Brilliant Star shines in swim meet

Ashley Dangol raced for for Brilliant Star in last Saturday’s 2016 Saipan Swim Club All Schools Swim Meet held at the Kan Pacific Swimming Pool. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Brilliant Star School ruled the elementary division of the 2016 Saipan Swim Club All Schools Swim Meet held last Saturday at the Kan Pacific Swimming Pool.

Brilliant Star collected 216 points out of the 38 events contested in the weekend competition to take the top honors in the division against Grace Christian Academy (150), perennial champion Whispering Palms (133), Gregorio T. Camacho Elementary School (87), Saipan International School (85), William S. Reyes Elementary School (32), Seventh Day Adventist Elementary School (18), and Saipan Community School (18).

Eleven swimmers suited up for Brilliant Star with siblings Ashley and Aasish Dangol leading the squad. Completing the team are Mosh and Savita Sikkel, Cassie and Fiona Regan, Nanaka and Kouki Watanabe, Risa Sekiguchi, Keisuke Asakura, and Sakura Hara. They scored points for Brilliant Star based on their finishes in individual and relay races.

Ashley and Aasish handed Brilliant Star 36 points off their first place swims in the girls 9 to 10’s 100m backstroke and 100m butterfly and boys U8’s 200m individual medley and 50 butterly. Nine points were given to the first finisher, while the next two were awarded with 7 and 6 markers.

Brilliant Star got 16 points in the girls U8’s 50m backstroke with Fiona Regan and Hara placing in the Top 2, while Fiona’s older sister Cassie added 5 in the same event in the girls 9 to 10 division. Moshe and Asakaru combined for 15 points as they were ranked first and third, respectively, in the boys U8 division, while Sekiguchi tallied 9 points from the same swim after ruling the girls 11 to 12 age group.

In the 50m breaststroke, Nanaka and Suzuki had a 1-2 finish for Brilliant Star’s 16 markers, while Kouki and Moshe Sikkel contributed 16 for finishing first and third, respectively.

Moshe’s sister Savita earned 7 points in the 200m freestyle after coming in at second in the girls U10 division, while Hara and Fiona chipped in 7. In the 50m freestyle, Brilliant Star hauled 31 points off Kouki and Suzuki’s first place finishes in the boys U8 and girls 9 to 10 age group, respectively, Hara and Asakura’s fifth place finishes, and Cassie’s eighth ranking.

In the 100m breaststroke, Brillliant Star gained 16 more points besides Ashley’s 9 after Nanaka and Savita came in at first and second in the girls U10 age group. In the 100m freestyle, Sekiguchi delivered 9 points for the champion school after beating Whispering Palms’ Erin Frink.

Brilliant Star capped its outstanding showing in the weekend event with a first place finish in the mixed 200m freestyle relay. Sekiguchi was the first swimmer and was followed by Moshe and Suzuki, while Aasish anchored Brilliant Star’s top finish as their team clocked in at 3:05.96. Aasish and company were joined in the Top 3 by SIS (3:36.54), and GCA (3:28.52). Mizuki Suzuki, Seiyul Hong, Christian Newman, and Rentaro Suzuki swam for the Geckos, while the Eagles were represented by Kean Pajarillaga, Julia Jinang, Soleil Lamar, and Michael Miller.

Three Whispering Palms teams joined the relay and they were ranked fourth, fifth, and eighth, while Brilliant Star’s second squad came in at sixth. GTC rounded out the finishers.

Meanwhile, the All Schools meet also featured competitions in the middle and high school divisions and results will be reported in Saipan Tribune’s Friday issue.