BUCS Nationals took place in Sheffield in mid-February, and Stirling athletes put on a show. The University of Stirling sent athletes to compete in four different sports – athletics, badminton, mountaineering, and swimming.
Athletics
Stirling University Athletics Club won three medals at the BUCS Indoor Championships.
Ryan Martin took home the gold in the 1,500m race, with the season’s best time of 3:46.94. Sofia Videk came second in the 800m event with a personal best time of 2:05.42. Stirling’s last podium place came from Cameron Thores who placed third in the T4 60m Ambulant event, with a time of 7.60.
Badminton
Stirling University Badminton Club sent seven athletes to BUCS Nationals.
Amber Tan and Valentina Carrier represented Stirling in the women’s singles. Amber made it to the final eight, before a loss in the quarter finals, and Valentina lost after a close loss in a three set match.
Jane Scott competed with Amber in the women’s doubles, where their strong performances over the BUCS year seeded them at 17/32.
Blair Spence, Thomas Calder, and Ciar Pringle competed in the open singles, with Thomas making it to the final 32, and Blair making it to the last 16.
Thomas and Ciar were paired up in the open doubles, alongside Blair who was partnered with Ruaridh Leck. Thomas and Ciar made it to the last 32 pairs with a close loss to a dominant University College London team.
The mixed doubles teams were made up of Ciar and Amber, Thomas and Jane, and Ruaridh and Valentina. After competing until 10:15pm on the Saturday, Ciar and Amber made it to the quarter finals on Sunday morning, where they lost a close match to Loughborough.
Mountaineering
Stirling University Mountaineering Club sent five athletes to BUCS Nationals, three of whom were competing nationally for the first time.
Stirling’s Ben Carrigan placed 91st in the men’s competition, an impressive ranking as he was competing against team GB members and Olympic level climbers. Sam Bryson also competed in the mens competition, placing 213th.
In the women’s competition, Julia Ferris, Maria DeSilva, and Grace Gilligan placed 142nd, 178th, and 182nd respectively.
Swimming
Stirling Swimming hauled in a massive 22 medals at the BUCS Long Course Championships. Stirling finished the weekend with six gold, ten silver, and six bronze medals, second overall to Loughborough University.
Angharad Evans won every breaststroke event to solidify her position as the top female swimmer of the meet.
Mikhail Andriushkin set two new BUCS records in the S15 classification, finishing the Freestyle 100m in only 58.10 seconds, and the Freestyle 1,500m in 17:43.98.
Sam Downie also set a new BUCS record in the S10 classification, with a 100m Backstroke time of 1:10.95.
Three of Stirling’s six gold medals came from Evans in the 50m, 100m, and 200m breaststroke races. Stirling’s Female 400m Medley team, made up of Evans, Holly McGill, Lucy Grieve, and Evie Davis, gained Stirling their fourth gold of the competition.
Stirling’s relay teams continued dominating, winning gold in the Mixed 400m Medley, and Female 400m Freestyle. The mixed team was made up of Evans, Grieve, David Annis, and Evan Jones, and the female team contained Davis, Grieve, Melissa Turnbull, and Suzie McNair.
Evie Davis (50m and 100m freestyle), Evan Jones (200m Freestyle, 200m Individual Medley), and Lucy Grieve (50m and 100m Butterfly) each took home two silver medals. David Annis (100m Backstroke), Suzie McNair (400m Individual Medley), and George Smith (400m Individual Medley) all placed second. Stirling’s Male 400m Medley Team, made up of Annis, Jones, Rafe Dobson, and Andrew Bertolli, took home Stirling’s final silver.
Stirling went home with five individual bronze medals, and one relay medal. Davis came third in the 200m Freestyle, McGill in the 200m Backstroke, McNair in the 200m Individual Medley, Dobson in the 50m Breaststroke, and Jones in the 200m Backstroke. Stirling’s Men’s 400m Freestyle Team, comprised of Jones, Smith, Arun Oelkers, and Josh Denholm, took home Stirling’s final medal.
Image Credit: Adam Bates, BUCS.
Student journalist and Sports Editor for Brig Newspaper
