Schimanski tops medal haul

SIX OF THE BEST: Wanganui swimmers (from left) Shannon Schimanski (WCS), Grace Hogan, Alex Forlong, Sarya Lower, Jaimee Bridger, Merle Goepfert (all WHS) made their presence felt at the New Zealand Secondary Schools Swimming Championships in Hamilton at the weekend.PHOTO/PHILLIPA BAKER-HOGAN 15092015WCSUPSWIM

Shannon Schimanski was once again the standout performer in a strong Wanganui team competing at the New Zealand Secondary Schools Swimming Championships at the Te Rapa waterworld in Hamilton last weekend.

The Wanganui Collegiate student was joined by five swimmers from Wanganui High School, although with the competition clashing with senior school exams at WHS, only Year 9 and 10 swimmers could attend.

Schimanski was the most successful Wanganui swimmer with gold medals in the 15-year-old girls 50m and 100m breaststroke and a bronze medal in the 200m breaststroke. She also added the breaststroke skins race where the fastest eight swimmers (open age group) compete. After the first race two are eliminated leaving six to race off again after a one minute rest. Two more drop off until after three races there are just two swimmers left. The fourth and final race is a match race with the winner crowned skins champion.

Schimanski finished third in the first race in a time of 36.26, third in the second race in 37.02, second in the third race in 36.14 and then won the final with in 34.81, just 0.67 of a second off her personal best which she had set to win her gold medal in the 15-year-old event.

She also finished 8th in the 50m backstroke and 9th in the 50m freestyle with personal best times in both.

Sarya Lower was the most successful of the WHS swimmers with three silver medals in the 14-year-old 50m and 100m freestyle and the 200m individual medley. She also had a fourth in the 100m breaststroke, a sixth in the 50m butterfly, seventh in the 50m breaststroke and eighth in the 50m backstroke.

German exchange student Merle Goepfert (15) and Alex Forlong (14) gained individual finalist certificates for their 6th and 8th placings in the 50m breaststroke (Goepfert) and 200m butterfly (Forlong).

The other two WHS students, Grace Hogan (15) and Jaimee Bridger (14) both had an outstanding competition with Hogan recording personal bests in all five of her individual races and Bridger posting four out of five personal bests.

The two WHS relay teams both placed eighth to ensure that every team member came away with at least one finalist certificate.