A teenager from Southampton took the silver medal at the Amateur Swimming Association National Novices Championships, held at Plymouth's Central Park Pools last week.

Sixteen divers from Southampton Diving Academy took part in the championships, with Dayne Mulford,15, taking the only medal.

Despite opening with a very disappointing dive, Dayne steadily worked his way up through the field to secure a comfortable second place. His background in gymnastics supported him well in tackling his new sport.

"This was an excellent result for Dayne," said coach, Ellie Clewlow. "He is now making good progress with his diving and his recent dedication to training really paid off."

Other high scorers on the day were Ellie Hill (12), Lucy Winch (10), Emily Jones (11), Kate Hicks (10) and Max Brick (10). In addition, on the basis of his performance, Max Brick was chosen to take part in testing for selection to the World Class Start programme.

Senior coach for the trip Chris Jenkins was delighted with how the team performed. "Despite the pressure of taking part in a national competition away from home there were some excellent performances from the team," she said.

RESULTS:

Emily Batt 7th; Stephen Lingard 10th; Ciaran Allen 11th; Dayne Mulford silver; Ellie Hill 10th; Emily Jones 20th; Emily Burden 27th; Danielle Robinson 29th; Chesca Ferguson 30th; Max Brick 21st; Jack Howsham 32nd; Lucy Winch 15th; Kate Hicks 16th; Ruth Ingamells 23rd; Sam Colmer 21st; Erin Marshall 34th.