WARRNAMBOOL super fish Isaac Jones headlined the Warrnambool Swimming Club's assault at the Victorian Age Short Course Championships in Melbourne on the weekend.
The 17-year-old returned home with three gold medals, five silver and a bronze. His success comes on the back of nine gold medals and a silver in the open and 16-17 years section at theVictorian Country Short Course Championships at Wangaratta last month.
Jones' clubmates Blake Turner, Fraser Harrison, Kirra Umbers, Lainey Miller, Brittney Berger and Grace Tanner all had top-10 finishes at the carnival, which featured some of the state's best young swimmers.
Coach Josh Sobey said for Jones, the weekend wasn't just about his medal haul.
"His medals are obviously a big achievement and the most noticeable things to come out of the meet," Sobey said.
"But the biggest thing for Isaac was the huge chunks he shaved off his personal best time.
"He took two or three seconds off his times over 100 and 200 metres. That's huge for a 17-year-old," he said.
Sobey said Jones had a bright future if he continued to do the 'hard yards'.
He said Jones' focus would now shift to a number of camps he had been invited to attend across the country.
"Then he will be back into pre-season training in the lead-up to the long course season which starts in December."
Sobey said all competitors should be proud of their performances over the weekend.
"It was the debut carnival for seven of our swimmers," he said. "All the competitors should be congratulated whether they made a final or not. They all made it to the state championships which is a huge effort," he said.
jwoolley@standard.fairfax.com.au