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Ashley Dangol sets age group records
Tsunami Saipan’s Ashley Dangol, seen here racing in the 100m butterfly event in the 2017 SSC International Meet held at the Kan Pacific Swimming Pool, made two age group marks in a tournament in Japan last month. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)
Tsunami Swimming Center Saipan’s Ashley Dangol marked two age group records when she competed in the Gifu Prefecture Championships held at the Nagara River Swimming Plaza in Japan late last month.
Dangol earned her first record in the girls 11 to 12 division after timing in at 1:13.19 in the 100m butterfly event. She eclipsed the age group mark (1:16.27) former Tsunami Saipan swimmer Miky Tammy posted on May 11, 2013. The 11-year-old’s second record also came in the butterfly swim (200m) as she clocked in at 2:45:00, more than 12 seconds faster than Tammy’s 2:57.42 registered on May 24, 2013.
With Dangol’s feats in Japan, she now joins Tammy, Myana Welch, Grace Kimball, and Angel Marie Tan on the record-holders’ list in the girls 11 to 12 division. Dangol also got the Tan Siu Lin Foundation/NMSA Female Student Athlete of the Month award for her record-breaking swims in the July 29-30 tournament.
Sharing the top student honors with Dangol is fellow swimmer Kento Akimaru of Saipan Swim Club.
The incoming Marianas High School senior was recognized for his outstanding showing in two tournaments in Hawaii last month.
The 16-year-old Akimaru first participated in the 69th Annual Keo Nakama Invitational held at the Veterans’ Memorial Aquatic Center in Waipahu and ruled the 15 to 16 age group after collecting 60 points and beating more than 20 swimmers in his division. In the same tournament, Akimaru shattered the 15 to 16 age group’s 800m and 1,500m records set by CNMI Sports Hall of Famer and Olympian Jonathan Sakovich.
The SSC swimmer also joined the third leg of the North Shore Swim Series and was the No. 1 overall finisher among nearly 400 swimmers who completed the 1.8-mile swim from Jaco’s Chun to Waimea Bay in Oahu.
