9 Tsunami Saipan swimmers get PBTs

Tsunami Saipan’s Juhn Tenorio breathes during the 400m freestyle race in the SSC Double Distance Meet held last Jan. 21 at the Kan Pacific Swimming Pool. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Nine Tsunami Swimming Center Saipan swimmers marked personal best times during the SSC Double Distance Meet held at the Kan Pacific Swimming Pool.

Ashley Dangol, Nanaka and Aika Watanabe, Hans Xu, Sean Gil, Juhn Tenorio, and Nelson Batallones got PBTs in the 400m freestyle races, while Julia Jinang and Kean Pajarillaga had the same feats in the 100m freestyle event.

The 10-year-old Pajarilla clocked in at 1:36.40 in the 100m freestyle swim to eclipse his old PBT by about two seconds (1:38.39). He also ruled the 9 to 10 age group race, defeating Saipan Swim Club’s Mark Jainier Chavez (1:37.08), Cojiro Kaga (1:59.30), and Christian Newman (2:26.21), and fellow Tsunami Saipan swimmers Alex Kim (1:48.77) and Miguel Bartolata (1:53.42). Jinang also raced in the 9 to 10 age group and her 1:59.62 was more than 10 seconds better than her old record of 2:10.25.

In the 400m freestyle event, Tenorio was the fastest among the Tsunami Saipan PBT getters after clocking in at 5:10.86, which broke his previous PBT of 5:15.01. Nelson Batallones had the second best time at 5:10.97, nearly five seconds better that his old mark (5:15.89).

Xu and Gil achieved PBTs in the same event after registering 5:36.53 (from 5:39.10) and 6:14.34 (from 6:57.95), respectively. They raced in the boys 9 to 10 age group and finished second and third behind their Tsunami Saipan teammate Isaiah Aleksenko (5:09.18).

In the girls 9 to 10, Dangol’s 5:22.84 was nearly 14 seconds faster than her old mark of 5:36.24. She was the lone swimmer in her division to complete the eight-lap race under six minutes as fellow Tsunami Saipan member Shoko Litulumar and SSC’s Andrei Kaith Lynn Chavez posted 6:53.56 and 7:26.13, respectively.

In the girls 11 to 12, Nanaka timed in at 5:34.77 to chop off more than five seconds from her previous PBT (5:40.46) and finish the race way ahead of teammates Asaka Litulumar (6:31.55) and Ayumi Obligacion (7:00.89). Nanaka’s older sister Aika also earned a PBT in the 13 to 14 division after timing in at 5:35.36 (from 5:39.14).

Meanwhile, three swimmers from the fledgling Dolphin Club Saipan also joined the meet held last Dec. 21. Jyolly Diaz was the fastest among the three in the 200m freestyle event after checking in at 4:27.26, while Gemmilie Eugenio and Michael Hidaldo recorded 4:29.62 and 5:35.83, respectively.

Diaz also did the 400m freestyle race and submitted 9:44.62, while in the 100m freestyle, she timed in at 2:01.55. Eugenio broke the two-minute barrier in the 100m freestyle with her 1:57.31, while Hidalgo logged 2:17.86.