NHS are Interhigh swim champs

Local high school swimmers are in top form and proved their dominance over the area’s best during last week’s Ehlanzeni Interhigh School Gala.

The event was held at Van Riebeeck Park and saw the cream of the crop from Hoërskool Nelspruit, Curro Nelspruit, Penryn College, Uplands College, Rob Ferreira, Hoërskool Barberton and Komatipoort Akademie strut their stuff.

Hoërskool Nelspruit took top honours, with a total combined score of 1 100 points. Second place was hotly contested between Curro and Rob Ferreira.

In the girls’ division, Curro took second place while Rob Ferreira were the runner-up in the boys’ division. But in the end, their respective total scores secured a second place for Curro (669), with Rob Ferreira being bumped down to fourth with a score of 488.

Third place went to Penryn, which managed to bag 536.  Uplands ended fifth with 345, Barberton sixth with 256 and Komatipoort in seventh with 102.

This year’s event was one that Nellies will remember for, many years to come, thanks to the boys’ 14 relay team of Dian de Klerk, Janco Rademeyer, Rossouw Janson and Terblanche de Kock.

They broke a record that has been standing since 1968, set by Lowveld High School. NHS swam a 38/100ths of a second faster. Nellies’ girls’ 16 relay team smashed a record set in 1996 by 2,42 seconds.

The team consisted of Mia Viljoen, Naomi van der Nest, Nikki Viljoen and Izanie van der Merwe.  The school also bagged 40 gold medals, 42 silver and 12 bronze.  A total of 18 records were smashed on the day, which consisted of 75 events.

Here they are

Girls’ 16 50-metre back
Nikki Viljoen (NHS) 33,97
Girls’ 17 50-metre back
Amy Potgieter (Pen) 34,04
Girls’ 16 and older 100-metre free
Emma Ditcham (Pen)1:07;29
Boys’ 16 and older 100-metre free
Jetro Piso (NHS) 55,38
Girls’ 17 50-metre breast
Kayla Schefermann (Uplands) 36,01
Girls’ 16 and older 100-metre fly
Kayla Schefermann (Uplands) 1:10;62
Boys’ 16 and older 100-metre fly
Jetro Piso (NHS) 1:02;18
Mixed 17 200-metre medley relay
NHS – 2:10;93 – Milla Nel, Carla Mouton, Dylin Mulder and Robbie Drummond
Mixed 19 and under 200-metre medley relay
Penryn – 2:10,82 – Emma Ditcham, Robert van der Horst, Jordyn Minifie and Vidhaan Singh
Girls’ 17 50-metre fly
Kayla Schefermann (Uplands) 31,59
Girls’ 16 and older 100-metre breast
Hannah Drewes (Uplands) 1:19;53
Boys’ 17 50-metre free
Robbie Drummond (NHS) 25,97
Boys’ 14 and under 200-metre free relay
NHS – 2:03;20
Dian de Klerk, Janco Rademeyer, Rossouw Janson and Terblanche de Kock
Girls’ 16 200-metre free relay
NHS – 2:03;36
Mia Viljoen, Naomi van der Nest, Izanie van der Merwe and Nikki Viljoen
Girls’ 17 200-metre free relay
Uplands – 2:06;16
Eva Steffensen, Sumari Naude, Hannah Drewes and Kayla Schefermann
Boys’ 19 and under 200-metre free relay
NHS -1:51;89
Maarten Venter, Victor Aitchinson, Rico van Greunen and Jetro Piso
Girls’ 15 and under 100-metre free
Brooklyn Croxon (Curro) 1:01;82
Girls’ 15 and under 100-metre breast
Brooklyn Croxon, (Curro) 1:19;46.