A 46 strong Lakelanders squad made the short trip to Omagh Leisure Centre to compete in the local derby Provincial Towns League gala against Strule Dolphins last Saturday and after a tightly fought contest they came away with a 617 to 527 victory. 
From the start, it was obvious that it was going to be a closely fought gala but that the Lakelanders had a slight upper hand over their Omagh neighbours and in the end, ran out winners with the score of 617 to Strule Dolphins 527. The Lakelanders opened up an eight point lead after the initial Medley Relays, and showed particular dominance in the Group D boys and girls.
In gold position for the Lakelanders in the Backstroke was Abigail Boyd, Ellie McCartney and Natasha Love while in the boys Jake Cadden, Ben Lynch and Cathal Burns all secured gold. 
PB’s from Niamh O’Donnell, Owen O’Donnell, Carla Jardine, Eimear Magee and Lewis McCartney were welcome bonuses for the Lakelanders in the Backstroke.
There was more dominance in the Breaststroke where the Lakelanders took 12 of the 16 first and second places available. 
For example, there was nothing to separate Abigail Boyd and Ciara O’Donnell who took first and second for the Group A girls finishing a full two seconds ahead of the third place swimmer for Strule. 
In total, 12 PB’s in the Breaststroke across all age groups shows the continued progress of the Lakelanders swimmers under the tutelage of Coach Rob. 
They were Ciara O’Donnell, Jake Cadden, Frank Buchanan, Maria Kelly-Neil, Tamileigh Gilmour, Sam Morrison, James Mongan, Ben Lynch, Luke Aiken, Annabel Morrison, Kealan McShea and Josh Man. 
At the end of the Breaststroke, the Lakelanders had opened a commanding 48-point lead over their neighbours.
That lead was further stretched to 74 points after the Butterfly and Freestyle where strong swims from Ellie McCartney, Niamh O’Kane, Jamie Lannon, Jake Cadden, Oisin McManus and Cathal Burns all collected gold for the Lakelanders. 
Butterfly PB’s were recorded by Eloise Boyd, Jamie Lannon, Tom Buchanan, Niamh Cassidy, Jake Cadden, Frank Buchanan, Caitlin Martin, Cathal Burns and Connor McKenzie. One hundredth of a second separated Cathal and Connor, the two Group D boys in a swimming tour de force as they both broke through the 29 second mark for the first time in times of 28.97 and 28.98 respectively. 
Abigail, Ellie, Jamie, Ben and Cathal all took gold in the Freestyle, Cathal recording the fastest time in the pool on the night (26.35).
Freestyle PB’s included Kate McDade, Austin Cassidy, Ciosa McConnell, Niamh Cassidy, Jake Cadden, Frank Buchanan, Owen O’Donnell, Tamileigh Gilmour, Ben Lynch, Caitlin Martin and Lewis McCartney.
Toughest of all events on the night was the Individual Medley, and again the Lakelanders excelled. 
Wins for Abigail, Ellie, Sorcha, Jamie, Jake, Oisin and Cathal with second place finishes for Anna Cairns, Tara McKenzie, Rachel Evans, Ben Lynch and Kealan McShea ensured the fate of the gala was sealed in favour of the Lakelanders as the gap stretched to 98 points. 
Individual Medley PB’s went to Eloise Boyd, Jamie Lannon, Oliver Mooney, Jake Cadden, Frank Buchanan, Tara McKenzie, Sarah Harte, Ben Lynch, Luke Aiken, Cathal Burns and Kealan McShea. 
The evening finished off with the Freestyle heats where gold went to Group B and D girls and Group D boys.
The MVS (Most Valuable Swimmer) award for the girls goes to Ellie McCartney who collected the maximum of 63 points for her seven first place finishes in the seven events she competed in, with a notable mention going to Abigail Boyd for her four first and three second place finishes who along with other P7s have been concentrating on transfer tests. 
For the boys, Cathal Burns won all six events he competed in on the day collecting the maximum 56 points from six swims. 
Special mention also to Ellie Dunlop who swam in her first competitive team gala as well as James Mongan and Austin Cassidy who were more than happy to swim up in older groups to contribute to relay team points. The committee would like to thank sincerely the parents and volunteers who made the trip to
Omagh on Saturday for the team event, without whom these events just wouldn’t happen. We acknowledge the time, effort and money it takes to give that commitment, but I am sure you all agree, the benefits in physical and emotional health as well as self-esteem, discipline and team ethics it brings to the young swimmers far outweighs any costs.