TORNADOES of South Dorset claimed the overall runner-up spot after the final round of the Dorset Novice League galas.

The third and final round of the competition saw the top six teams from the first two rounds meet at a packed Littledown Centre in Bournemouth.

The young Tornadoes went into the gala ranked second and were hoping for another sterling performance in what would be a very tough evening of racing.

With first places hard to come by, it took until the tenth race for Tornadoes to gain their first win, with Molly Frampton clinching the 10-and-under 50m freestyle in a personal best time.

This was followed five races later with Abigail Hamilton winning the 50m breaststroke in the 12-and-under group, again in a personal best.

With consecutive wins and personal best times in the 10-and-under 50m backstroke for Lizzy Gant and Max Richardson, the Tornadoes were starting to have a good evening.

James Faley was the final Tornado to gain an individual first place in the 11-and-under 50m butterfly, also in a lifetime best.

Two relay wins in the 11-and-under medley (Scott Greaney, Tabitha Samouelle, Phoebe Mills and Lee Penny) and the 12-and-under freestyle (Amy Jackson, Ollie Mills, Chloe Perkins and Max Richardson) meant that Tornadoes had gained seven first-place finishes for the evening.

Speeding tickets and personal best times were achieved by Lewis Limm in the 10-and-under 50m freestyle, Lee Penny in the 11-and-under 50m freestyle, and Abigail Hamilton in the 12-and-under 50m freestyle.

With a further 17 personal best times and 15 races ending in a top-three finish, it led to a final position of third on the night.

When all the points had been tallied Tornadoes ended up second overall, finishing behind the unbeaten Poole Swimming Club, with team captains Emma Perkins and Sam Allen collecting the runners-up shield from Dorset ASA president Gerry Griffin.

Delighted team manager Mikki Dashwood said: “Extremely impressed with how the team had swum throughout all three rounds and that they should be very proud of their second place overall.”

Personal best times

Sam Allen – 50m backstroke Jazmine Callaby-Jackson – 25m breaststroke

James Faley – 25m freestyle and 50m butterfly

Molly Frampton – 50m freestyle

Lizzy Gant – 50m backstroke

Scott Greaney – 25m backstroke

Abigail Hamilton – 50m freestyle and 50m breaststroke

Harry Hutchinson – 25m freestyle and 50m breaststroke

Amy Jackson – 25m freestyle

Phoebe Jones – 50m breaststroke

Lewis Limm – 50m freestyle

Ollie Mills – 50m backstroke and 25m freestyle

Luke O’Dowd – 50m breaststroke

Lee Penny – 25m freestyle and 50m freestyle

Chloe Perkins – 25m freestyle

Max Richardson – 50m backstroke and 25m freestyle

Freya Stanger – 50m butterfly

If anyone wishes to join Tornadoes of South Dorset to either learn to swim or swim competitively, then contact club secretary Sharon Howe via tornadoessecretary@btinternet.com to arrange an assessment.