Swimmers mark 32 PBTs

Saipan Swim Club’s R.J. Pierce races in the 1,500m freestyle event of the NMISF Meet 2 held last Saturday at the Kan Pacific Swimming Pool. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Swimmers who saw action in the 2016 Northern Mariana Island Swimming Federation Meet 2 earned 32 personal best times in the first five events scheduled in last Saturday’s competition at the Kan Pacific Swimming Pool.

Saipan Swim Club’s Kento Akimaru led the list of PBT getters in the NMISF Meet 2, as his 19:33.27 in Event 1—the 1,500 freestyle—turned out to be the fastest in the field. Akimaru was the lone swimmer to complete the 30-lap event under 20 minutes and he broke his old record of 19:39.30.

Thirteen other swimmers finished the lung-busting race and seven of them also bagged PBTs. SSC’s Jin Ju Thompson submitted 23.02.02 to surpass her 23:37.08, Taiga Sato posted 20.16.83 (from 21:10.04), Christian Villacrusis recorded 20:09.76 (20:31.21), and Salofi Welch timed in at 21:01.59 (22:06.56). Gemmilie Eugenio, Aeja Park, and Sonny Holandez of the fledgling Dolphin Club Saipan had the same feats after marking 43:55.96 (from 45:00.00), 41:43.54 (50:00.00), and 40:49.50 (45:00.00), respectively.

In Event 2—the 100m breaststroke—three Tsunami Saipan swimmers and one from SSC gained PBTs.

Villacrusis got his second PBT as his 1:19.77 eclipsed his previous mark of 1:21.57. Tsunami Saipan’s Nanaka Watanabe clocked in 1:31.47 (from 1:31.96), Asaka Litulumar registered 1:38.93 (from 1:43.56), and Anthony Camacho-Deleon Guerrero logged 1:33.94 (1:42.48) for a good start in the weekend tournament.

The 16-year-old Villacrusis made it three in a row when his 1:20.59 in the 100m backstroke shattered his previous PBT of 1:21.53. Another SSC member, Jinnosuke Suzuki, got the second mark in the same race after timing in at 1:19.23, nearly more than 10 seconds faster than his old PBT of 1:29.34.

Jinnosuke also raced in the 50m butterfly and recorded a PBT, too with his 35.09 seconds (from 35.53 seconds). He was one of only five swimmers who earned PBTs in the Event 4, duplicating the achievements of fellow SSC member Jinie Thompson (44.74 seconds/from 45.60) and Tsunami Saipan’s Rei Sekiguchi (45.90/from 47.79), Ashley Dangol (39.20/from 39.47), and Nelson Batallones (32.48/from 32.63).

In the fifth event of the day—the 50m breaststroke—nine Tsunami Saipan swimmers, three from SSC, and one from Dolphin Club posted new PBTs. Tsunami Saipan’s side was led by Aika Watanabe (37.78 seconds/from 38.09) and followed by Hans Xu (39.26 seconds/from 39.47), Nanaka Watanabe (42.43/from 43.47), Ayumi Obligacion (45.19/46.71), Shoko Litulumar (49.45/from 54.48), Kouki Watanabe (53.16/from 1:07.39), Kian Pajarillaga (59.35/from 1:01.75), Kevin Guerrero (1.00.60/from 1:02.19), and Michelle Chen (1:09.74).

SSC’s PBT getters, on the other hand, include siblings Susana (56.89 seconds/from1:00.58), and Richard Villagomez (47.76/from 48.25) and Takeru Jim (1:00.75/from 1:07.15). Samantha Liske-Clarke was the lone Dolphin Club to mark a PBT with her 58.67 seconds (from 1:30.00).

Meanwhile, five more events were scheduled in the NMISF Meet 2 and results will be reported on Saipan Tribune later this week.