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Young swimmer stars
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Seventeen year old Ben Silipo has clocked up some of the finest performances by a Wānaka swimmer in national championships.
Silipo competed at the New Zealand Open Swimming Championships at the National Aquatic Centre in Auckland last week. The competition doubled as a qualification meet for the world championships later this year.
He was the sole representative from Wānaka Swim Club and it was his first time at this competition.
Silipo started well on day one with a five second personal best in the heats of the 400 Individual Medley to qualify for the final. He then backed that up with another three second personal best in the final to finish fourth.
It was one of the best results for a swimmer at open level from Wānaka Swim Club in the club's history.
The winner of the 400 Individual Medley was Lewis Clareburt - a World Championship medallist and Olympic finalist in Tokyo and it was a great experience for Silipo to race alongside a swimmer of his calibre.
Silipo continued his good form into his other races, qualifying for finals in the 400 freestyle and 200 Individual Medley, finishing in sixth and eighth respectively. He also recorded personal bests in both races.
The youngster is still eligible to compete at age group level and now turns his attention to the National Age Group Championships to start in Wellington next Tuesday.
PHOTO: Tansiha Keach
Ben Silipo in action.
Rams win
A solid 27-12 win over Green Island Colts on Saturday has the Upper Clutha’s U21 Colts rugby team looking forward to another successful season in the Otago Championships Colts competition.
The club’s first season in the league produced a fifth equal place with Green Island from 13 teams.
The colts were established in 2020 to give under 21-year-old players the opportunity to continue playing rugby after finishing at the school 1st XV level and before stepping up to the Prems game. The team is coached by Mark Evans and Steve Cockram and managed by Jason Kerr.
The weekend match was split into four quarters and the Ram ran in four tries.
Phoenix Cooper wins a lineout during the clash with Green Island.
Mitchell Evans, who scored the Rams’ first try, about to get a pass away.
Rui’s a class above
Rui Fukaya scored a shock win in the Wānaka Squash Club’s second junior Head tournament last week – winning the division higher than he was originally set to play in.
Rui was in B division until the day when a late dropout meant he was moved up to the A division.
It was another great competition for Jack Wyeth who won the C division, making it two tournament wins out of two.
Cody Armstrong, in his first competition of the year, played some great squash to get to the B division final where he fought well before losing to a talented junior.
Other Wānaka competitors were Oisin Corbett, fourth in the A division, Cormac Smith, fourth, and Harriett Sargood-Ross, seventh, in the B division, and Vincent Gerrard, sixth in the C division.
The Wānaka Juniors head down to Dunedin on May 1 for the third Head tournament.
Rui Fukaya
Stock, Davies celebrate
Wānaka junior women - bowling five years and less - shone on Saturday in Clyde at the Central Otago junior pairs, and one pair took out the title.
Jo Stock and Holly Davies beat a composite team of Linda Brown (Arrowtown) and Liz Anderson (Queenstown).
The final was tight for the first five ends before the Wānaka combination scored a five, making it too hard for Brown and Anderson to come back.
A total of 13 women's teams were in the draw and 10 Central Otago men's teams played at Alexandra's RSA.
Wānaka fielded four women's teams and one men's and provided much of the strength in the women's draw. Three of the teams got through to the semi-finals – Stock and Davies, Bev Mee and Heather Malcolm and Margaret Parker and Barbara Wilson.
It's been a successful year for Stock as it is her second Central Otago Honours this season after a win in the Centre Triples.
First year bowlers Kathryn Liggins and Helen Allison put up an excellent show and recorded a win in the qualification round – a credit to the club's new women's coaching initiative this season run by Marilyn Steel.
Holly Davies and Jo Stock (right).
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