GPS Swimming Championship 2021: St Joseph’s Nudgee College win

Nudgee College claimed another senior GPS swimming championship, Churchie picked up the junior title while the Lockyer name was glimpsed again in a sporting arena today at Chandler.

St Joseph’s Nudgee College claimed another senior GPS swimming championship and Churchie the junior title in an action-packed meet at Chandler today.

Brisbane Boys College freestyle sprinter Bryce Belcher also beat a 1988 record held by former Australian swimmer Andrew Baildon, while rugby league great Darren Lockyer’s son was involved in a junior relay record with his St Joseph’s Gregory Terrace teammates.

Sonny Lockyer was a member of the 11 years 4x50m freestyle relay team of George Stewart, Gilby Lynch and Maxwell Sheppard which won in 2:15.90.

Brisbane Grammar School’s Mason Gao also broke the only individual GPS record of the junior meet, claiming the 10 years Division 1 breaststroke title in 45.31 seconds.

Churchie won the junior GPS swimming championship again, from Nudgee College and BBC. Photo: Brody Grogan Photography

But it was Anglican Church Grammar School which claimed the big prize in the junior competition, winning back-to-back junior championships, with St Joseph’s Nudgee College (second) and Brisbane Boys College (third) joining them on the podium.

Harrison Turner is embraced by Nudgee teammates after his GPS record.

When the big boys hit the water in senior competition, Nudgee’s Harrison Turner broke an 11 year old GPS record with a sizzling butterfly effort.

Indeed Nudgee’s defence of the senior title really revved up either side of Turner’s success when the school won five successive events - the 15 years 50m butterfly (Blake Turner), the 16 years butterfly (Thomas Sands), the open butterfly (Harrison Turner), the 200m freestyle 13 years (Elfie Piper) and the 14 years 200m (Jaiden Marshall).

BBC record breaker Bryce Belcher with fellow BBC winner Thomas Brentnall.

To cap it off, Nudgee’s Thomas Connellan (16 years 200m freestyle) and Thomas Raymond (200m open freestyle) claimed the last individual swims ahead of the medleys.

Thomas’s last 50m bout with TSS’s Jack Coffy was the clash of the meet, with Thomas prevailing.

The final placings were: 1. Nudgee College (319), 2. Brisbane Grammar School (276), 3. TSS (252), BSHS (249), Terrace (201), Brisbane Boys College (196), Churchie (182), Toowoomba Grammar School (154), Ipswich Grammar School (97).

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Nudgee’s Raymond (400m freestyle) also won the first event of the carnival from Churchie’s Joshua Basham and BSHS’s Jackson Herman, while Brisbane Boys College’ Bryce Belcher claimed the first record.

Thomas Raymond got Nudgee off to a winning start.

Belcher won the 50m open in a blanket finish to get his school teammates cheering, and later in the meet the BBC supporters were in an uproar as their 6x50m relays boys stormed to a record.

TSS were on the board early, winning the 200 IM through a stunning effort from Coffy who outlasted Seb Carvolth of IGS and BGS’s Josh Anderson, while TSS also won the opening 50m freestyle of the event, with Hudson Sheehan storming home from Max Ford (Terrace).

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Terrace picked up another second place when Jack Moore touched behind BSHS powerhouse Saxon Scheffler in the 14 years 40m freestyle, while BGS entered the winners circle in the 15 years when Rocco Zikaarsky touched ahead of Nick Kilner (BSHS) and Kalani Creech (TSS).

Jack Coffy had an early win for TSS

In the backstroke, Rohan Seeto was in fine form for BBC by claiming the 13 years race then Nudgee College claimed back-to-back wins through Jaiden Marshall (14 years backstroke) and Blair McKitrick (15 years).

Thomas Brentnall maintained his high strike rate at GPS championships with yet another win in the under 16 backstroke, while BSHS’s Jamie Bayliss flew home to claim the open backstroke – adding yet another milestone.

The 100m freestyle success was spread evenly across the schools, with Rocco Zikarshy (BGS) winning his second event of the meet in the 15 years after Nudgee’s Jack Plowman (14 years) and Hudson Sheehan (TSS, 13 years) had success.

Brisbane Grammar School's Harry Steindl won the 16 years 50m Freestyle.

In the 16 years 100m dash Thomas Connellan (Nudgee) beat TSS opponent Cammeron Bradburn while Felix Wilson (Terrace, third) had the Terrace crowd cheering.

It was a great race in the 100m open, with Nudgee again prevailing, this time when Dylan Andrea pushed ahead of BSHS’s Alex Fahey and Flynn McGregor (TSS).

When the 50m breaststroke swung around, BGS’s was in the placings again - this time with a second place by Max Gao behind BSHS’s Taoso Taoso.

Terrace were among the medals.

The 14 years breaststroke was claimed by Churchie’s William Shepherd-Smith - who would later win the butterfly - and the 15 years by BSHS’s Jack Geyer who won a thriller ahead of Ed Rimmington (BGS) and Isaac Wilson (Terrace).

Brisbane Grammar School enjoyed a 16 years relay win.

BGS continued its success with Josh Anderson winning a high class 16 years race, pipping Felix Wilson (Terrace) and Nudgee’s Aidan Easton, while TSS claimed the open event courtesy of Flynn McGregor from Nudgee’s Finlay Schuster.

Tom Sands of Nudgee after his win.

Shepherd-Smith (Churchie) struck gold again in the 14 years butterfly, while Nudgee picked up valuable points courtesy of wins from Blake Turner (15 years butterfly) and Thomas Sands (16 years butterfly).

Just ahead of the defining relays, Nudgee’s Connellan was on the podium again after winning the 16 years 200m freestyle.

BBC had relay success at the championship.

There was some success for Toowoomba Grammar School, with Kayden Gibson winning the 13 years 50m butterfly and William Salmond finishing second in the 100m open butterfly.

TGS had more to cheer about when the school’s relay boys finished third in the medley.

There was a lovely touch late in the meet when retired GPS sporting doyen and Brisbane Grammar School legend Ron Cochrane was warmly cheered by his old school’s cheer squad.

The Brisbane Grammar School rise to Ron Cochrane.

“Ronnie, Ronnie’’ they chanted as Cochrane made his way from one side of the pool to the other to say hello to the BGS swimming coaches.

Brisbane Boys College finished the meet with a flurry of success in the relays as its team enjoyed another splendid meet, with the open 6x50m record nice icing on the cake.