St. Peters Lutheran College of Queensland, Australia, won the 21st Associated Independent Colleges (AIC) Swim Championships that took place over the weekend. Taking place at the Sleeman Sports Complex, St. Peters scored a total of 558 points to beat out runner-up Ashgrove, who raced its way to 491.5 points. Iona rounded out the top 3 teams with its haul of 477.5 points. This year represents St. Peters 3rd consecutive overall team trophy.
Photo: St. Peters Lutheran
Michael Pickett broke the AIC Records in both the 50m and 100m open freestyle events. The New Zealander touched the wall in a time of 22.66 in the 50m and 50.68 in the 100m, with the times doubling as the Kiwi Age Group Records for 16-year-olds. He held the previous records as well, with respective marks of 22.86 and 50.77.
Both of his performances this week beat out the times Pickett put up at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games. At that competition in Buenos Aires, Pickett produces a time of 22.98 in the 50m and 50.86 in the 100m to finish 10th and 15th overall, respectively. Pickett is a member of New Zealand’s ‘Gold’ Development squad.
Per Andrew Dawson’s reporting, Pickett was also a member of St. Peters’ AIC-record-breaking 4x50m freestyle relay, along with Bailey Farris, Ethan Banks and Dixon Ho.