Medal haul for Northland's youngsters

Northland swimmers brought home a swag of medals after competing in one of the most successful Auckland Age Group Championships for many years. Seven swimmers won 34 medals and in the process broke 16 Northland records during the recent three-day meet at West Wave Aquatic centre in Auckland. Undoubtedly the outstanding Northland swimmer was 14-year-old Melita Raravula from Northwave Swimming Club, who hauled in an incredible 14 medals, including five gold medals, five silvers and four bronzes. Her most notable wins came in the 50m breaststroke event, where she won gold in her age group in the heats, gold in both the youth (15 and under) division as well as in the open division in the A final.
She backed up the sprint gold by winning her age group in the heats of the 100m and 200m breaststroke, followed by silver in both the youth and open categories in the A final.
Raravula's other silver came in her age group 50m butterfly event, where she also won a youth bronze, and the other bronzes came in her age group for the 50m backstroke, the 100m freestyle and the 200m individual medley events. Melita also broke six Northland records during the course of the carnival.
Other Northlanders to star, taking away multiple medals, were Bay of Islands Swimming Club trio Oceane Maihi, Carla Marsh and Ashlee Crane, as well as Maddison Eastwood of Whangarei Swimming Club, who at 13 was the youngest medallist. Maihi, 14, won an impressive six medals, with silvers in her age group in the 50m and 100m breaststroke heats and bronze in both the youth and open categories in the 50m breaststroke A final. Her other bronzes came in her age group in the 50m fly and the 50m freestyle heats and she also broke two Northland records.
Sixteen-year-old Marsh broke five Northland records and won five medals, with gold in her age group for the 100m freestyle, silver in the 200m freestyle and bronze medals in the 400m freestyle, the 100m backstroke and the 200m IM. Crane, 16, won the open 200m butterfly final on the final night in a sensational swim, after earlier only scoring an age group silver in the heat for the same event. She also won an age group gold in the 100m butterfly heat and broke two Northland records.
Eastwood claimed four medals, with silver in her age group for the 200m breaststroke heat and bronze in the youth category in the same event. She also claimed bronzes in her age group in the 50m and the 100m breaststroke events. Eastwood was the youngest Northlander to appear in the finals.
Other medallists were 15-year-old Haydn Jurisich (Bay of Islands Swimming Club) who won gold in his age group in the 50m backstroke and 15-year-old Holly Duckmanton (Kamo Swimming Club) who won a 200m backstroke age group bronze medal. Other Northlanders to make the finals were Whangarei's Jordan Pene and Bay of Islands' Sarah Gorman.
Many of the 35 Northlanders who contested the championships qualified for the New Zealand Age Group Championships and the NZ Division Two competition, both in March next year.