Team STARplex steps up on the National stage

20 Apr

What a Nationals for Team STARplex!

Across the championships, we had 12 swimmers compete in 41 events, walking away with:

3 gold medals
1 silver medals
8 A Finals
5 B Finals
20 PBs
17 top 20 finishes

This marks one of STARplex’s strongest years yet and reflects the continued growth and depth of our team.

Kicking off our Nationals campaign was Paige Duffy in the Australian Age Multi Class Championships. Paige made finals in all of her events, claiming an incredible 3 gold and 1 silver medals, alongside multiple PBs. Paige also achieved S14 state records in her 100m breaststroke, 200m IM and 50m butterfly events. A standout performance which set the tone for the rest of the championships – well done Paige.

Our Open swimmers were next to dive in. James McKechnie and Josh Palmer raced strongly across the breaststroke events, both making the B Final in the 50m breaststroke. Ethan Herbst put together a great swim in the 100m butterfly, finishing with a well-earned PB.

Our National Age team of eight then took on the Gold Coast.

Cody Charleson showed great patience and professionalism across the meet, waiting until day eight to begin his individual campaign. Cody delivered when it counted with a breakthrough swim in the 200m freestyle, going sub-2:00 and securing a PB.

Kegan Coulter had an outstanding campaign, recording PBs in five events. Highlights included a 3-second PB in the 200m IM to finish 16th in a strong field. Kegan also played a key role in both club and state relays, including a 4th place finish in the state mixed medley relay, narrowly missing a medal by 0.07 and setting a new state record.

Miella Curthoys-Davies delivered consistent performances across her four events, highlighted by a 12th place finish in the 200m IM, narrowly missing the final.

Club Coach and swimmer Isabella Dowler raced in the 50m breaststroke against a tough field, putting in a great effort to finish 43rd.

Patrick Herbst produced a solid swim in the 100m butterfly, finishing 45th, and played a key role in the state freestyle relay team that placed 5th.

Cameron Hudson delivered a big program and came away with PBs in the 100m freestyle, 200m IM, and 50m butterfly, showing great progression. Most notably, Cameron placed 20th in the 200m IM and 22nd in the 100m butterfly against a strong field.

Maxx Shi competed across four events, making B Finals in both the 50m and 100m breaststroke. He also secured PBs in the 50m and 200m breaststroke, and notably recorded the 7th fastest 50m breaststroke time by an Australian in the 15-year-old finals.

Ewan Stubbings had a standout first Nationals, making 3 A Finals and 1 B Final. His highlights included a 6th place finish in the 50m butterfly and 7th in the 100m freestyle. Ewan also contributed to multiple SA relay teams, including the 14&U mixed medley and freestyle relays, both of which set new state records.

An incredible fortnight of racing, learning, and stepping up when it mattered. Well done to all.