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Girls set to make waves in National Finals
Merchant Taylors' have been making national waves as they fields their strongest team of swimmers of the last decade.
Girls' Junior Medley Relay team will compete in the national finals at the Coventry Sports Centre on Saturday February 5, ranked fifth in the country.
Pictured from left to right: Charlotte Disley, 13, from Aughton will swim the butterfly. Charlotte swims both for the Girls' School and the Southport Swimming Club and has already been on two national squad training weekends. Antonia Clayson, 13, from Crosby, will take the backstroke leg and City of Liverpool and school swimmer Lydia Paris Davies from Ince will be swimming the breast stroke leg. Annabelle Hartley will take the freestyle.
Swimming coach Mrs Stenson said: "This is the best team we have had in the last decade. They have a great spirit and are extremely competitive."
Specialist sports school Millfield from the South Coast remain firm favourites for the national title with a time 10 seconds ahead of the competition.
The Senior Boys' team were one place outside of national qualification, but won both the freestyle and medley relays in the Northern Schools; qualifying events, the first time a Merchants' team has achieved this regional double.
Pictured from left to right are: Chris Mulliner, 17, from Formby, who swam freestyle. Back stroke specialist George Bevan, 17, from Ainsdale.
Nationally ranked number seven Carl Williams, 17, from Croxteth Park, who took the backstroke leg and butterfly man James Collins, the captain of the team from Wigan.
Coach Mr Whalley said: "Many schools and Sixth Form colleges up and down the country are set up to enable top swimmers to train and work and can have a team full of nationally ranked performers, so to win two events in the regional finals is superb and the best performance for many years."
