SWIMMING - Huge success in pool for North

Eighteen swimmers from four clubs represented Northland at the 2012 New Zealand Age Group Swimming Championships in Wellington.

During the five-day meet, featuring 77 clubs from around NZ, the Northland contingent won eight medals and broke 15 Northland Age Group records.

Ten swimmers - Carla Marsh, Ashlee Crane, Holly Duckmanton, Jayne Clarke, Haylee Jensen, Haydn Jurisich, Oceane Maihi, Chad Walker, Melita Raravula and Freyah Ruri - also qualified for the NZ Opens in Auckland, from March 25-30, which will double as the Olympic Trials.

Northwave's Raravula, 15, had an outstanding meet, making seven finals, and achieving seven top-five placings.

She swam four personal best times and won three gold medals for the 50m Butterfly, 100m and 200m Butterfly, two silver medals for the 50m and 100m Breaststroke events and a bronze medal for the 200m Individual Medley. She also placed fourth in the 200m Breaststroke and broke three of her own Northland age group records in the 50m and 200m Breaststroke events and the 100m Butterfly.

Freyah Ruri, 13, from Northwave, made nine finals and swam 12 personal best times. Ruro won two bronze medals in the 50m Butterfly and 100m Butterfly, two fourths in the 400m Freestyle and 200m IM and gained two fifth places in the 100m Freestyle and 200m Freestyle.

She also broke eight Northland 13-year-old girls records in a relay, heats and finals, 50m, 100m, 200m, 400m Freestyle twice, 100m Butterfly and 200m IM twice.

Fifteen-year-old Bream Bay swimmer Chad Walker made three finals and broke the Northland 50m and 100m Butterfly records.

Bay of Islands' Jayne Clarke, 17, made the 50m Butterfly final where she broke her own record set in her heat.

Clubmate Carla Marsh, 17, swam two personal bests and made four finals with a fourth in the 200m IM and fifth in the 100m Backstroke, while

Haydn Jurisich, 16 made two finals and was splits off three Northland 16 year-old boys records.

Bream Bay's Haylee Jensen, 16, placed fifth in the 50m Butterfly and Whangarei's Holly Duckmanton, 17, swam in the 17-18-year-old old girls 50m Backstroke final.

Bay of Island's Oceane Maihi, 16, was fifth in the 16-year-old girls 50m Breaststroke final, while Northwave's Joshua Young, 13, made the 400m IM final as did Whangarei's Sean Collier, who swam in the 50m freestyle final.

Northland had nine relay teams, with the girls teams making some finals capping a successful meet.