THE 2024 School Sports Victoria state swimming championships, held at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre on Friday April 19 put on an awesome display of talent from Mansfield's young swimmers.

Leading the charge was Callum Logan-Williams from Mansfield Steiner School, who kicked off the event for Mansfield with a stellar performance in the boys 12-13yo 50m breaststroke.

Clocking in at 44.42 seconds, Callum's time closely mirrored his impressive time at Regionals, showing off his consistency and quiet determination.

Mansfield continued to make waves in the butterfly events, with Vivian Knight from Mansfield Primary School setting a personal best time of 47.16 seconds in the girls 9-10yo 50m butterfly.

Vivian is a pocket rocket to watch, taking on the same age group again next year.

In the boys 9-10yo 50m butterfly, Levi “Captain Levi” Seaton from Mansfield Steiner School stole the spotlight with a remarkable improvement, shaving off an impressive seven seconds from his previous time at Regionals.

Levi's big smile and commendable performance earned him a huge shout out from the crowd and commentators.

Up next was Kezi Wolfe from Mansfield Secondary College in the girls 12-13yo 50m butterfly, finishing strong and in with the best of the best in a very competitive age group. Kezi’s leadership both in and out of the pool as a mentor to the younger swimmers, shows what a supportive group of swimmers our town has – no kid misses marshalling on Kezi’s. watch.

The afternoon saw Mansfield Secondary College's four boys of Noah Langlands (backstroke), Lenny Gardner (breaststroke), Zac Hotton (butterfly) and Harris Kain (freestyle) take on the challenge of the 12-14yo 200m medley relay, with fast changeovers and a final time of two minutes and 40.69 seconds.

Their top eight finish is a testament to how well they worked as a team and supported each other through the levels of competition to reach this stage.

Qualifying for the State Championships in School Sports swimming is no easy feat, requiring top two performances at District and Division levels, and first place at Regionals to make it through.

What makes Mansfield's achievements even more remarkable is the limited access to training facilities on the lead up, with the local pool closing in March and Benalla being the closest year-round pool.

Despite these challenges, Mansfield's swimmers have consistently punched above their weight, with results to be proud of at state level.

The support from the community was fabulous, with cheers echoing into the SSV TV live stream audio from the stands (clearly audible as Mansfield crew) as classmates, family, friends, Mansfield Swimming Club and their coaches watched on.

Samuel Corden (Grade four teacher, Mansfield Primary School) said there was so much cheering from everyone in 4A and B who tuned into the live stream from the classroom.

The encouragement made their smiles even bigger and added to an incredible atmosphere on the day.

Well done Team Mansfield!