PORT Macquarie Swimming Club coach Cheryl Neville admits she was a little bit surprised by the locals success at the North Coast championships last weekend.
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Phoebe Bentley, Nathan Smith and Zara Phillips were awarded age champions while Smith and Bentley combined with Mathilda King and Luke Mapstone to win the open mixed relay.
The carnival was postponed due to bushfires and smoke last November, but torrential rain meant numbers of competitors were also down at the new date.
"It was a big carnival, but there were a lot of kids missing because of the weather," Neville said.
"We went okay; Coffs Harbour won the pointscore, but we got second which surprised me a bit because of the lack of numbers that were swimming."
The main focus for most competitors was on securing a quick enough time to head to the country championships at Sydney Olympic Park in a fortnight.
"There was a lot of good swimming done in the younger age groups," Neville said.
"There were a couple of the kids who were competing for the first time and even if they didn't get the times, they still went well."
Swimmers will now look at progressing to the junior state titles at the end of March, while the national titles for under-13s to under-18s will be held in Perth in April.
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