DORSET achieved their best result for eight years to book a second consecutive year in Division One of the National County Team Championship.

Swimming against many bigger counties, Dorset finished 14th in Sheffield – 88 points clear of the four-team relegation zone.

It was Dorset’s second-best result since divisions were introduced in 1999 and the best since the 12th place achieved in 2009.

The county’s other five visits to Division One have ended in relegation while six of their 12 seasons in Division Two have culminated in promotion.

Coach Sam Woodward said: “The team felt a sense of pride at being involved in staying up in Division One.

“Captains Jazz McCrea and Jacob Peters and vice-captains Lottie James and Christian Tai led by example and were wonderful role models to a team which included 11 debutants.”

World junior finalist Peters provided Dorset’s only race win, taking the 16-17yrs 100m butterfly with 1.22sec to spare in 54.22.

He was also second in the 100m backstroke (54.23) and broke his 50m backstroke county record as he led off the boys’ 16-17yrs medley team in 25.25.

National age group champion Kayla van der Merwe also achieved a second place – in the 14-15yrs 100m breaststroke (1:10.49).

Girls’ captain McCrea, 15, broke two of former European Youth Olympics champion Amelia Maughan’s Dorset junior records with times of 57.48 in the 16-17yrs 100m freestyle and 26.49 on the lead-off leg of the 6x50m cannon relay.

She placed eighth in the individual freestyle and fourth in the 100m butterfly (1:02.37).

Amy Brown was fourth in the 12-13yrs 100m breaststroke (1:13.73) and seventh in the 100m backstroke (1:06.52).

Ella Chown was fifth in the 14-15yrs 100m butterfly while in the same age group for boys Finn Trehane and Oli Fairman were sixth in the 100m breaststroke (1:06.61) and 100m backstroke (1:00.26), respectively.

Alan Szczasiuk was eighth in the 12-13yrs 100m breaststroke (1:11.65).

Dorset’s best-placed relay teams were the 16-17yrs boys’ medley quartet of Peters, Kelvin Wong, Tai and Ben Samuel and the cannon team of McCrea, Szczasiuk, Brown, Chown, Trehane and Peters. Both were seventh.

Division One result: 1 Yorks 456, 2 Devon 435, 3 Lancs 423, 4 Scotland West 411.5, 5 Northumberland & Durham 401, 6 Kent 380, 7 Middlesex 374, 8 Leics 368, 9= Surrey 349, 9=Somerset 349, 11 Ox & N Bucks 312, 12 Essex 300.5, 13 Scotland East 300, 14 Dorset 296, 15 Suffolk 276, 16 Wales East 273, 17 Sussex 208, 18 Notts 194, 19 Hants 191.5, 20 Cheshire 186.5.

Poole have been confirmed as Southern Junior League champions four weeks after the final at Bristol.

They were promoted to title-winners following a points deduction for Swim Bournemouth for fielding an unregistered swimmer, only for Bournemouth to challenge the points reallocation.

Both teams were allowed to swim in last week’s national semi-final at Nuneaton but now only Poole appear in the results.

They finished fifth, one spot outside the top four teams, who progress to next month’s national final.

Poole’s nine-year-olds led the scoring with a win from the boys’ freestyle relay team of Ollie Small, Jack Barron, Mark Talalaykin and Jack Goddard and second places from Goddard in the 50m breaststroke and backstroke and Talalaykin and Isabella Evans in the boys’ and girls’ 50m freestyle.

Also second were Charlie Meek in the 11/u 50m freestyle and the boys’ 12/u freestyle team of Meek, Ryan Openshaw, Finley Chandler and Ethan Hiles.

Result: 1 Guildford City 241, 2 City of Derby 180, 3 Camden Swiss Cottage, 4 Leicester Sharks 165, 5 Poole 133, 6 UEA City of Norwich 117.