Pretoria Boys High School played host to the 2025 edition of the Tshwane Inter-High A-League Gala over the past week.
The event, which is usually hosted in the Hillcrest 50m pool, delivered some exceptional races, with Die Hoërskool Menlopark, Affies, Garsfontein, Midstream College, and Hoërskool Waterkloof among the competing schools.
The action kicked off with the 200m individual medley, and it was Waterkloof’s Emma Oosthuizen who shone in the u15 race with a time of 2:33.38.
Menlopark’s Jayden Ciampi took victory in the boys’ section in 2:23.86. He also won the 100m breaststroke in a hasty 1:10.57.
In the u16 section of the 200m IM, Hoërskool Zwartkop‘s Xandri Fourie was first in the girls’ race, recording a time of 2:26.59, while Zaine Niemand dominated the boys’ race, winning in an impressive time of 2:09.78.
The action, next, moved to the 200m freestyle.
Midstream College’s Kylie de Bruyn produced a fantastic time of 2:14.05 in the girls’ u15 event, finishing just ahead of Caitlin Crowther, from Affies Meisieskool.
Mila van der Linde won the u16 title, speeding to victory in a 2:09.41.
On the boys’ side, Troy Storm, from Pretoria Boys High School, swam 2:09.26 to claim the 200m honours ahead of Midstream College’s Trent van Reysen, who went on to win the 100m freestyle in 1:02.5.
It was, however, the boys’ u16 200m freestyle that delivered one of the best swims of the day. It came from Adrian van Wyk, who stopped the clock in a mind-boggling 1:51.86. That time would have been split seconds away from landing him a place in the final of the men’s 200m freestyle at the South African Short Course Nationals.
Smooth and controlled, the Midstream College swimmer made it look easy, finishing a full 10 seconds ahead of the field. Grant Lightening, from Boys High, took second in 2:01.25.
In the shorter freestyle distance, Emma Oosthuizen and Kato van Niekerk went head-to-head in the girls’ u15 100m. After a fantastic dice, Van Niekerk touched the wall first in 1:01.52, just 0.3s ahead of Oosthuizen.
Waterkloof’s Oosthuizen tasted victory in the 50m butterfly, however, while Van Niekerk went on to capture the 50m and 100m breaststroke titles.
While the individual races thrilled, the relays ratcheted up the excitement, with the schools contesting boys’ and girls’ 4x50m medley relays and 4x50m freestyle relays.
The final relay event, the 10 x 50m ladder relay, delivered a dominant victory from Midstream College, who won by almost a full length of the pool.
To finish off a fantastic afternoon of racing, the dash for cash saw nail-biting finishes.
In the boys’ race, Adrian van Wyk exhibited a phenomenal turn and underwater work, which launched him to a win over Christian Esterhuysen, who was left shaking his head in disbelief.
And on the girls’ side, Jana Vorster got the better of the field, coming from the outside lane to swoop in and claim the win.
Both Van Wyk and Vorster won themselves R500 vouchers for their speedy swims, courtesy of Safari Outdoor.
The Junior Victrix Ludorum was awarded to Kato van Niekerk, from Afrikaanse Hoër Meisieskool, while the Junior Boys’ Victor Ludorum went to Menlopark’s Jayden Ciampi.
Hoërskool Zwartkop’s Xandri Fourie lifted the Senior Victrix Ludorum title, and the Senior Victor Ludorum went to Midstream College’s Adrian van Wyk.
Tune in to “Swimming on 216″ this Sunday at 19:00 for more swimming news and action.
