Tsunami Saipan swimmers excel

Tsunami Saipan swimmers made notable performances in the 2013-2014 GSF Short Course Championships last Saturday at the Hagatna Pool in Guam.

The club’s U8 swimmers joined 16 individual events and placed first in 13 of them. Anthony Deleon Guerrero and Hans Xu led the squad and they went on to tie for the top honors in the boys U8 age group. In the girls division, Ashley Dangol placed second, while Nanaka Watanabe came in at third.

The visiting swimmers started their bid in the weekend meet via the 25-yard butterfly event and gained two first place finishes. Xu topped the boys U8 25y butterfly after clocking in at 21.76 seconds and beating Manukai Athletic Club’s Ethan Deeds (26.11), teammate Arman Rechucher (30.61), and Andersen Marlins-PC’s Aaron Wood (33.72 seconds).

In the girls division, Dangol timed in at 24.48 seconds to finish ahead of teammates Natsuki Nagata (25.15) and Kana Suzuki (28.01). Dangol also joined the 100y freestyle and her 1:30.95 was good for second place behind Tsunami Guam’s Risa Hendrix (1:29.79).

In the boys U8 100y freestyle, Deleon Guerrero downed six other swimmers. He submitted 1:23.28 to prevail against Manhoben’s Israel Poppe (1:34.65) and Tsunami Saipan’s Ty Leon Guerrero (1:38.10), while Tsunami Saipan’s Isaiah Aleksenko came in at fourth after tallying 1:43.46.

Deleon Guerrero ruled three more individual events to have a rousing debut in the off-island tournament. He won the 25y breaststroke race after completing the event in 24.49 seconds, ahead of Andersen’s Riley Solenberg (24.50), Rechucher (25.98), and Wood (33.25). In the 100y individual medley, Deleon Guerrero clocked in at 1:44.52 to beat Xu (1:45.05), while in the 50y freestyle, the former recorded 36.49 seconds to finish on top of the 12-swimmer field.

In other results, Xu edged five others in the 50y backstroke after registering 45.23 seconds, while Rechucher won over the former in the 50y breaststroke after posting 56.46 seconds. Xu had 57.16 seconds.

In another breaststroke race, Watanabe touched the wall at the 22.95-second mark to place first in the 25y event and defeat Nagata (29.49) and Tsunami Guam’s Lolita Blaz (31.82). In the 50y breaststroke, Watanabe logged 48.11 seconds for a runner-up finish behind Tsunami Guam’s Risa Hedrix (47.62).

After missing the first place finish in 50y breaststroke, Watanabe bounced back in the next two events, topping the 25y freestyle and 100y IM. She checked in at 18.63 seconds in the 25y freestyle and was the lone swimmer in the group to break the 20-second barrier. Suzuki and Nagata were in the group and finished third and fourth with their 21.87 seconds and 21.91 seconds, respectively.

Then in the 100y IM, Wanatabe stunned the favored Hendrix after recording 1:36.78 against the latter’s 1:40.38. Dangol rounded out the Top 3 after tallying 1:50.98. Dangol also competed in the 50y freestyle and won the event against five others after submitting 41.52 seconds.

In another freestyle event for U8 swimmers—the 25y—Xu lorded it over 11 others. He clocked in at 19.31 seconds and was the lone swimmer to finish the race under 20 seconds. Xu prevailed against two Guam swimmers and teammates Aleksenko (21.44 seconds) and Rechucher (23.78 seconds).

After completing their individual races, Tsunami Saipan swimmers joined two relay events. Rechucher, Aleksenko, Xu, and Delen Guerrero routed Tsunami Guam’s entry in the 4x25y freestyle race after registering 1:19.76 against their foes’ 1:43.06. Nagata, Watanabe, Suzuki, and Dangol had the same event and had a faster time than Tsunami Saipan’s boys team after checking in at 1:19.23.

Tsunami Saipan head coach Hiro Kimura said that the impressive performance of the club’s U8 swimmers in the Guam tournament showed that they have improved significantly in the past several months.

Meanwhile, Tsunami Saipan would like to thank Gloria Cavangh, Kan Pacific, and the Pacific Islands Club for supporting the club in its off-island tournament. Kimura also acknowledged the hospitality of Guam Swimming Federation and Tsunami Guam coach Toshi Iijima.