Kento reigns supreme in Hawaii

Saipan Swim Club’s Kento Akimaru topped the men’s 15 to 16 age group competition in the 69th Annual Keo Nakama Invitational held last weekend in Hawaii. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Saipan Swim Club’s Kento Akimaru made the most out of his last off-island meet competing in the men’s 15 to 16 division after topping the age group contest in the 69th Annual Keo Nakama Invitational held over the weekend at the Veterans’ Memorial Aquatic Center in Waipahu, Hawaii.

The 16-year-old swimmer gained 60 points after racing in nine events to get the first place honors in his age group. Akimaru defeated 28 other swimmers, beating runner-up Josh Lujan of Hawaii Swimming Club-Oahu by 20 points. Pearl City Aquatics’ Matthew Takai was a distant third after scoring 23 points. The SSC member finished on top of his age group after ruling the 50m and 200m freestyle, placing second in the 100m freestyle, 100m and 200m butterfly, and 100m backstroke, third in the 200m breaststroke, and fifth in the 200m individual medley and 100m breaststroke.

In the 200m freestyle race, Akimaru clocked in at 2:05.09, way ahead of runner-up Lujan, who submitted 2:08.64. The SSC swimmer’s winning time in the race that featured 23 swimmers was also faster than his old personal best (2:05.55). In the 50m freestyle, Akimaru’s 25.64 seconds bested 20 other swimmers and surpassed his previous PBT of 25.83 seconds.

Akimaru shattered his PBT, too in the 100m freestyle after logging 56.04 seconds, which was the second best in his division. The SSC swimmer’s runner-up finishes in three other races were also made in record-breaking fashion. In the 100m butterfly, he clocked in at 1:01.39, more than a second better than his old PBT of 1:02.75. In the 200m butterfly, Akimaru chopped off nearly five seconds from his previous PBT (2:30.29) after registering 2:25.80, while in the 100m backstroke, he posted 1:09.85—faster than his seed time of 1:10.4.

For his fifth place finishes in two events, the Marianas High School student also earned PBTs. He clocked in at 2:20.97 and 1:13.83 in the 200m IM and 100m breaststroke, respectively, eclipsing his old marks of 2:24.24 and 1:14.20. In the 200m breaststroke, Akimaru’s third best time of 2:40.79 was more than six seconds better than his previous record (2:47.21)

Meanwhile, Akimaru also joined three races in the open division and got PBTs, too.

The biggest drop came in the 1,500m freestyle race, which he ruled after registering 17:37.61—more than 22 seconds faster than his old mark (17:59.95). Akimaru won the longest swim in the tournament against 14 other participants, including fellow SSC swimmer Jinnosuke Suzuki, who was ranked fourth after checking in at 18:21.10.

Akimaru had another grueling race via the 800m freestyle event and his 9:12.52 did not only surpass his previous PBT (9:23.69), but also landed him at the No. 1 spot among the 14 swimmers who did the 16-lap contest. Jinnosuke, who topped the 11 to 12 age group, joined the same race and had a fourth-best time of 9:34.63—a new PBT (from 9:45.51). In the 400m freestyle, Akimaru was the top SSC finisher and fourth overall after checking in at 4:24.53, nearly a minute faster than her old mark (4:25.52). Christian Villacrusis and David Boyer timed in at 4:55.24 and 5:12.18, respectively, in the similar event.