Day 2 of the 2023 Hancock Prospecting State Championships continued with record-breaking performances.
Maeve McKenna (Fenix, c: Deb Jones) kicked off the night with an incredible performance in the Women’s 200m Breaststroke, clinching the gold with an impressive time of 2:34.02. Lucy Porter (St Hilda’s, c: Zoe Baker) secured second place and shattered the 15 and 16 years WA Residential Record, while Sienna Hepworth (Southside Penrhos, c: Nick Watkins) claimed the third spot.
The Men’s 200m Freestyle saw Alec Mander (South Shore, c: Matt Magee) dominating the race, finishing with a commanding lead at 1:49.44. Tex Cross (Highlanders, c: Ryan Steenkamp) and Kyle Lee (North Coast, c: Ian Mills) followed suit, with Cross breaking his own 16 years WA Residential Record from the heats, dropping 0.89 at night. Cross is undeniably a record-breaking machine, continuously rewriting records on only the second day of the competition.
Sylvia Czajko (UWA West Coast, c: Rob Palfery) showed her lightning speed in the Women’s 50m Freestyle, securing gold with a time of 25.64. Breaking the 15 and 16 years WA Residential Record set in the heats, Czajko left the competition in her wake. Breakers/WAIS teammates Iona Anderson and Alyssa Burgess followed closely behind, both staying within the 25-second mark.
In the Men’s 50m Breaststroke, World Record holder Joshua Yong (UWA West Coast/WAIS) broke the open WA Residential Record in the heats with a time of 27.59. Yong continued his exceptional performance in the finals, securing gold, while Matthew Loffler (Riverton, c: Gemma Herrington) and Joshua Nowrojee (UWA West Coast, c: Rob Palfery) claimed second and third positions, respectively.
The Women’s 400m Freestyle witnessed an intense battle, nevertheless Inez Miller (Fenix, c: Deb Jones) pushed forward in the last 50m seizing gold with a time of 4:21.51, shaving off an impressive five seconds from the heats. Charlotte Ericksen (Breakers, c: Harry Clark) and Helen Smith (Highlanders, c: Ryan Steenkamp) secured second and third places in this closely disputed race.
Samuel Hicks (Westside Christchurch, c: Jon Harrison) dominated the Men’s 100m Backstroke, clocking in at 59.10, while James Hansford (UWA West Coast, c: Rob Palfery) and Westside Christchurch’s Thomas Michael secured second and third positions, respectively.
Iona Anderson (Breakers/WAIS) continued her winning streak in the Women’s 100m Butterfly, securing gold with a time of 1:01.13, followed by Neeve Fasher (St Hilda’s, c: Zoe Baker) and Sarah Overheu (Westside Christchurch, c: Jon Harrison) in the subsequent positions.
The morning session featured the Men’s 800m Freestyle, where Johann Szymanski (Highlanders, c: Ryan Steenkamp) secured gold with a time of 8:04.63, breaking his 18 years WA Residential Record. Highlanders’ teammate Tex Cross claimed second place, breaking the 16 years WA All Comers, All Time and Residential Records, and Robbie Bonsall (North Coast, c: Ian Mills) secured the third position.
In the multi-class events, Paralympians Ben Popham S9 (Highlanders/WAIS) and Alex Saffy S10 (Bunbury/AIS) engaged in a competitive 50m Freestyle, with Popham clinching gold and Saffy securing silver.
In the Women’s 100m Freestyle Multi-Class, Rebekah Fraser S15 (Riverton, c: Gemma Herrington) stood out, dropping 2.31 seconds to secure gold in the 13-17 years age group. Southside Penrhos’ Jessica Louw S19 and Bunbury’s Bel Dabic S19 secured silver and bronze, respectively. In the open category, UWA West Coast’s Tegan Reder S11 claimed gold, while Kate Wallington S19 secured second place.
