3 SSC swimmers top Guam meet

Saipan Swim Club’s Christian Villacrusis, Sophia Gauran, and Lennosuke Suzuki brought home high-point awards from the All-Island Invitational Pentathlon Long Course Meet held at the Hagatna Pool in Guam late last month.

Villacrusis ruled the boys 17 to 18 age group after collecting 97 points out of the five races he did during the Feb. 17 tournament that also featured five swim clubs from Guam—Manukai Athletic Club, Andersen Marlins, Manhoben Swim Club, Guam Typhoonz, and Tsunami Guam. The 17-year-old SSC member finished first in the 100m butterfly (1:08.27), 100m backstroke (1:16.24), 100m breaststroke (1:21.28), and 200m individual medley (2:40.34) to get 20 points in each event and added 17 more after placing second in the 100m freestyle (1:00.95). Villacrusis defeated Manhoben’s Tanner Poppe and Miguel Jugo, who earned 88 and 80 points, respectively.

Gauran and Lennosuke also won four of five events in the 13 to 14 age group and registered 97 points each to take the top honors in their respective divisions.

Gauran prevailed in the 100m backstroke (1:23.75), 100m breaststroke (1:33.30), 100m freestyle (1:11.42), and 200m IM (3:02.7) and came in at second in the 100m butterfly (1:34.01). The 14-year-old swimmer beat Tsunami Guam’s Esabelle Eldridge (87), Andersen’s Ally Giovenco (81), Manhoben’s Angel’Lea Aguilar (74), and Guam Typhoonz’s Halili Wilkerson (43) and Amelia Orgill (40).

In the boys 13 to 14, Suzuki finished ahead of Manhoben’s Mark Imazu (87), Tsunami Guam’s Louis Entera (78) and Kiran Toh (77), Andersen’s Joe Young (68) and Hunter Benson (62), and Manukai’s Sebastian Castro (51). Suzuki triumphed in the 100m butterfly (1:09.18), 100m breaststroke (1:18.93), 100m freestyle (59.90 seconds), and 200m IM (2:29.82), and was runner-up in the 100m backstroke (1:13.86).

Besides Suzuki, Villacrusis, and Gauran’s first place high-point awards, SSC also got a third place plum from Anthony Camacho-Deleon Guerrero. The 12-year-old SSC bet collected 83 points to join Manhoben’s Israel Poppe (93) and Tsunami Guam’s Ty Leon Guerrero (89) in the podium.

“The older swimmers swam well and learned a lot about where they are performance-wise. Going into the international meet this month, the meet was a good test to see where they are at and gave them a goal for the March 23 and 24 races,” SSC coach Jacoby Winkfield said.

First-timers
Winkfield said four other SSC swimmers joined the Guam meet and it was their first time to compete off-island.

“Mark and Kaithlyn Chavez, Aoi Braxton, and Savita Sikkel were all first-timers in Guam. The swimmers swam well and managed the pressures of a new experience. As a coach it was great experiencing this with them,” Winkfield said.

Kaitlyn and Sikkel raced in the girls 9 to 10 age group and were ranked No. 12 and 13, respectively, placing ahead of four other swimmers. Mark and Braxton finished at No. 14 and No. 12 in the 11 to 12 age group. Kaithlyn won one event—the 100m butterfly—after clocking in at 44.47 seconds and beating Tsunami Guam’s Sadie Ha’ane Mayo (45.29), Sikkel (49.41), Manukai’s Mallory Prins (57.78), and Guam Typhoonz’s Ava O’Brien (1:02.89).