A phenomenal 13 first place finishes helped Modernians SC to second place in round one of the of the National Swimming League.

They finished behind Notts Leander, but beat local rivals Wellingborough, as Modernians also secured 16 second place finishes and 12 thirds in the 50-event gala at the Waendel Leisure Centre.

The U11 and U13 teams both put in solid performances, while the U15 and Open teams often found themselves battling it out with Notts Leander for first place in each event. Once all the results from this national competition have been filed, a draw will be made for the second round on Saturday, November 8.

Meanwhile, a small squad of Modernians competed at the annual Leicester Penguins meet Charlotte Ovenden led the way with four first places, Sam Briggs claimed three firsts and a second, Lucy Churchill-Coleman won two and David Carline and Nuala Maher registered one victory each.

Tom Langford had a great weekend, setting personal bests in all seven of his events, Cameron Howe followed this by setting five, Lucy Charman four bests and Jamie Douglas, Valentina Hargrave and Josh Steel all set three each.

Hayley Alcock set new benchmarks in two of her events as did Kelly Johnson, Nicholas Stalley and Andy Wheeler. Mel Carlisle-Moore and Ashley Wareing both set one apiece, while Stuart Kirk almost matched his best 50m backstroke time.

Modernians, meanwhile, achieved some excellent results at the seventh Bedford Aquathlon.

The quartet of Connor Delaney, Rhiannon McCaffray, Nicola Pasquire and Kerry Delaney all finished first in their respective age groups.

Henry Barrett finished in the runners-up spot in Year 9 while, in Year 8, Esme Fish was seventh and Joshua Briggs fourth.

In Year 7, Ben McMahon claimed a third place finish in the boys' event, a position that was matched by Catriona Delaney in the girls section. Hannah Goodway was sixth.

Eleanor Usher was third in Year 6, Molly Shaw was 12th and Michael Platt 11th for the boys.

In Year 5, Joseph Munno ended in third, Michael Sonsino in 14th and, in the girls, Amelia Sonsino came ninth.

Soline Fish and Erin McCaffray were third and fifth respectively in Year 4 while, in Year 3, Elena Tipton was second and Jamie McCaffray fourth.