Chentsova qualifies for finals

The CNMI’s Victoria Chentsova, seen here competing in the 16th FINA World Championships in Kazan, Russia, is in Fiji participating in the XI Oceania Championships.
(Contributed Photo)

The CNMI’s Victoria Chentsova made it to the B finals of her first two events in the XI Oceania Championships.

The 18-year-old swimmer first raced in the 200m freestyle event last Tuesday at the Damodar National Aquatic Centre in Suva, Fiji, and timed in at 2:17.17. She was ranked No. 19 out of the 25 swimmers in the preliminary heats to gain a spot in the B finals. New Zealand’s Helena Gasson topped the qualifier with her 2:02.45 to lead seven other swimmers in the A finals.

In the final races, Chentsova had a faster time, clocking in at 2:16.99 to finish fifth in her group, while Australia’s Acacia Wildi n-Snedden won the gold medal in the A finals after submitting 2:02.37 and New Zealand’s Monique King (2:05.67) ruled the B finals.

Up next for Chentsova was the 100m backstroke event and her 1:16.86 in the preliminary race earned her another stint in the B finals. The CNMI swimmer went on to post a better time in the finale after completing the two-lap swim in 1:16.41.

New Zealand’s Gabrielle Fa’amausili led both the preliminary and A finals after logging 1:04.32 and 1:02.38, respectively, while Fiji’s Adi Kinisimere Naivulu prevailed in the B finals with her 1:10.17.

Meanwhile, three other CNMI swimmers—Salofi Welch, Christian Villacrusis, and Lennosuke Suzuki—are competing in the Oceania championships and had their debuts last Tuesday.

Suzuki, Welch, and Villacrusis all raced in the 50m butterfly on Day 1 of the swimming competition. Welch registered the fastest time among the three after completing the sprint in 30.07 seconds, while Villacrusis clocked in at 31.17. Suzuki, on the other hand, tallied 31.92 seconds, which is his new personal best (unofficial, pending confirmation from Northern Mariana Islands Swimming Federation). Suzuki’s previous PBT was the 32.40 seconds he submitted during the NMISF Closing Meet on May 7, 2016. Welch and Villacrusis’ PBTs were not listed on the NMISF Closing Meet results Saipan Tribune obtained before the group headed to Fiji for the Oceania championships, but the former’s time gave him an alternate spot in the B finals of the 50m butterfly event.

The three CNMI male swimmers also swam in the 200m freestyle event and this time Suzuki recorded the fastest time at 2:19.38, which is about four seconds behind his PBT (2:15.38). The 13-year-old swimmer, which is among the youngest competitor in Fiji, was named alternate in the B finals of the 200m freestyle along with Palau’s Shawn Dingilius-Wallace (2:16.29).

Welch got a PBT (unofficial) as his 2:24.14 in the preliminary heat crushed the 2:25.73 he logged during the NMISF’s final meet for the 2015-2016 season last month. Villacrusis timed in at 2:22.53, over two seconds off his PBT (2:20.15).