2025 Secondary Swimming Carnival results

A new venue, record-breaking performances and three-peat champions – the 55^th annual Secondary Swimming Carnival had it all.

The sun was shining and the racing was fast and furious at Unley Swimming Centre on Friday, Blackfriars’ first outdoor carnival since before the roof was put over the old Adelaide Aquatic Centre in 1985.

The boys from Aquinas/Horten made it three-in-a-row, taking the win from Denifle/Jarrett. At the end of the day, there were 85 points between the top two teams, but the lead had changed throughout the day, with, at one stage, the gap just three points.

Alexander Ward (Horten) was the U15 champion. Picture: Kelly Barnes

The standout performance of the day was the Open 4x50m freestyle relay, with Denifle/Jarrett (1:53.49) – Matthew Brown, Nathan Bishop, Antony Barresi and Lewis Pinyon – absolutely smashing the record set by De Vitoria (2:00.12) back in 1990.

Matthew Brown (Denifle) also added his name to the record book, breaking the Open 50m butterfly record (27.67), bettering the mark set by Lucas Ciacciarelli (Denifle) in 2012 (27.88).

Fittingly for such a close contest, the boys from Aquinas/Horten and Denifle/Jarrett played out a draw in the Open water polo competition.

Kian Leonard (De Vitoria) was the U16 champion. Picture: Kelly Barnes

Final points score

Aquinas/Horten – 1113
Denifle/Jarrett – 1028
Burke/Lacordaire – 836
De Vitoria/Lagrange – 739

Age champions and runners-up

Open

Matthew Brown (Denifle)
Hugh Caton (Burke)
Antony Barresi (Denifle)

U16

Kian Leonard (De Vitoria)
Alexander Frith (Aquinas)
Aedan Ryan (Aquinas)

U15

Alexander Ward (Horten)
Daniel Pham (Lagrange)
Lachlan Sutton (Denifle)

U14

Jack Galkowski (Horten)
Alexander Semcesen (Horten)
Brody McCauley-Holliday (De Vitoria)

U13

Ethan Le (De Vitoria)
Joshua Vu (Jarrett)
Harry Kerr (Lagrange)

Thank you to old scholar Noah Caton (BPS’21), who still holds three school swimming records, for presenting the medals to our age group champions and the Cup to Aquinas/Horten.

Principal David Ruggiero said the Secondary Swimming Carnival was a fitting way to kick off inter-House sport for 2025.

“A swimming carnival is more than just a day of races – it’s an opportunity for our school community to come together, support each other and create lifelong memories,” Mr Ruggiero said.

The swimming action continues later this month, with a team of 21 Secondary boys contesting the SSSSA A-grade competition at the SA Aquatic & Leisure Centre on Monday 24 February.