SEVEN Darlington ASC swimmers represented the club at the North-East Region Long Course Age Group Championships in Sheffield.

Harriet Rogers competed in four events, excelling in 50m sprints. In the freestyle, she recorded a time of 29.60 to finish a very good sixth in a tight final. In the butterfly, she again qualified for the final, finishing seventh in an excellent time of 32.42, which is faster than she has swum short course.

Molly Mooney’s preparations for the Championships were hindered by injury, but she competed bravely in four events, making finals in 50m and 200m breaststroke and missing out in the 200m Individual Medley and 100m breaststroke.

Alice Day, swimming in her first long course NER Championships, competed in 200m, 400m and 800m freestyle, with a good PB in the 200m. Unfortunately, illness meant she was a bit below her best in the longer events.

Lucy Mason competed well, and was just outside her PBs in both 50m and 200m freestyle.

Niamh Sweeney made her debut at this level of competition, despite having to compete against swimmers up to almost a year older than her. She swam a good PB in the 50m breaststroke.

Jacob Wilson produced three excellent breaststroke PB swims, taking four seconds off his 100m time and six seconds off his 200m time. At this level, those are massive improvements to achieve in one go, and he was unfortunate to miss out on all three finals by either one or two places.

Ryan Pepper competed in two events and gained more valuable experience competing at this level and swimming in a 50m pool.

Meanwhile, four of Darlington’s top older Youth and Senior swimmers had their championships at the Sunderland Aquatic Centre.

Emilia Jones was the busiest, competing best in the 200m breaststroke where she finished 14th overall, and 400m Individual Medley where she was 19th.

Chloe Oliver had two strong swims, setting PBs in the 50m and 100m butterfly, while John Van Mourik managed to equal his PB in the 50m breaststroke. Richard Murray made the top-25 in the 400m freestyle event.

DASC head coach, Glen Fenby, said: “What a fantastic couple of weekends, I am extremely pleased with everyone who represented DASC at the Championships.

“The club has enjoyed a superb season with many quality performances. The level of improvement is down to the hard work people are putting in - the future looks great.”

Darlington ASC is based at the Dolphin Centre in Darlington - if you are interested see www.dare-asc.co.uk for more information.

The club’s Annual Swimming Gala is returning to Darlington in October following the refurbishment of the Dolphin Centre. The club are seeking sponsorship from companies and individuals to support this event. If you would like to assist, contact Enquiries@dare-asc.co.uk.