The Junction's Kelsey Van Eldik and Merewether's Xander Murdoch will lead the charge when a strong Coast & Valley Swimming Association (CVSA) contingent compete at the NSW Country Short Course Championships at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre from Friday.
Sixteen-year-old Van Eldik (Charlestown Swim Club) and Murdoch, 10, (Hunter Swim Club) were stand-out performers at the CVSA Short Course Championships, held at Woy Woy from June 3 to 5.
Both set new CVSA records - Van Eldik in the 16-years girls 50-metre breaststroke and Murdoch in the 10-years girls 200m backstroke - and won multiple events to share the honour of being the carnival's top-scoring female swimmer of the meet.
The pair will be among 296 athletes from 15 CVSA clubs competing at the NSW Country titles, to be staged over three days, with an eye on the upcoming NSW senior and junior age championships in August and September respectively.
"I do a bit of everything but I like the 200m breaststroke and 400m Individual Medley," Van Eldik, who was a finalist in both events at the Australian age long course championships in Adelaide in April, said.
"This weekend I'm just aiming to keep getting better, improve my short course times."
CVSA's Heidi Tolar said the regional and NSW Country titles were important building blocks in the pathway for competitive swimming in Australia.
"We have a really strong talent pool at the moment with some of our young swimmers really starting to develop," Tolar said.
