:38.85.

The older guys, 13/14 age group, saw Joseph Robbins in 7th and in the 15/16 year age group, Adam Boxall was 5th.

GIRLS 50M BUTTERFLY

In the 9/10 group Heather Robinson came 9th.  In the 11/12 category, Layla Trueman was 5th with Millie Foster swimming a pb of 42.06 for 10th place.

The older girls (13/14) saw Vanessa Rubio and Maria Birchall in a close race for 4th and 5th with Vanessa just winning 4th by a fingertip.  Grace Abbott came 11th, with Madeleine Smith in 13th place.

GIRLS 200M BREASTSTROKE

In the 9/10 age group, Ayumi Faulds triumphed again with gold in a new pb of 1:36.72, Riona Sorianosos took the bronze in 1:44.67.  The club’s girls all swam well with top ten finishes for Millie Davies, Holly Stoker and Clara Birchall all swimming pb times.  Emily Barber and Sophia Harrion came 11thand 12th respectively, with Emily also achieving a pb

In the 11/12 age group, Imogen Nicholls was 4th in a pb of 1:38.66, while Jess Ord achieved a pb and came 9th while Alice Cammock also swam a pb and finished 12th.

The 13/14 category saw Lara Greggs take silver, with Iliasa Redda in the bronze medal position.

BOYS 50M BACKSTROKE

The 9/10 group saw young Alexandru Lazar pb to finish in 40.22 to win the bronze medal.  Alfie McGuire and Louis Bradley-Godfrey also achieved personal best times and along with Luke McGee  – all finished in the top ten.  Arran Robinson was 13th and there were pb swims for Harry Trueman, Oliver Dodsworth and young Jacob Barnett.

In the 11/12 group, Kenneth Juan romped to gold in a new pb of 35.71, with Fran Proctor 14th (pb) and Jack Alonnes 20th place.

In the 13/14 group, Joseph Robbins was 8th and in the 15/16 group Adam Boxall was 4th.

GIRLS 200M FREESTYLE

The 9/10 age group saw an exciting race with Sunderland’s Yuki Faulds just pipping Loftus Dolphin’s Lois Hickson to the gold medal.  Helena Wyness was bronze medal winner with Tilly Abbott swimming a great race to finish just behind Helena.  The remainder of Sunderland’s 9/10 age girls – Millie Davies, Eve Foster, Faith Proctor, Lucy Smy, Heather Robinson, Clara Birchall, Mary Ellis and Sophia Harrion – all swam pb times.

In the 11/12 age group, top ten swims for Layla Trueman and Imogen Nicholls(pb), with Elyssa Palmer, Millie Foster, Sophie Graham (pb) Jessica Ord and Elizabeth McKinnon (pb) bringing up the rest.

In the 13/14 category, Caitlin Cambrook took silver with Vanessa Rubio in 4th place, Maria Birchall, 6th, Madeleine Smith, 9th, Grace Abbott, 11th and Molly Joyce 13th.

That concluded the Saturday swim, some brilliant swims from the Sunderland team from all ages.

GIRLS 200M I/M

Sunday morning’s events commenced with the 9/10 age group.  Tilly Abbott showed good strength and came home for a gold medal in a pb of 3:10.68, with Helena Wyness taking the bronze medal, also in a pb of 3:13.25.  In the 11/12 group, Layla Trueman was 6th with Millie Foster 13th place.  Grace Brewerton and Elyssa Palmer also swam a creditable race.

In the 13/14 age group, Caitlin Cambrook, Vanessa Rubio, and Maria Birchall were 5th, 6th and 7th respectively, with Iliasa Redda and Grace Abbott in the top 12.

BOYS 50M FREESTYLE

The 9/10 age group, saw Luke McGee, Alfie McGuire and Louis Bradley-Godfrey all swimming pb times.  Luke won the silver medal with Alfie taking the bronze and Louis taking 5th spot.  Oliver Dodsworth, Harry Trueman, and Dean Walker showed great promise with Dean swimming a pb.

In the 11/12 group, Kenneth Juan was 4th, with a pb of 32.25, Josh Convery and Fran Proctor 13th and 19th respectively.

The club’s only swimmers in the 13/14 and 15/16 groups were Joseph Robbins who was 5th, and Adam Boxall who finished 6th.

GIRLS 50M BREASTSTROKE

Again in the 9/10 age range, Ayumi Faulds won silver in a pb of 44.97 with Grace Ramm coming in a creditable 5th place, also in a pb time.  Millie Davis 9th (pb,) Clara Birchall (pb) 12th, Holly Stoker, Sophia Harrion, Mary Ellis and Emily Barber all had great swims.

In the 11/12 age group Imogen Nicholls achieved a pb again in 45.03 and took 5th place.  Sophie Graham also swam a pb and was in the top ten.  The rest of the Sunderland girls all set pbs in this race.  Well done to Jessica Ord, Alice Cammock, Emelia Fishburn-Parkin, and Millie Whitfield.

In the older 13/14 girls race, Vanessa Rubio came in 5th place.

BOYS 200M BREASTSTROKE

Well done in the 9/10 age group to Louis Bradley-Godfrey who won gold and Alfie McGuire who took silver.  Both boys swam a pb.  Harry Trueman also swam a pb to come in 6th place.

In the 11/12 group, Fran Proctor swam in at 6th place.  Well done to Callum Walker who took gold in the over 17 age group in a time of 2:39.20.

GIRLS 100M BACKSTROKE

All of the Sunderland swimmers in the 9/10 group swam personal best times.  The top four places went to Sunderland as Ayumi Faulds took gold, Riona Sorianosos silver, Tilly Abbott bronze and Yuki Faulds 4th place.  Well done to them all.

Helena Wyness was 7th and Eve Foster 10th.  Millie Davies, Grace Ramm, Holly Stoker and Mary Ellis all swam well and came 13th to 16th respectively.

In the 11/12 group, Layla Trueman was 7th, Elyssa Palmer 10th, Sophie Graham 12th with another pb time, Grace Brewerton 16th and Emelia Fishburn-Parkin and Millie Whitfield both swimming pb times to finish in 22nd and 23rd places respectively.

In the 13/14 age category, Caitlin Cambrook won the bronze with Maria Birchall 6th, Iliasa Redda 7th and Molly Joyce 11th.  Grace Abbott finished in 14th place.

BOYS 100M BUTTERFLY

In the younger 9/10 group, Luke McGee sailed in with a new pb of 1:26.45 to win gold.  In the next age category, 11/12, Kenneth Juan took bronze medal with Joseph Robbins the silver in the 13/14 age group.

BOYS 200M BACKSTROKE

After lunch, the boys swam again in the 200m backstroke with Luke McGee showing he hadn’t over eaten, by romping home again to take the gold medal in 2:58.93.  Louis Bradley-Godfrey was 4th.

In the 11/12 age group, Kenneth Juan won gold with a new pb time of 2:51.26 and Lorenzo Corsi achieved 6th place, also swimming a pb.

In the 15/16 group, Adam Boxall won the silver medal.

GIRLS 100M FREESTYLE

As always, this race was strongly contested.  It was another 1, 2, 3 for Sunderland in the 9/10 age group.  Congratulations to Tilly Abbott who achieved a personal best in 1:20.15 to win the gold medal.  Yuki Faulds won silver in 1:21.05, with Helena Wyness taking the bronze in1:21.09.

Riona Sorianosis (pb), Millie Davies and Eve Foster (pb) finished 8th, 9th and 10th respectively.  In 15th, 16th and 17th places, all swimming pb times, were Lucy Smy, Holly Stoker and Grace Ramm.  Clara Birchall and Sophia Harrion were 21st and 22nd, also in pb times.  Mary Ellis, Scarlett Palmer and Emily Barber all swam well in this event.

In the 11/12 group Imogen Nicholls got a pb in 1:14.24, to just beat her team mate, Layla Trueman, to 6th place.  Layla’s time was 1:14.74.  Also swimming well were Elyssa Palmer, Millie Foster (pb), Sophie Graham (pb), Grace Brewerton (pb), Jess Ord, Alice Cammock(pb), Emilia Fishburn-Parkin and Millie Whitfield (pb).

In the 13/14 group, Caitlin Cambrook yet again showed her power to win silver medal in 1:03.72.

Vanessa Rubio and Maria Birchall were 6th and 7th, Madeleine Smith, 9th and Grace Abbott, 15th.  Molly Joyce came in the top 20.

BOYS 50M BUTTERFLY

In the 9/10 group, Jacob Barnett, Oliver Dodsworth and Harry Trueman all swam pbs to come in 5th, 7th and 10th respectively.

In the 11/12 group, Kenneth Juan won the bronze medal in a pb of 37.25.  In the 13/14 group, Joseph Robbins also took bronze medal.

GIRLS 200M BUTTERFLY

This was a hard race. In the younger group Ayumi Faulds won gold in a pb of 2:58.86.  While in the 13/14 group, Iliasa Redda and Madeleine Smith were 4th and 5th respectively.

BOYS 100M BREASTSTROKE

Alfie McGuire won silver in the younger group in a pb of 1:38.88.  In the 11/12 group, Josh Convery was 5th and Fran Proctor 8th.  Both set new pb times.

GIRLS 50M BACKSTROKE

This race was won by Ayumi Faulds in a pb of 38.81, with Riona Sorianosos in the silver medal position in 40.49.  Yuki Faulds was 4th in a pb of 42.76, and Tilly Abbott 5th.  Helena Wyness finished in 8th place.  Both Eve Foster and Millie Davies achieved personal bests to finish in 11th and 14th place respectively while Holly Stoker , Lucy Smy, Clara Birchall, Mary Ellis and Emily Barber all swam pb times.

The 11/12 group saw Imogen Nicholls again improving in another pb time.  Imogen came in 8th place.  The rest of the field was led in by Elyssa Palmer setting a new pb, as did the rest of the Sunderland girls: Millie Foster, Grace Brewerton, Jessica Ord, Alice Cammock, Emelia Fishburn-Parkin and Millie Whitfield.

In the 13/14 age group, Caitlin Cambrook yet again won silver with Iliasa Redda, 5th and Vanessa Rubio in 6th place.  Good swims too from Molly Joyce and Grace Abbott.

BOYS 200M FREESTYLE

In the final event of the weekend, in the 9/10 age group Luke McGee took gold in a new pb time of 2:37.75.  Alfie McGuire was 5th, and Louis Bradley-Godfrey was 6th.

There were pb swims from Jacob Barnett and Oliver Dodsworth, with Harry Trueman finishing in 12th place.

The 11 to 12 age group saw Josh Convery finish in 4th place, Fran Proctor 10th and Lorenzo Corsi pb’d for 13th place.

In the older age groups, Joseph Robbins took the bronze medal (13/14 age group) while Adam Boxall was 4th in the 15/16 group.

This concluded the gala weekend, and what a great way to begin the season for the Sunderland team.  Well done to all our competitors, particularly those competing for the first time, and their fantastic supporters.