Eleven swimmers from the Busselton Swimming Club gave head coach Brooke Kemp a farewell to remember with some outstanding results after four days of heats and finals racing at HBF Stadium in Perth, against some of the state’s best.
The Long Course State Age Championships is the last event on the swimming calendar each year and Kemp’s team didn’t disappoint as they swam under her coaching for the last time before she heads to Perth to a full time coaching position.
Youngster Rylee Williamson swimming at her first State Age Championships along with Abbey Johnson both swam some great personal bests.
Lauren McGregor, although injured at the time, swam an impressive 200 metre breaststroke earning a top 10 ranking while Ashley Eibrink Jansen made her first WA final in the 50m freestyle with a personal best in the heat and again in the final. Older sister Isabella Eibrink Jansen continued to impress with a two-second personal best in the 100m freestyle placing fourth, her best ranking to date.
Niamh Jury earned herself a top 10 ranking with a personal best in the 200m freestyle, narrowly missing the qualifying time by 1.1 seconds. Eden McDonald impressed with personal best’s in her main events, narrowly missing the state final in the 200m backstroke.
Debut qualifier Ella Butler is off to nationals in April after she stormed home in the 100m butterfly with a five-second personal best while sister Zoe claimed the double with silver in the 100m and 200m backstroke event, maintaining her WA rankings.
Lucinda Jones is paving her way to the top taking home bronze in the 100m back and 100m fly, having qualified earlier in the season for nationals in three events.
Maddison Johnston-Walker was the teams state title holder, touching the wall first with a time of 2.28.18 in the 200m fly, dropping 10 seconds off her time and narrowly missing the national qualifying time.
Johnston-Walker also claimed silver in the 100m fly and secured her spot on the team for the national championships in Sydney this year.
Having farewelled Kemp who has done an amazing job at the club over the last two and a half years, Busselton Swimming Club is now under the direction of new head coach Andrew Sexton who is busy preparing the swimmers for Country Championships and Senior Open States. Sexton comes to Busselton from South Africa where he established a swim school in Cape Town and has coached a range of swimmers from juniors through to national level, as well as elite level triathletes. Having been an accomplished swimmer himself, Sexton has a wealth of knowledge and experience and the club is in good hands.