QGSSSA swimming: Mollie O leads Saints march - again
Cheering may have been subdued but St Peters Lutheran College potential Olympian Mollie O’Callaghan and Ella Ramsay got the show rocking at the QGSSSA swimming championship tonight.
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St Peters Lutheran College pair Mollie O’Callaghan and Ella Ramsay spearheaded their school to yet another QGSSSA swimming championship tonight.
Just five days after a Kai Taylor-inspired boys’ team ploughed St Peters to a fifth consecutive AIC swimming championships, the Saints’ girls squad matched them with another carnival victory.
With future Dolphin’s prospect O’Callaghan and elite age champion Ramsay firing on all cylinders, St Peters had enough in the tank, displaying depth across the divisions.
O’Callaghan broke the 50m 17 years QGSSSA record (25.84) and looked like she still wouldn’t blow out a candle after the race, so conditioned is she.
She then added the 100m 17 years record to her list of achievements, with a scorching schoolgirls time of 55.41.
Ramsay also equalled the QG 17 years 50m butterfly record, although records were not confined to St Peters, with Meghan Guthrie-Quinn (Clayfield College, 13 years) snapping a three year old QG record in the breaststroke.
The official points were:
Mollie Gould Cup (aggregate)
St Peters Lutheran College 648, MBC 481, St Margaret’s 479.50, BSHS 450.50, BGGS 430, Somerville House 409.50, St Hilda’s 365, Clayfield College 281, St Aidan’s 220, IGGS 176.50
The crowds were in the stands despite a Queensland Health ruling not to cheer because of COVID-19 concerns - but in the end everyone let their hair down - just a little bit in what was a QGSSSA carnival with a difference.
St Peters, who were co-captained by Sophie Renton and Stef McCarthy, started strongly in the 4x50m medleys, and the team finished strongly in the 4x50m relays later in the evening as well.
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Saints claimed the 17 years, the 16 years, 15 years and 14 years medley relays before the Moreton Bay College team of Poppy Lind, Olivia Slater, Alannah Parkes and Charlotte Cran broke through for first in the 13 years 4x50m medley.
St Margaret’s Anglican Girls’ School foursome of Polly Young, Annabel Taylor, Adel Kusztot and Samara Holmes then enjoyed first place in the 12 years.
When it came to individual events, O’Callaghan claimed the open the open 200m freestyle from Somerville House’s Jaqueline Davison-McGovern and Hanna Allen (BSHS).
Another Saints big gun, Ramsay, then claimed her second, first placing of the event in the 100m open breaststroke while St Margaret’s Isabella Martin (open butterfly) and Tylah Crabtree (St Hilda’s, 200m IM) were first.
There was a thrilling moment for Clayfield College supporters when, after seeing an earlier medley relay placing, they watched Emma Costello win the 12 years 50m freestyle Division A, while there was also a cheer for Ella Wohlsen in winning the 13 years B final for Clayfield College. Better was to come for Wohlsen.
To complete a nice patch for Clayfield College was the third place by Ava De Tina in the 14 years 50m Div A final, won by St Peters Lutheran College’s Ainsley Trotter.
St Margaret’s Anglican Girls’ School’s Cosette Cooke was then in blazing form, winning the 13 years Div A 50m final.
There was a great race in the 15 years 50m freestyle Div A when BSHS’s Hannah Allen claimed victory from St Peters’ Amelia Weber, with Francesca Chitukudza a close third for MBC.
A powerhouse win from St Margaret’s Sophie Martin in the 50m freestyle 16 years was a highlight - and it had to be a good swim to beat Claveria Johnson-Tiamalu (St Peters) who has a heart as big as Phar Lap.
Martin took no breaths - it was just a steam rolling effort up the pool to the winners post.
In the 50m 17 years freestyle won by O’Callaghan in record time, Clayfield College’s Brittany Courtney was second.
When the 50m breaststroke swung around, St Hilda’s Tribeca Liu (12 years), and Meghan Guthrie-Quinn (Clayfield College, 13 years), St Peters Hana Lingo (14 years), Stella Stuart (St Margaret’s, 15 years) and Bedggood (Brisbane Girls Grammar School) had wins, before Ramsay snared victory for St Peters in the 17 years breaststroke.
It was a nice moment for Bedggood after an earlier second placing.
In the butterfly, Somerville House got on the board with a wonderful win from Olivia Hine in the 13 years, while Ainsley Trotter (St Peter) came home strongly in the 50m 14 years butterfly.
The 15 years 50m butterfly then saw Clayfield College’s Stephen Poppy claim victory, while in the 16 years St Peters Mikhaila was on the podium again with a first placing.
St Margaret’s Isabella Martin continued her good meet with a second placing behind the powerhouse Ramsay (St Peters Lutheran College) who equalled the 17 years 50m QG butterfly record.
Clayfield College was having a fine meet, helped when Ema Costelli and Ella Wohlsen swept to victory in the 12 year and 13 years 50m backstroke events respectively, while Brisbane Girls Grammar School’s Ava Tran keeping her school tally ticking over in the 14 years.
St Peters kept pushing for victory when Jaclyn Barclay (15 years butterfly) pushed hard in her 50m, as did her club mate Semra Olowoniyi (16 years 50m backstroke) on the way to winning.
The exciting 100m freestyle saw St Hilda’s Tribeca Liu on the winners list again (12 years) with a QGSSSA record breaking effort, while St Margaret’s Cosette Cooke lifted (13 years) herself ahead of the pack.
Sophie Lambourne kept St Peters on the straight and narrow by winning the 14 years 100m dash, followed by another Saints win by Amelia Weber (15 years).
Sophie Martin and Claveria Johnson-Tiamalu were at it again going head to head, this time in the 16 years 100m won by Martin, although Tiana Kritzinger (Clayfield, second place) snuck ahead of third placed.
O’Callaghan then stood a delivered in the 17 years - and not only did she win it, she claimed a record.
St Margaret’s then started the 4x50m relay events with a grand effort in the 12 years, beating second placed St Peters. The winning team was Lauren Jarrett, Charlotte Perry, Lucy Lewis and Georgina Fitzgerald.
After finishing second in the 12 years, St Peters were back in the winners circle in the 13 years, with Van Romi, Emily Beest, Maddie Roberts and Grace Fiske getting the job done.
St Marg’s Cosette Cooke was one of the swimmers of the meet and she joined Bless Daly, Lucy Stuart and Georgia Bruce in winning the 13 years 4x50m relay.
St Peters showed its depth winning the 14 years B Divison in record time, then claiming Division A after Trotter, Kate Nankervis, Gemma Glen and Siena Nicholson got to work.
St Peters also won both Division A and B 15 years 4x50m, and the Division 16 relay when Johnson-Tiamalu, Olowoniyi, Flint and Bridget Dennis got cracking.
O’Callaghan put the after burners on to then ensure the St Peters 17 years freestyle relay team of Stef McCarthy, Mia Collins and Lara Owen had a win, and again in the Brockway Cup when O’Callaghan teamed with Ramsay and co.
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