The rescheduled Associated Independent Colleges Swimming Championships were held at the Brisbane Aquatic Centre on Friday 21 March. The carnival was rescheduled after Tropical Cyclone Alfred impacted the south-east Queensland around the initial championship date. After 123 events, many only decided by the smallest of margins, St Peters Lutheran College were crowned AIC Secondary Swimming Champions for a 9th consecutive year. In the primary school championship, Marist College Ashgrove claimed the aggregate shield in a very close contest.

Secondary Competition

The Secondary Championship was an exciting contest with St Peters and Marist College Ashgrove continuing their strong swimming rivalry with both schools claiming early victories in the Medley Relay events. The competition between the two schools, who have now collectively won 26 of the 27 AIC Swimming Championships contested, were neck and neck for most of the evening. St Peters held a narrow 10-point lead at the halfway mark of the championships. A strong display from St Peters in the final Freestyle relays that included breaking 3 AIC Championship Freestyle Relay Records allowed St Peters to pull away and record their 9th consecutive championship and their 13th overall title- moving equal with Marist College Ashgrove in sharing the honour of the school with the most AIC Secondary Swimming Championships. Villanova and Iona fiercely fought out the battle for 3rd place throughout the evening with the boys from Coorparoo claiming the ‘bronze medal’ by a narrow 5.5 point margin.

St Peters’ Boys Sport Coordinator, Mr Dan Fraser reflected on the achievement. “The swimming aggregate is a testament to the overall strength of our program and the tireless hard work our swimmers across age groups and divisions who year-round  push themselves to continue to be the best they can be. The success of the program has been built over many years and is down to the dedication of students, coaches, and staff.” Mr Fraser said.

The contest for the individual ‘Age Group’ trophies were incredibly close throughout the evening, highlighted by the 13 Years and Open Divisions. In the 13 years division, 4 schools were a huge chance of winning the trophy going into the final race- the Division 1 – 4 x 50m Freestyle. In an incredible finish to the event, the Marist College Ashgrove team were able to win the event by an incredibly small margin (0.04 sec) and subsequently win the division by only 2.5 points. The Open Division also came down to the final race of the evening with St Peters and Marist College Ashgrove dueling it out throughout the night. In a race that will be remembered for many years to come, that included a number of lead changes between the two schools, the St Peters team touched narrowly (0.22 sec) in front of the boys from Ashgrove to claim the trophy.

Mr Fraser celebrated his Open Swim Teams achievement as well as acknowledging the strength of the AIC competition. “Our Open Swimmers managed to capture the Open division again in 2025 with some extraordinary individual and relay swims. With several tight races in the Open division St Peters had to fight for every point and to record a narrow win on the night, a clear testament of the strength of the AIC Swimming Championship.” Mr Fraser said.

In an outstanding effort, St Peters claimed 5 out of the 6 Secondary Age Group Trophies- 12 Years, 14 Years, 15 Years, 16 Years and Open. Marist College Ashgrove claimed the 13 Years Trophy.

AIC Swimming Championships – Secondary Aggregate Points

Primary Competition

Having the Primary Championship run in conjunction with the Secondary Championships is relatively unique in comparison to other school sporting associations in Queensland. This structure allows students in primary school years at AIC schools to compete alongside secondary students and highlights the concept and belief that AIC students “Grow Together” through their school journeys. The added atmosphere of including the primary and secondary together is incredible. Each year the primary competition is very close, with the history books showing that Villanova (4 titles), Marist College Ashgrove (3 titles) and Iona (3 titles) having won the primary aggregate shield over the last 10 years. In 2025, St Edmund’s entered into the primary school competition for the first time.

In another exciting year of primary swimming competition, the lead in the primary swimming championship changed numerous times between Iona, Marist College Ashgrove, Villanova and St Peters. In the end the final champion would be decided by the Division 1 and Division 2 Freestyle Relays. Marist College Ashgrove were able to secure wins in two of these relays which was enough to give them the decisive break and to win the Primary AIC Championship for the 4th time. Iona finished a close 2nd with Villanova claiming 3rd position.

Marist College Ashgrove’s Director of Swimming, Mr James Boyce spoke with great pride of this primary school achievement. “We are beyond proud of our incredible primary swimmers for winning the 2025 Primary Aggregate! This outstanding achievement is a testament to their dedication, perseverance, and commitment to excellence. We can’t wait to see what the future holds as our talented young athletes take on new challenges in senior school!” Mr Boyce said.

Marist College Ashgrove – Primary Aggregate Champions

AIC Swimming Championships- Primary Aggregate Points

AIC Swimming Championship – 2025 Record Breakers

A number of records were broken on the evening with the standout individual performer being Finn Morton (St Peters) who broke two individual AIC Swimming Championship records. These were the 16 years 50m Freestyle and 16 years 50m Butterfly. Finn was also a member of both the St Peters 16 Years Relay teams that broke the records in Medley and Freestyle Relays.

Individual
Cael Eley (St Peters Lutheran College) – Open 200m Individual Medley – 2:05.67
Jake Lewis (St Peters Lutheran College) – 12 Years 50m Breaststroke (Div 2 Record)- 40.50
Aiden Clark (St Peters Lutheran College) – 16 Years 50m Freestyle (Div 2 Record)- 24.24
Finn Morton (St Peters Lutheran College) – 16 Years 50m Freestyle – 23.20
Fin Morton (St Peters Lutheran College) – 16 years 50m Butterfly – 25.08

Relay
St Peters Lutheran College – 16 Years 4 x 50m Medley Relay – 1:47.12
St Peters Lutheran College – 15 Years 4 x 50m Freestyle (Div 2 Record) – 1:44.58
St Peters Lutheran College – Open 4 x 50m Freestyle (Div 2 Record) – 1:37.85
Marist College Ashgrove – Year 6 4 x 50m Freestyle- 2:03.40
St Peters Lutheran College – 16 Years 4 x 50m Freestyle Relay – 1:36.22

Acknowledgements

The Association would like to acknowledge and thank the following organisations for their support of the carnival. These include Sleeman Sports Complex, Swimming Queensland Officials, staff from host Colleges- Marist College Ashgrove and Iona and all staff who assisted with the conducting of the carnival.

Photo Gallery 

Please enjoy the photos supplied by Pat Hoelscher Photography.