SSC does well in Day 1

The Saipan Swim Club posted respectable results yesterday on the first day of the Guam International Meet in the Hagatna Pool by registering a number of top finishes by some of Saipan’s top tankers.

Official results from meet organizers were unavailable, but SSC coach Michael Stewart was able to relay much of the first day’s events via telephone. The coach said that he was pleased with the team’s overall performance against a talented international field of competitors.

Nina Mosley continued to show why she rules the pool in the women’s 15-16 division by sweeping all five of her events on Guam. The Chlorine Queen was the first to touch the wall in the 50m and 400m Freestyle, the 50m Butterfly, the 100m Backstroke, and the 200 IM.

Nicole Calvo also had a strong showing in the division with a second place finish in the 50m Freestyle, and third place touches in the 400m Freestyle, 100m Backstroke, and 200m IM.

Jellian Majors demonstrated her determination in the girls’ 9-10 year-old division with a pair of second place finishes in the 400m Freestyle and the 100m Breaststroke, while taking third in the 50m Freestyle, 100m Backstroke, and 200m IM.

Not to be outdone, Emma McCullough-Stearns came away with a solid swim with a fourth place tap in the 11-12 year-old division’s 100m Breaststroke.

On the guy’s side, Kensuke Kimura blew away the pack in the 9-10 year-old division with a time of 5:40:83 in the 400m Freestyle. Stewart was unable to check his record from Guam, but said that Kimura either broke or came close to setting a team record with his finish.

Verification of the feat at the meet will come in tomorrow’s edition of the Saipan Tribune. Aside from his rocket finish, Kimura took third in both the 50m Freestyle and the 200m IM.

Rezne Wong said that he thinks Kimura beat his record, but he was more focused on doing his best in the 13-14 year-old division, as he was the first to tap the tiles in the 100m Breaststroke. He also added a second place finish in the 200m IM, and a string of thirds in the 100m Backstroke, 50m Butterfly, and 50m Freestyle.

Brothers Juan and Michael Camacho each swam well on opening day in the 15-16 year-old division, as Juan finished second in the 50M Butterfly, took third in the 50m Freestyle, 400m Freestyle, and 200m IM, and was fourth in the 100m Backstroke.

Michael was also strong with a third place finish in the 100m Backstroke, and fourth place in both the 400m Freestyle and 200m IM.

“I think we swam real well. It’s the best competition we’ve faced since the South Pacific Mini-Games in Palau. There are really good teams from Japan and Hong Kong. They brought real strong swimmers, and we suited up real well. I’m really pleased,” Stewart said.

Aside from the top finishers, Stewart recognized three achievements from youngster Clay McCullough Stearns, who set personal records by dropping over a minute from his time in the 400m Freestyle, eight seconds from his 100m Backstroke, and 10 seconds from his 50m Butterfly.

“He was just phenomenal every time he got into the pool. He had some really strong swims and set a whole new level for himself,” said Stewart.

The team will return to Saipan this evening, but not before spending another six to seven hours in the pool against some of the best tankers in the region.