Kento leads pentathlon winners

Kento Akimaru, seen here racing in last month’s SSC Double Distance Meet, ruled the boys 15 to 16 age group of the 2017 SSC Pentathlon Meet held last Feb. 18 at the Kan Pacific Swimming Pool. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Saipan Swim Club’s Kento Akimaru won the all-SSC battle for the top honors in the boys 15 to 16 division of the 2016 Pentathlon Meet held last Feb. 18 at the Kan Pacific Swimming Pool in Marpi.

Kento swept the five events to collect 45 points and beat fellow SSC members Christian Villacrusis (35 points), David Boyer (30), and R.J. Pierce (25). The 16-year-old swimmer started his run in the weekend meet with a nearly six-second lead against Villacrusis in the 100m butterfly as Kento timed in at 1:03.99 over the latter’s 1:09.71. Boyer and Pierce clocked in at 1:09.90 and 1:40.55, respectively.

In the 100m backstroke, Kento was way ahead of the field after completing the two-lap race in 1:10.41. Villacrusis posted 1:23:10, while Boyer submitted 1:24.10, and Pierce registered 1:37.98. In 100m breaststroke, Kento touched the wall more than five minutes ahead of Villacrusis after recording 1:16.44 against the latter’s 1:22.16.

For this fourth event—the 100m freestyle—Kento was the lone swimmer in his age group to finish the race under one minute after logging 58.86 seconds. Villacrusis placed second with his 1:03.36 and was followed by Boyer (1:06.73) and Pierce (1:20.85). Then in the 200M individual medley, Kento also dominated his division after checking in at 2:27.73. Villacrusis timed at 2:45.70, while Boyer and Pierce submitted 2:57.62 and 3:25.16, respectively.

Meanwhile, SSC’s Lennosuke Suzuki and Tsunami Swimming Center Saipan’s Sophia Gauran, Juhn Tenorio, Nanaka Watanabe, Isaiah Aleksenko, Ashley and Aasish Dangol, and Maria Batallones were the other top finishers in their respective age groups.

Lennosuke ruled the boys 13 to 14 division after getting first place in all five events. He gained 45 points to down Tsunami Saipan’s Nelson Batallones (34 points) and teammate Taiga Sato (31). In the girls division, Gauran won a close battle against fellow Tsunami Saipan swimmer Aika Watanabe with the former collecting 40 points against the latter’s 38. Not far behind at third place was SSC’s Jin Ju Thompson, who was awarded 32 points.

In the boys 11 to 12 age group, the fight for the No. 1 spot was also decided by only 2 points with Tenorio getting 41 markers against the 39 of SSC’s Jinnosuke Suzuki. Tenorio topped the 100m butterfly, 50m backstroke, and 50m breaststroke to edge Jinnosuke, who swept the last two events—50m freestyle and 200m IM. SSC’s Taiyo Akimaru finished third after tallying 30 points.

In the girls 11 to 12, Nanaka had a convincing win after gathering 45 points against the 34 of fellow Tsunami Saipan swimmer Asaka Litulumar. Ayumi Obligacion, also of Tsunami Saipan, placed third with her 31 markers.

In the 9 to 10 age group, Aleksenko and Ashley reigned supreme after winning all their five races and collecting 45 points each. In the boys division, Aleksenko prevailed against Hans Xu (35) and Takeru Jim (30), while in the girls class, Ashley defeated teammate Shoko Litulumar (35) and SSC’s Savita Sikkel (30).

In the boys U8 division, Tsunami Saipan also had a 1-2 finish with Aasish Dangol earning 36 points for the top honors and Kouki Watanabe scoring 28 for the runner-up place. SSC’s Moshe Sikkel totaled 18 points to round out the Top 3 in the boys division, while Maria Batallones was the lone entry in the girls side.