Australian Age Championships: Night 7 Gold Rush For Macey Sheridan, Ike Martinez And Lillie McPherson
A fifth gold medal to Darwin’s unstoppable teen sensation Macey Sheridan and golden doubles to Rackley’s Ike Martinez and Manly’s Lille McPherson highlighted Night Seven of the 2023 Australian Age Championships on the Gold Coast tonight.
FLYING FISH: Manly’s Lillie McPherson on the fly as she takes her gold medal tally to four on the Gold Coast Photo Courtesy:Swimming Australia (Bec Ohlwein).
Five nights and five golds for 13-year-old Sheridan from the top end who added the 50m backstroke to her collection tonight in 25.59 – giving her the backstroke treble.
Sheridan, who has charmed the large crowd at the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre every night had already posted wins in the 100m backstroke in 1:03.69, the 200m backstroke in 2:19.70 as well s gold medals in the 50m freestyle in 26.63, and the 50m butterfly in 27.96.
And with the 100m freestyle and 200m individual medley to come there could be more gold to squeeze into her luggage when she heads home to Darwin with her glittering medal haul.
In what has been a non-stop week of swimming, Martinez showed just what digging deep is all about after backing up from his win in the 16-years 100m butterfly in 55.71, the former Cairns boy produced the finish of the night to claim the 400m freestyle in 3:57.16.
The butterfly saw Martinez fly to the wall as WA rival Sean Alcorn (Peel Aquatic) make a late surge before touching in second in 55.71 just ahead of QLD’s William Shepherd-Smith (Churchie, QLD) 55.84.
And with time ticking and a warm down beckoning, it was time to get set for not just any race but the 400m freestyle against tough NSW regional racer Oscar Kreutzberger (North Albury, NSW).
It was Kreutzberger who surged to the front down the final lap and looked to have the gold in his keeping until Martinez found one final surge to touch the wall in a frantic finish, stopping the clock in 3:57.16 to Kreutzberger’s 3:57.78.
Miami QLD’s Matthew Lowe took the bronze in 4:01.65.
And Manly’s pocket rocket Lille McPherson also chimed in for a slice of the action, adding her double to night in the 50m butterfly and 100m freestyle to her earlier wins in the 50m freestyle and 100m butterfly – give her four golds.
First up was the 50m butterfly in 27.50, just edging out Melbourne’s Sophie Jacka (27.65) and Lily Koch (MLC Aquatic, VIC) in 28.04, before taking the blue ribband 100m freestyle in 56.60 in a neck-and-neck shoot-out with Kaci Curtis (St Peters Western, QLD) 56.85 and Heli Childs (PLC Sydney, NSW) 57.55.
Her Manly team mate Joshua Kerr was also back on the podium, taking silver behind Miami’s Karl Albertyn who added the 400IM gold to his 200IM victory – taking the win in 4:24.03 to Kerr’s 4:27.98, ahead of SA’s Clancy Luscombe (Marion) in 4:29.03.
In another big night for the Sydney Northern Beaches, the versatile Luke Higgs, also lined up in the toughness stakes to add the 14-years 200m freestyle to his medal collection – taking the gold in 1:56.71, following his grinding win in last night’s 400IM and his silver in the 1500m freestyle.
While Bond breaststroker Gideon Burnes added the 17 years 50m breaststroke to claim the 50, 100 and 200m breaststroke treble to continue his rise towards the open ranks.
Burnes taking the gold in 28.84 from Christian Toia (SOPAC, NSW) in 29.55 and Ryan Cothill (Southport, QLD) 29.60.
2023 Australian Age Swimming Championships, Day 7, Finals
GIRLS
13 years
50m backstroke
- Macey Sheridan (Darwin, NT) 29.59
- Lily Yong (Woden Valley, ACT) 31.00
- Charu Croker (Good Shepherd, QLD) 31.49
200m freestyle
- Eloise McLellan (Somerville House, QLD) 2:07.70
- Indiana Vale (Narrabeen, NSW) 2:08.76
- Bridget Bass (SLC Aquadot, NSW) 2:09.02
50m breaststroke
- Lillia Ribot-de-Bressac (Newmarket Racers, QLD) 1:12.05
- Maya Zunker (Miami, QLD) 1:12.98
- Georgia Edwards (Sunshine Coast Grammar, QLD) 1:13.96
14 years
50m butterfly
- Lillie McPherson (Manly Swimming Club, NSW) 27.50
- Sophie Jacka (Melbourne, VIC) 27.65
- Lily Koch (MLC Aquatic, VIC) 28.04
100m freestyle
- Lillie McPherson (Manly, NSW) 56.60
- Kaci Curtis (St Peters Western, QLD) 56.85
- Heli Childs (PLC Sydney, NSW) 57.55
400m individual medley
- Ava Gaske (Chandler, QLD) 4:53.47
- Amelie Smith (Rocky City, QLD) 4:55.71
- Emily Holmes (Chandler, QLD) 5:02.71
15 years
100m butterfly
- Mikayla Bird (Bond, QLD) 59.90
- Olivia Hine (Somerville House, QLD) 1:00.85
- Isabella Osborn (MLC Aquatic, VIC) 1:01.25
50m breaststroke
- Hayley McKinder (Griffith University, QLD) 32.24
- Ava Rollason (Cruiz, ACT) 32.79
- Ella Mounter (Nuswim, NSW) 33.59
400m freestyle
- Piper Asquith (Griffith University, QLD) 4:19.34
- Alice Monaghan (Helensvale, QLD) 4:25.13
- Macy Beuzeville (Warringah Aquatic, NSW) 4:26.53
50m breaststroke
- Kyla Brown (Somerset, QLD) 33.22
- Audrey Dearling (Brisbane Grammar, QLD) 33.45
- Stella Stuart (Brisbane Grammar, QLD) 33.50
16 years
400m individual medley
- Taryn Roberts (Rocky City, QLD) 4:47.36
- Sally Vagg (Rocky City, QLD) 4:54.86
- Talika Irvine (Bay and Basin, NSW) 5:02.08
17 years
100m backstroke
- Semra Olowoniyi (DVE Aquatic, VIC) 1:02.74
- Tameeka Johnson (Sans Souci, NSW) 1:03.72
- Blake Millard (MLC Aquatic, VIC) 1:04.68
200m butterfly
- Bella Grant (Trinity Grammar, NSW) 2:10.47
- Bridie de Lutiis (Wests Illawarra, NSW) 2:18.81
- Ava Jankovic (Valley Aquatic, NSW) 2:19.33
BOYS
14 years
50m backstroke
- Henry Allan (Bendigo East, VIC) 27.89
- Logan Rieck (Norwood, SA) 28.00
- Lachlan Davies (Warringah, NSW) 28.11
200m freestyle
- Luke Higgs (Warringah Aquatic, NSW) 1:56.71
- Brody Steele (Kinross Wolaroi, NSW) 1:58.10
- Archer Mellifont (Marist College Ashgrove, QLD) 1:58.78
100m breaststroke
- Joshua Mason (Marist Brothers Ashgrove, QLD) 1:07.88
- Jonathan Leong (Geelong, VIC) 1:07.92
- Harry Heath (Nunawading, VIC) 1:08.45
15 years
50m butterfly
- Alexander Sillitoe (Southlake Dolphins, WA) 25.04
- Dylan Pieterse (Redlands, QLD) 25.32
- Cash Milner (Kincumber Pacific Dolphins, NSW) 25.35
400m individual medley
- Grayson Doig (Trinity Grammar, VIC) 4:39.68
- Ryan Bambach (Sunshine Coast Grammar, QLD) 4:40.31
- Hamish Robson (MLC Aquatic, VIC) 4:40.79
100m freestyle
- Kai Gilbert (St Peters Western, QLD) 52.04
- Hamish Mackellar (Sunshine Coast Grammar, QLD) 52.07
- Joshua Conias (Somerville House, QLD) 52.43
16 years
100m butterfly
- Ike Martinez (Rackley Swim Team, QLD) 55.71
- Sean Alcorn (Peel Aquatic, WA) 55.34
- William Shepherd-Smith (Churchie, QLD) 55.84
400m freestyle
- Ike Martinez (Rackley Swim Team, QLD) 3:57.16
- Oscar Kreutzberger (North Albury, NSW) 3:57.78
- Matthew Lowe (Miami, QLD) 4:01.65
50m breaststroke
- Albert Damin An (TAS Swimming, QLD) 29.67
- Edward Meddings (Ballarat Gold, VIC) 29.85
- Jacob Nimmo (Propulsion, VIC) 29.87
17 years
400m individual medley
- Karl Albertyn (Miami, QLD) 4:24.03
- Joshua Kerr (Manly, NSW) 4:27.98
- Clancy Luscombe (Marion, SA) 4:29.03
50m breaststroke
- Gideon Burnes (Bond, QLD) 28.84
- Christian Toia (SOPAC, NSW) 29.55
- Ryan Cothill (Southport, QLD) 29.60
18 years
100m backstroke
- Enoch Robb (All Saints, QLD) 55.43
- Fergus McLachlan (Bond, QLD) 55.94
- Anthony Boussounis (Surrey Park, VIC) 56.59