Kento, Lennosuke share spotlight in Sak Sprint

Saipan Swim Club’s Kento Akimaru is seen here competing in the 50m butterfly race of the 2016 Saipan International Invitational Swim Meet held last March at the Kan Pacific Swimming Pool. (Contributed Photo)

Saipan Swim Club’s Kento Akimaru and Lennosuke Suzuki stood out in the 2016 Sak Sprint Meet held last Saturday at the Kan Pacific Swimming Pool in honor of SSC founders Bill and Jeane Sakovich.

There were 12 events in the inaugural meet with members of both SSC and Tsunami Saipan competing in the races. The weekend tournament started with the 200m individual medley with SSC’s Lennosuke Suzuki posting the fastest time (2:39.05) and beating four other swimmers.

Next up was the 100m freestyle event with 24 swimmers participating in the two-lap race. SSC’s Kento Akimaru had the best time and was the only swimmer to break the one-minute barrier after logging 58.50 seconds.

In the 50m backstroke, which drew 12 swimmers, Lennosuke was the fastest anew with his 35.48 seconds, while Akimaru duplicated Lennosuke’s feat in the 50m butterfly after clocking in at 29.84 seconds. Akimaru eclipsed his PBT (29.84) and led 16 other finishers in the one-lap race.

In the 200m freestyle, 12 completed the race with Lennosuke lording it over the field with his 2:25.77, while his teammate Christian Villacrusis ruled the 200m breaststroke after recording 3:07.93.

Villacrusis also joined the 100m butterfly where he finished third (1:28.92) behind Akimaru (1:06.01) and David Boyer (1:18.98). Four others participated in the event.

In the 50m breaststroke, Akimaru earned his second PBT after posting the field’s best 35.21 seconds, more than a second faster than his previous mark of 36.29 seconds.

In the 100m backstroke, Tsunami Saipan’s Takumi Sugie showed the way after submitting 1:13.45, while SSC’s Salofi Welch recorded the fastest time in the 100m breaststroke after checking in at 1:27.35.

In the 50m freestyle, Akimaru topped the boys field after registering 26.90 seconds, while Tsunami Saipan’s Angel De Jesus led the girls division with her 31.37 seconds. The 50m freestyle drew the most swimmers (38).

Meanwhile, SSC coach Jacoby Winkfield said they created the Sak Sprint meet to recognize the Sakovichs’ hard work in and out of the pool.

“Through swimming, ‘Mr. and Mrs.’, as they were affectionately called, had a profound impact not only in the lives of so many of the youth on Saipan, but also on swimming in Oceania as a whole. Their passion and dedication to the sport of swimming are unparalleled in Micronesia and the legacy that they built will live on in the character of our swimmers,” Winkfield said.

“While swimming was their main sport, they are both proponents of a healthy and active lifestyle. Whether it be participating in Tagaman or XTERRA and joining island relay and turkey trot, windsurfing, ocean swim, or any other sport, competitive or recreational, they always pushed their swimmers to be active and be healthy all the while ensuring that their swimmers do well in school and focus on education above all,” Winkfield added.

The SSC coach also took note of some PBTs and lauded every swimmers’ efforts in the sprint meet.

“There were several personal best times and overall the coaches were happy with the swimmers performances. This meet did not see as many PB’s, but I was happy with the swimmers ability to put each disappointing race behind them and move on to the next swim. Swimming is a cruel sport that it is very hard to get a personal best every single time you race and I think our swimmers did a great job of continuing to smile even when things did not go exactly how they wanted,” Winkfield said.

“On a more somber note, SSC would like to offer its condolences to the Jordan family with the recent passing of Mrs. Ann Jordan. Mrs. Jordan has been an avid supporter SSC for over 25 years. She supported the club at all levels as a parent, grandparent, and volunteer. Her smile and nurturing spirit will be missed. Thank you Mrs. Jordan,” Winkfield ended.