Stewart ecstatic after World Championships

“The World Champs are now over and I couldn’t be more proud of our kids here.”

Saipan Swim Club coach Mike Stewart couldn’t have said it more perfectly after local swimmers Dean Palacios and Nina Mosley combined for 12 Life Time Best swims out of 13 events in the Short Course World Championships that concluded yesterday in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Mosley was six for six in LTBs, including a 6-second breakthrough swim in her final and most difficult swim to finish the meet. Her 2:18.69 time in the 200-meter freestyle surpassed any goal Stewart had for Mosley.

“She is really starting to a grasp what we are trying to achieve here,” said Stewart in an e-mail sent to the Saipan Tribune yesterday.

On Sunday, Mosley swam the 50m freestyle in a best time of 28.50. She also swam the 100m breaststroke in a personal record of 1:22.13 Saturday and on Friday she swam the 100m freestyle and 100m individual medley in times of 1:03.11, and 1:12.96, respectively.

Palacios, meanwhile, finished the meet swimming six of seven LTBs. On Saturday, the Marianas Baptist Academy graduate swam the 50m butterfly in 27.58, a .34 second drop from his previous best. He also swam the 200m individual medley and recorded a 1.2 second drop with his time of 2:18.16.

On Sunday, Palacios finished his World Championships stint, with two more best swims in the 100m freestyle and the 100m individual medley, with times of 55.80 and 1:02.95, respectively.

Stewart said he was delighted with the improvements Mosley and Palacios showed in the water. He said, although they were humbled by the world-class competition in the pool, in their own little way, they quietly achieved what they set out to do in the World Championships, which is to record as many LTBs as possible.

“In review, I brought two very green swimmers to this level of swimming, and I feel I walked away with one of the most improved group of this World Championships. Twelve of 13 Lifetime Best swims… I don’t think any other team can boast of such numbers here,” he said.

Stewart, who took over from long-time SSC coaches Bill and Jean Sakovich only last May, said he couldn’t have coached a better group of swimmers in Palacios and Mosley.

“The island of Saipan has to be very proud of these two young swimmers on how they represented the CNMI both in and out of the competition in the pool,” he said.

Palacios heads back to his studies and training at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, where he is a college freshman, while Mosley returns with Stewart and will get back to work with the other SSC swimmers in preparation for next summer’s assault in the South Pacific Mini Games in Palau.