Dolphins make a splash at Junior Champs

Some of the Dolphin Coast’s most talented swimmers recently made a splash at the annual Ethekweni Junior Championships.

The North Coast Dolphins Swim Team (NCDST) sent 30 swimmers to take part and bagged 498 points, three meet records and two top age groups swimmers to place fifth overall out of 26 clubs.

James Beningfield, Monica Botha, Lauren Bates, and Adiel Naidoo closed with a KZN Junior meet record in the age 10-11 200m mixed free relay in a time of 2:08:30. They broke the 2016 meet record of 2:10:63. The dream team went on to post another meet record in the 200m mixed individual medley relay in 2:26:78, beating the old record of 2:27:76.

Also read: Juniors perform in tough Jbay conditions

Botha (11) then went on to claim another record when she completed the 200m freestyle in 2:22:86 – a whopping 10-second improvement over the previous record of 2:32:57.

Megan Matthews joined Botha on the podium with a bronze and a six-second personal best in the 200-meter freestyle.

Nathan Cochran (9) earned a silver in the 100m and bronze in the 50m backstroke, while Lauren Bates (11) made the podium with a bronze in the 50m freestyle and butterfly events. Raphael Durocher-Yvon (10) took a silver in the 100m butterfly, Mykae Forrest (13) a silver in 200m freestyle with a bronze in the 100m free and Kristian Muller (13) won silver in the 200m individual medley.

James Beningfield and Monica Botha earned top honors in their respective age groups by winning the top 10-year-old male and 11-year-old female titles.

Overall, Beningfield tallied 90 points with four gold, three silver, and one bronze medals. Botha collected 108 points with eight gold, two silver and one bronze as well as a new meet record.

“The Dolphins club is not just about meet records and gold medals,” said coach Dominique Donner.

“Swimming is more than just a sport, its a life coach teaching kids discipline, respect for themselves and others, how to set goals and work according to a plan to achieve their goals. We pride ourselves at at the Dolphins to be able to accommodate every swimmer’s needs in a personal way in order for them to become the best they possibly can be and achieve their goals and dreams.”

The KZN Junior champs do not only earmark the official opening of the swimming season. The gala serves as a qualifying event for Level 3 swimmers wishing to enter and compete at KZN Premier Champs in December. The majority of age group swimmers work towards qualifying times and personal bests to compete and level up.

St John Spoors secured his lane at the Prestige Championships 2018 with three level three qualifying times and seven personal bests. Hannah James (12) joined Spoors with a 100m freestyle qualifying time while Luke Taylor (10) aced his races with eight personal best times and Luke James (10) six personal best times.

“Last but not least, our swim parents are the most supportive group that I could wish for. It is a team effort where the swimmer, coach, and parent work together and I could not be more proud.”

The NCDST is based in Ballito and trains at Crawford College under the guidance of head coach Dominique Donner. Visit @ncdolphins on Facebook for more information.