Strong debuts for Tsunami Saipan bets

Tsunami Saipan’s Maria Batallones competes in the 100m breaststroke event in last weekend’s 2016 Guam Championships at the Hagatna Pool. (Contributed Photo)

Tsunami Saipan’s Maria Batallones had an outstanding debut in last weekend’s 2016 Guam Championships, while three of her teammates also triumphed in the competition at the Hagatna Pool.

Batallones took the gold medal in the girls U8 division after collecting 63 points and finishing first in all seven individual events she was entered. The seven-year-old Batallones raced in the 50m and 100m breaststroke, 50m, 100m, and 200m freestyle, 50m and 100m backstroke, and 200m individual medley and won the division championship against Tsunami Swim Club-ZZ’s Sadie Ha’anne Mayo (51 points), Manhoben Swim Club’s Amaya Bollinger (45) and three other swimmers.

“Brilliant Guam debuts from our four swimmers—Maria Batallones, Aasish Dangol, Sean Gil, and Risa Sekiguchi. I’m so proud of these swimmers who competed in Guam for the first time. This meet was so tough and hard for them, but they did their best,” Tsunami Saipan head coach Hiro Kimura said.

Dangol placed second overall in the boys U8 division after earning 53 points. Tsunami Swim Club-ZZ’s Luke Leon Guerrero took the first place honors with his 61 markers, while teammate Isaac Campus rounded out the Top 3 after getting 45 points. Leon Guerrero and Campus are 8-year-old swimmers.

“Although Aasish missed the championship, his second place finish is respectable since he was up against older opponents,” Kimura said of his 7-year-old swimmer.

Gil and Sekiguchi did not make it to the podium, but still drew praises from Kimura for leaving a good mark in their first competition in Guam.

“Risa set some personal best times. In the 50m breastroke, her time (52.51 seconds) was nearly four seconds faster than her old PBT (56.34 seconds) and in the 100m freestyle, she was able to break her record by about two seconds (from 1:30.46 to 1:28.88). Sean also made some PBTs,” the Tsunami Saipan coach added.

Sekiguchi joined the girls 11 to 12 division, which was ruled by her teammate Sophia Gauran. It was a close fight for the gold medal in the division with Gauran getting 58 points to edge Tsunami Swim Club-ZZ’s Risa Hendrix (55). Hendrix was just ahead by a point against Tsunami Saipan’s Aika Watanabe, who shared the third place honors with Tsunami Swim Club-ZZ’s Esabelle Eldridge.

“Sophia had a best time in the 50m breaststroke. Her 40.94 seconds was also the fastest among the female swimmers who completed the sprint event. Her time was even faster than the CNMI age group record (41.43 seconds) in the 17 to 18 division. It was a great time,” Kimura said.

Meanwhile, two other Tsunami Saipan swimmers duplicated Gauran’s gold medal win, while three others also made it to the podium.

Ashley Dangol lived up to expectations after topping the girls 9 to 10 division. She ruled all her seven events to claim 63 points and finish way ahead of Tsunami Swim Club-ZZ’s Joy Blaz (49) and Andersen Marlins’ Bethany Masum (48). Seven other swimmers joined the division.

Tsunami Saipan had a sweep in the 9 to 10 age group after Isaiah Aleksenko won the boys championship. He got 55 points to prevail in a close fight against Tsunami Swim Club-ZZ’s Ty Leon Guerrero (53) and fellow Tsunami Saipan swimmer Anthony Camacho-Deleon Guerrero (50).

Other podium finishers for Tsunami Saipan were Juhn Tenorio and Angel De Jesus, who were ranked third and second in the boys 11 to 12 and girls 17 to 18 divisions, respectively. Tenorio posted 53 points to join Tsunami Swim Club-ZZ’s Chuckie White (59) and Manhoben’s Mark Imazu in the Top 3. De Jesus, on the other hand, tallied 57 points to settle for the runner-up award behind champion Annabelle Alba (61 points) of Tsunami Swim Club-ZZ’s, while Manhoben’s Audrey Michelle Townsend (26 points) placed third.

After their notable performance in Guam, Kimura vowed his swimmers will not rest on their laurels.

“This summer, the training sessions will be very hard as our swimmers need to get stronger and faster. We are also planning to have a time trial and will encourage our swimmers to update their personal best times,” Kimura said.