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TigerSharks claw to top in Metro meet

Left: Bridget Bicsak and Elise Corbett led the TigerSharks’ female charge at the event.Left: Bridget Bicsak and Elise Corbett led the TigerSharks’ female charge at the event.

By Marc McGowan
THE junior Casey TigerSharks ran rampant at the 7-to-10 Metro Finals at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre (MSAC) on Sunday.
As part of the triumphant Metro South squad, the TigerSharks recorded five individual first placings, a second and two thirds.
Four of the victories came from seven-year-old prodigy Jake Duggan, who won each of the four strokes in his age group.
The closest a rival got to him was in the 50-metre butterfly, where Metro North’s Matthew Temple was a touch under five seconds behind.
Arnon Lodder, 10, registered the other win for the club in the 50m breaststroke.
Further demonstrating the quality of Casey’s performance was that nine swimmers had at least one top-10 finish.
TigerSharks head coach Ben Hiddlestone was beaming with pride after the unofficial state championships for individuals aged between seven and 10.
“It was great. I didn’t really know how the young ones would go against the other clubs in metro Victoria,” he said.
“There were not as many PBs (personal bests) as I would have liked, but it was a lot of the swimmers’ first main meet at MSAC.
“It’s a 10-lane, 50m pool, which makes it look longer, and there were plenty of nerves, but in terms of how they raced against the other kids, they did a really good job.”
Due to Duggan’s tender age, Hiddlestone is always keen to keep a lid on his achievements, but even he was taken aback by the youngster’s weekend efforts.
“Jake’s been winning everything in his age group and he’s up there in times in the eight-and-under and nine-and-under events, too,” Hiddlestone said.
“I even looked at the 7-to-10 Country results and he’s 10 seconds ahead of them as well.”
Arguably the most impressive solo display came from nine-year-old Jake Templar, who came third – only three-tenths of a second behind the winner – in the 50m breaststroke despite losing his goggles in the dive off the blocks.
“Jake Templar did a good job because his goggles came down around his neck,” Hiddlestone said.
“That’s the kind of stuff kids come away from the meet with. Some kids dive in and their goggles come off and they get out crying.
“Jake kept going and did a good job. The message there is don’t get flustered by little things.”
The Metro Finals are the highlight of the season for Casey’s young troops, but they still have many encouragement and interclub meets to look forward to.
“This is the major meet for them, which is good because they can go and have a break at Christmas now if they want,” Hiddlestone said.

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