The Toyota Whanganui Swim team punched well above its weight at the New Zealand Short Course Swimming Champs in Auckland despite the absence of its core group.
After many years of the "usual suspects" attending the national championships, this was a year where four of the five-strong team were largely inexperienced at this level due to injuries to the talented Sarya Lower and the departure to university of others.
Only Shannon Schimanski remained from the core group, and she was joined by Jonte Wright, who is boarding at Collegiate for his last couple of years at school, Alex Forlong, and a couple of talented youngsters in the form of 14-year-old Amelia Cronin and 13-year-old Ethan Bryers.
The NZSC format is different to most meets as age group and open swimmers race together, with the morning heats doubling as timed finals in the various age groups and A, B C and D open finals held in the evening session, where swimmers can gain a true overall national ranking.
Once again the small Whanganui team punched well above its weight with a number of top 10 finishes and Whanganui records being broken throughout the meet.