The swimmers joined a field of 137 competitors on Saturday in perfect conditions, with the Horsham team building on its close win over Donald in the previous meeting.

The Sharks finished the meeting on 554 points, well clear of Donald, which had 336.5.

Stawell, 343, finished second, barely pipping Ararat, which finished fourth on 310.

St Arnaud, 254, narrowly finished ahead of Warracknabeal, 227.5, while Ballarat Gold and Red Cliffs were seventh and eighth with 49 and 23 points respectively.

Racing was competitive all day, with two races seeing equal placings awarded due to close finishes.

In the girls 16-years and over butterfly race, Warracknabeal’s Nikki Fleming and Donald’s Jess Philips shared second place with a time of 38.74 seconds. 

In the girls open 50-metre butterfly, Fleming was again tied, this time finishing equal first alongside Donald’s Chloe Rymer, with both recording a time of 38.20.

The Leigh Amos Memorial Trophy for the best male and female swimmer across four strokes for 12-13-year-olds was won by Horsham duo Tom Castine and Montanna Connelly.

Swimmers will continue their district 12 season on Saturday when Ararat Swimming Club hosts its meeting at Stawell Leisure Centre.