Early PBT rush in pentathlon meet

Saipan Swim Club’s Lennosuke Suzuki is among the PBT getters in the 100m butterfly event in the 2017 Saipan Swim Club Pentathlon Meet held last Feb. 18 at the Kan Pacific Swimming Pool in Marpi. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Thirty personal best times were recorded just in the first three events in the 2017 Saipan Swim Club Pentathlon Meet held last Feb. 18 at the Kan Pacific Swimming Pool in Marpi.

Of this PBT rush, 14 were made in the 50m backstroke, five in the 100m butterfly, and 11 in the 50m butterfly.

Tsunami Swimming Center Saipan’s Juhn Tenorio had the fastest time in the 50m butterfly with his 32.61 seconds, which was more than two seconds better than his old PBT of 35.92. Two more swimmers in Tenorio’s age group (11 to 12) earned PBTs with SSC’s Jinnosuke Suzuki and Taiyo Akimaru clocking in at 33.95 seconds and 36.76 seconds, respectively.

In the boys 9 to 10 division, Hans Xu was the lone swimmer to post a PBT (36.48 seconds), while Aasish Dangol did the same in the boys U8 with his 36.47 seconds.

In the girls 11 to 12, all three entries gained PBTs with Tsunami Saipan’s Nanaka Watanabe and Asaka Litulumar timing in at 39.74 and 42.80 seconds, respectively, and Ayumi Obligacion logging 47.38. Two more Tsunami Saipan swimmers registered PBTs with Ashley Dangol and Shoko Litulumar recording 33.10 and 48.40 in the girls 9 to 10, while SSC’s Savite Sikkel had the similar feat with her 54.79 seconds.

Savita’s brother Moshe also got a PBT in the 50m backstroke after checking in at 1:02.47 in the boys U8 race. Aasish and Kouki Watanabe competed in the same age group and had PBTs of 46.11 and 50.43 seconds, respectively.

Other PBT getters in the boys division were 11 to 12’s Tenorio (33.44 seconds), Jinnosuke (35.85 seconds), and Taiyo Akimaru (40.45 seconds) and 9 to 10’s Isaiah Aleksenko (37.29 seconds), Xu (38.82 seconds), and Takeru Jim (57.69 seconds).

In the girls division, Ashley was the fastest in the 50m backstroke sprint after her PBT of 35.77 seconds, while Savita earned her second PBT after timing in at 50.93 in the same race. Nanaka Watanabe (39.39 seconds) and Asaka Litulumar (46.19 seconds) were the other PBT getters in the event.

In the 100m butterfly, SSC’s Kento Akimaro led the PBT getters with his 1:03.99, while his teammate Lennosuke Suzuki also got a PBT (1:09.54). Aika Watanabe (1:21.84), Gauran (1:33.07), and Nelson Batallones (1:09.62) completed the list of swimmers with PBTs in the two-lap swim.