Gauran, Camacho-Deleon Guerrero beat seed times

Saipan Swim Club swimmers pose for a photo with one of Taiwan’s tourist spots as their backdrop during a break in the 2017 TAS Tigersharks Invitational Swim held early this month at the Taipei American School’s Ira B. Weislow Aquatics Center. (Contributed Photo)

Saipan Swim Club’s Sophia Gauran and Anthony Camacho-Deleon Guerrero surpassed their seeds times in a couple of races in the 2017 TAS Tigersharks Invitational Swim held early this month at the Taipei American School’s Ira B. Weislow Aquatics Center in Taiwan.

Gauran got PBTs in the 100m individual medley and 200m freestyle, while Camacho-Deleon Guerrero had the same achievement in the 400m freestyle and 50m freestyle events.

Camacho-Deleon Guerrero raced in the boys 11 to 12 division and clocked in at 5:11.73 in the 400m freestyle race, eclipsing his seed time of 5:24.41 seconds. He also finished sixth among 10 swimmers who completed the 16-lap race. In the 50m freestyle, the 12-year-old swimmer timed in at 30.35 seconds, which is better than his seed time of 30.75. Camacho-Deleon Guerrero was ranked fifth out of the 19 swimmers that did the sprint event and was No. 9 overall in his age group after gaining 70 points.

In the girls 13 to 14 age group, Gauran made it to the podium (third place) of the 100m IM after checking in at 1:20.04—more than two seconds faster than her seed time of 1:22.15. Gauran bested 17 swimmers from Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, China, and Hong Kong in the four-lap event.

In the 200m freestyle, Gauran had a big drop after logging 2:30.16. Her seed time read at 2:45.65. The 14-year-old swimmer was ranked fifth out of the 17 swimmers in the eight-lap race and made it to the Top 10 of the overall standings in her age group. He finished ninth after collecting 73 points, just two points behind the three swimmers who tied for sixth to eighth place.

Meanwhile, David Boyer, Taiyo Akimaru, and Jinju Thompson also joined the meet in Taiwan held last Nov. 3 to 5 and had a couple of Top 10 finishes. Siblings Jinnosuke and Lennosuke Suzuki and Kaito Akimaru were also part of the team and made it to the Top 3 in the overall rankings to bring home high-point awards.

“The swimmers all swam well, many with multiple PBs and were super outside the pool as well. Despite the new experiences and challenges associated with competing abroad, they did great. This was the first meet for many in a different country so it was a great learning experience. The meet atmosphere was also much different from what they have experienced in the past, but again despite all the new experiences, they did an excellent job performing in the pool and being great ambassadors for the CNMI,” SSC head coach Jacoby Winkfield said.

“SSC would like to thank Gov. Ralph DLG Torres for his support as stated in his letter to PSS. Thank you, too to the teachers and administrators who work tirelessly in educating our swimmers and to Marianas Visitors Authority and Pacific Islands Club for their continued support to the Saipan Swim Club. We would also like to acknowledge Mariana Resort for taking care of the Kan Pacific Pool and the many volunteers and parents of SSC for their sacrifice and support to the club,” he added.