Saipan swimmers excel in Guam meet

Saipan swimmers provided one of their best performances in swimming on Guam this past weekend during the A Championships at the Agana Swimming Pool.

Nineteen Saipan Swimmers qualified for this championship which saw the swimmers return with nine High Points Trophies, eight NMI Age Group Records and a Guam Swim League Record. Virtually all the swimmers from Saipan clocked in their personal best. The only four relays entered were all first place.

It was a great three-day meet which began on Friday evening with everyone turning in best performances in the 400m freestyle, 50m freestyle and the 50m butterfly events.

The 400m started the ball rolling with swimmers dropping between 5-25 seconds from their previous best times. Rezne Wong pushed Michael Camacho to a new 10 years and under Saipan record in this event, formerly held by Sho Saso, in a time of 5:52.06. Tamiko Winkfield, in the final heat of the 400’s, bettered her previous Saipan record lowering it to 4:57.31.

Following the 400m free’s, the 50M event was held for all ages, and again Saipan swimmers performed well with personal best times, winning several of the age groups entered.

Myana Welch, battling it out with Melissa Coleman, both broke the old Saipan record of 32.02, held by Grace Joyce set in 1988. Both swimmers went under the record, but the winner, Myana Welch officially gets credit for the record.

The second day of competition began with the 200m freestyle events, and with the previous night’s momentum, Ms. Coleman and Ms. Welch fought it out for first place and this time it was Coleman winning in 2:32.00, five seconds under her previous best and breaking the old record held by Audra Winkfield by two seconds, set in 1995.

The day finished with the 4×50 medley relay, in which Saipan only entered the 11-12 year old age groups, winning both the boys (J. Camacho, S. Hirabayashi, Q. Johnson and R. Wong) and girls (M. Welch, M. Cabrera, B. Atalig and M. Coleman) relays, and, the 800m freestyle which was loaded with Saipan swimmers, some of whom lowered their times by almost a minute.

In this distance event Amanda Johnson and Michael Camacho established new Saipan records for the event in the 10 years and under age group, in 12:22.78 and 12:22.34 respectively.

The final day of competition saw Ms. Coleman break her second record of the meet, this time it was Tracy Feger’s 11-12 year old 100m free mark of 1:10.92, which fell to 1:09.81. Ms. Welch also broke Vanessa Kosack’s 200m record for the second time, lowering it to 2:52.27, and in the next event tied the 11-12 year old 50m breastroke record held by Jennifer Pierce, in 39.13.

The freestyle relays were then held and again, Saipan only able to enter the 11-12 year old relays, came out with two more wins. Both were come from behind victories with Katie Nicholls and Juan Camacho swimming excellent final legs to earn those wins.

It was Tamiko Winkfield’s Guam Swim League Record of 19:28.78, a few seconds off her previous best and breaking the record set in 1991 by Tammie Kaae of 19:53.27, that completed an excellent season for the Saipan Swim Club with all nineteen swimmers performing their absolute best.

At the final awards presentation of High Points Trophies, Saipan swimmers came home with nine of them. High Point winners are:

• Amanada Johnson, 3rd place 9-10 girls

• Michael Camacho, 1st place 9-10 boys

• Rezne Wong, 3rd place 9-10 boys

• Melissa Coleman, 1st place 11-12 girls

• Myana Welch, 2nd place girls

• Dean Palacios, 1st place 13-14 boys

• Daniel Kim, 2nd place 13-14 boys

• Jeremy Winkfield, 3rd place boys

• Tamiko Winkfield, 1st place Sr. girls

Six swimmers will compete in the Arafus Games in Darwin, Australia in late May, Dean Palacios, Jeremy Winkfield, Melissa Coleman, Myana Welch and Tamiko Winkfield, and Seung Gin Lee who did not compete in the Guam meet as he chose to stay back on Saipan in hopes of qualifying for the Mini South Pacific Games Team in Triathlon in December on Norfolk Island. On Saturday he won the first stage of that qualification.

Two of three swimmers will compete in the World Swimming Championships in Fukuoka, Japan in late July, along with Xenavee Pangelinan.

In related news, the Saipan Swim Club will also give swim lessons beginning mid June to children and adults at the Kan Pacific Swimming Pool. Exact dates are yet to be announced.