WORCESTER Swimming Club were dominant at the County Relay Championships in Wolverhampton.

They won the prestigious top club award by a clear margin from their local rivals.

Worcester claimed 22 gold medals across the age groups as well as setting a new county record in the women's medley and seven new championship best times.

The masters' events in combined age groups proved to be the most exciting with many settled on the last 25 metres.

First to strike gold for Worcester were the mixed masters team (combined age 101 to 139 years) with Alison Etheridge, Adam Wills, Alex Pritchard and John Pridden proving too strong in the freestyle.

Worcester also claimed gold in the medley in the age group through Dani Hunt, Dominque Allen, Joel Smith and Jamie Driscoll.

The winning girls' 15 to 16 medley team of Naomi Marsden, Lily Merrell, Charlotte Hall and Amber Harrison set a new championship best of two minutes 6.27 seconds.

In the nine to 10 year group the girls' quartet of Amelie Forsyth-Ball, Isobel Foster, Carmen West and Olivia Eggleton bagged a brace of golds in the medley and freestyle events.

The boys' team of William Pridden, William Thomas, Beau Vaughan-Hawkins and Harry Chandler claimed first place in the medley.

Worcester’s female masters’ teams won both the 101 to 139 and 140-plus combined age teams in both medley and freestyle events.

Pritchard and Etheridge were joined by Hunt and Allen to produce back-to-back wins in the 101 to 139 group.

Kate Lloyd, Emma Armstrong, Helen Annis and Elaine Hill won gold in the 140-plus medley with Sam Hill stepping in for Elaine Hill in the freestyle success.

Performance of the day came from the girls' 13 to 14 medley relay team in a nail-biting finish.

Jenny Gearey, Olivia Fletcher, Megan Annis and Josie Armstrong set a county record and championship best with a stunning team effort to take gold in 2.02.78.

The quartet also won the freestyle with another championship best of 1.52.90.

The boys' 13 to 14 group took two gold medals and created two new championship best times.

Daniel Day, Will Gearey, Matthew Richards and Alex Farmer won the medley (1.56.15) and freestyle (1.44.20).

Lauren Hill, Tabby Monkhouse, Caitlin Adair and Lucy Clayton won both golds in the 17 to 24 age groups relays.

It was a similar story for the boys' 17 to 24 quartet of Anthony Redfern, Alex Westwood, Ben Holmes and Sam Hall, claiming victories in the medley and the freestyle with a new championship best (1.38.11).

In the boys' 15 to 16 group Matthew Thomas, Harvey Lloyd, Aaron Cook and Kai Gooden-Morris took the win.

There was another gold for the men’s masters (101 to 139 years) through Smith, Driscoll, Wills and Pridden.

Malcolm Latta, Simon Richards, Paul Tainty and Andy Shepherd notched up more wins for the masters in the men’s 140-plus medley.

Worcester’s final gold came courtesy of the boys’ 11 to 12 medley relay thanks to David Annis, Henry Halford, Adam Rutter and Eddie Cox.

There were silvers for the mixed masters 140-plus (H Annis, Steve Yates, Sam Hill, Latta), boys' 15 to 16 medley (Thomas, Lloyd, Cook, Gooden-Morris), men’s masters 101 to 139 (J Pridden, Driscoll, Wills, Smith), girls' 11 to 12 medley (Aimee Monks, Lydia Cooper, Amelia Gearey, Lauren Annis), 11 to 12 freestyle (Monks, Cooper, A Gearey, L Annis), 15 to 16 freestyle (C Hall, Harrison, Merrell, Marsden) and men’s masters 140-plus (Tainty, Shepherd, Yates, Latta).

Bronzes went to the boys' 11 to 12 freestyle (Halford, Cox, Rutter, D Annis) and the mixed medley 140-plus (K Lloyd, S Richards, Tainty, E Hill).

Worcester head coach Mark Stowe said: “It’s always a fantastic achievement to win the top club accolade.

"There were so many great swims across the age groups and it was particularly pleasing to see the youngsters picking up golds in the nine to 10 category.

"Our masters showed they could all still swim at a high standard too.”