The Inverell High School team of Ben Flood, Mackenzie Bailey Joe Butler and Hamish Migheli outswam the other eight teams in the event. Though they all knew each other from swimming carnivals, it was their first team effort.

Teacher Anne Migheli said to make it even more untenable, two of the Inverell swimmers don’t regularly train.

“So these four kids are going down competing against kids who might do ten sessions of training a week. And they did so well.”

“And some of these Sydney kids have been trained by Olympic-level coaches.”

The four all compete in the under 15s, but the open invitational is a special one-off event showcasing the fleetest in the zone. 

After the boys’ performance in the morning heat with a time of 2:04, Mrs Migheli said the North West zone nominated them for their designated lane and their result earned them the almost minute-long handicap.

The boys showed they were worth the gamble when Migheli hit the wall to finish in 2:01. He said the leader was 25 metres ahead of him when he dove in as fourth man. Migheli said he was surprised when they finished first.

“Cause the little kids was lot further ahead of me when I started, and I didn’t think I would catch him,” he said.

Mrs Migheli said the recent arrival of coach Kate Bell to Inverell has transformed local student swimmers. 

“The swimming club kids, every time they compete, they’re making a PB. Every carnival, every swim, PB.”