A TEAM of 10 young swimmers from Wangaratta Stingrays Swim Club will make the trip to Traralgon next weekend to compete in the 2024 Victorian Country SC Swimming Championships.

The swimmers qualified after performing exceptionally well at the Ovens and Murray District Swimming Association meet, held at Wangaratta last Sunday.

The squad of 10, all girls, will feature across a total of 29 swims, with the best and fastest among them set to take the next step in their swimming career.

Coach Gary Bowman said the group had some real talent, and it would be exciting to see how far they can go.

“We’ve built this group up, at least six of this group have been with me for four years, so they’re all coming into their own now,” he said.

“They range from 12 to 14 years of age, they went through COVID with a lot of others and they’ve come out strong – four years of training and they’re starting to hit their straps a little bit.

“This year and next year, we’re going to get some exciting results, we’re excited by what we think might happen.”

Bowman said the squad had been training hard for the 200m freestyle event, with several swimmers set to make their case for the podium.

“We’ve focused in training on the 200m freestyle this year, we’ve got six kids doing that out of 10,” he said.

“We’ve got a couple of girls from Rutherglen, Isabelle Daye and Alice Cunningham, both doing 100m and 200m freestyle.

“Eliza Looby, she’s 11 and she’s doing six events, the maximum she’s allowed to swim - I reckon she’ll get better each year.

“She’s got an older sister who probably didn’t have as much raw talent, Lexi Looby, but she’s a committed trainer and she has turned a rough but strong stroke into a smoother stroke.

“I’m pretty excited by what’s happening.”

Olympics-fever has taken hold of the club in the leadup to their meet, with the likes of Ariarne Titmus and Mollie O’Callaghan serving as true idols for the next generation of our nation’s swimmers.

“Mollie and Arnie are heroes to all of them,” Bowman said.

“I agree with the commentators and senior coaches, this is probably the best Australian swimming team that’s ever been put together, and some of them will be around for a while longer.

“All the kids are fired right up for it, they love it.

“We’re obviously hoping a bit of the excitement from the Olympics might get some kids to come down and try out with us.”

The Stingrays head to the Victorian Country Short Course Championships in Traralgon from Saturday, August 10 and Sunday, August 11.