C Division ACC Swimming Carnival in Perth

The College’s top 70 swimmers travelled to HBF Stadium in Perth to compete in the ACC C Division Swimming Carnival, after a month of preparation that included early mornings and hundreds of laps.

It was a successful day with the MacKillop students hopping on the bus at 5am ready to give their full effort. The girls were extremely competitive, with Senior students Beige Harris, Niamh Jury and Brooke Gibson strong throughout the day. Maddison Johnston-Walker was joined by our newest addition to the swim squad, Lauren McGregor, in racking up some impressive results in the U17 Girls, including winning the Freestyle Relay, which helped to bring home the Senior Girls Division trophy. Maddison also earned Runner-up Age Champion with three second places and a third in her individual races.

Angus Johnston-Walker, Ryan van den Berg and Archie Culnane muscled up against some tough competitors in the Senior Boys division. Along with Charlie Plester, Nathan Bell and Justin McClurg, they were also outstanding role models for the younger students, both in and out of the pool.

Our younger students showed plenty of courage throughout the day with some outstanding swimming from the likes of Rylee Williamson, who had an impressive win in breaststroke and second in butterfly to earn Runner-up U14 Female Age Champion. Marc Aquino, Liam Mills, Caillin Thompson, Tenille Pavlinovich, Noah Bates, Sabella Banks, Taye Wright, Zac Beers and Lillia Triffitt also put in a full day of competing.

The team finished fourth overall. Many students managed personal best times, and Mr Culnane said all students should be congratulated for the efforts they put in on the day as well as their commitment to training sessions leading up to the event. This is a great result and a credit to the students as well as the outstanding coaching of Peter Pavlinovich and Mark Taylor. The school is so lucky to have such a wealth of knowledge and care that build our team from the ground up. Special thanks must also go to Mrs Janet Mullany and the Certificate in Hospitality students, who got up early to cook amazing breakfasts for the swim team after morning trainings.