PBT rush in 50m freestyle event

A Tsunami Saipan swimmer competes in the 50m freestyle event in last Saturday’s 2015-2016 NMISF Open Swim Meet at the Kan Pacific Swimming Pool. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Saipan Swim Club and Tsunami Saipan members recorded personal best times one after another in the 50m freestyle event in the 2015-2016 NMISF Open Swim Meet held last Saturday at the Kan Pacific Swimming Pool.

Of the 52 swimmers who completed the sprint race, 41 of them earned PBTs with participants in the boys 9 to 10 age group registering the most (8). SSC’s Jinnosuke Suzuki had the fastest time in the age group after clocking in at 33.38 seconds to surpass his old PBT (34.64 seconds). Other PBT getters in the division were Tsunami Saipan’s Isaiah Aleksenko (33.99 seconds), Hans Xu (35.28), Arman Rechucher (42.41), Sean Gil (43.45), and Jaden Castro (47.32) and SSC’s Taiyo Akimaru (34.03) and Mark Jainier Chavez (46.45).

In the boys U8, SSC’s Dino Sato also got a PBT (42.97 seconds from 48.05), while teammate Wataru Kadokura and Tsunami Saipan’s Aasish duplicated the feat after logging 47.05 and 43.04 seconds, respectively. Five other swimmers joined the 50m freestyle race in this age group for the first time.

In the boys 11 to 12, Lennosuke Suzuki led the PBT getters with his 29.26 seconds (old PBT was 31.18 seconds). Rounding out the list were Tsunami Saipan’s Nelson Batallones (33.08 seconds), Juhn Tenorio (34.18), Rentaro Suzuki (43.94), and Dan Illahi (49.08) and SSC’s Akira Kadokura (38.25).

In the boys 13 to 14 age group, both Mark Maestro of Tsunami Saipan and SSC’s Taiga Sato marked PBTs after posting 30.64 seconds and 31.89 seconds, respectively. Maestro’s previous PBT was 30.68, while Taiga’s was 33.40 seconds.

Five other swimmers in the boys division logged PBTs and broke the 30-second barrier. Tsunami Saipan’s Takumi Sugie was the fastest among the five with his 27.41 seconds, followed by SSC’s Kento Akimaru (27.48), Christian Villacrusis (27.54), Caleb Wang (28.85), and Salofi Welch (29.21).

In the girls division, all five who raced in the U8 age group marked PBTs. The list includes SSC’s Andrei Kaith Lynn Chavez (46.37 seconds) and her younger sister Julie Anne (56.12) and Tsunami Saipan’s Shoko Litulumar (44.02), Maria Batallones (46.72), and Mizuki Suzuki (1:00.24).

In the 9 to 10 age group, seven Tsunami Saipan bets registered PBTs with Ashley Dangol leading the field with her 33.40 seconds. Joining her were teammates Nanaka Watanabe (35.57 seconds), Asaka Litulumar (40.55), Kana Suzuki (42.22), Ayumi Obligacion (45.67), Seiyul Hong (48.18), and Risa Sekiguchi (44.69) and SSC’s Ayaka Sato (42.71).

In the 11 to 12 division, Jin Ju Thompson topped the field with her PBT of 33.42 seconds, while teammate Coume Kaga also bagged a PBT (35.86 seconds). Tsunami Saipan’ Aika Watanabe was the third swimmer in the group to achieve a PBT (33.52 seconds), while teammate Kathrine Illahi did the same in the 13 to 14 age group after clocking in at 36.24 seconds.

Meanwhile, three of the six swimmers who completed the longest race last weekend—the 1,500m freestyle event—posted PBTs. Kento Akimaru broke the 20-minute mark with his PBT of 19:39.30, while Lennosuke Suzuki and Taiga Sato’s PBTs read at 20:56.55 and 21:10.04, respectively.

Thirteen other events were held in last Saturday’s meet and results will be reported in Saipan Tribune later this week.