Simba FrenchSend an emailJune 16, 2022 213 3 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email
The final swim meet hosted by a local club this season is in the books and all the attention is now turned to the highly anticipated Bahamas Aquatics Federation’s National Swimming Championships set for July. Closing out the club-hosted meets this season was Mako Aquatics Club, hosting their second annual Oaktree Medical invitational at the Betty Kelly-Kenning National Swim Complex this past Saturday.
Swimmers were in action as they looked to improve on their season’s best and personal best times or try meet the qualifying standards for the nationals. Head Coach of Mako Aquatics Travano McPhee said he was pleased that other clubs supported the meet.
“The meet was successful. It was an excellent turnout by local swimmers,” said McPhee. “A lot of the younger swimmers who were given a last opportunity to qualify for nationals were able to do so.”
An outstanding swim came from Mako’s Isabella Munroe in the 8-and-under girls division. Munroe has been swimming strong all season, carting off high-point awards in the meets she swam in. At this meet, she scored 61 points, swimming in seven events. The eight-year-old won the 50 meters (m) and 200m freestyle races, the 50m butterfly, the 50m breaststroke and the 200m individual medley (IM). Her only second place finish of the meet came in the 50m backstroke event.
Blue Waves Swim Club’s duo Cailyn Dean and Kirsten Rolle were second and third, respectively, in the race for the 8-and-under girls title. Dean scored 43 points and her teammate Rolle finished with 37 points.
Tia Seymour from the Mantas Swim and Water Polo Club was the high-point winner in the 10-and-over girls category. She won all seven of her races, scoring 63 points. The 10-year-old won the 50m, 100m, and 200m free events, the 50m and 100m fly, the 50m breast and the 50m back.
Taylen Nicolls, who swims for Mako, was second with 41 points. Close behind her was the Mantas Swim and Water Polo Club’s Paityn Burrows with 32.50 points.
Amassing first place finishes in all his races was the Blue Waves’ Christon Joseph. The 10-year-old won all seven of his races to cart off the 9-10 boys division title, tallying 63 points. He won the 50m, 100m and 200m free, the 50m fly, the 100m breast, the 200m IM and the 100m back.
Mako’s Keiron Lloyd was second after scoring 47 points. Lloyd’s teammate Zander Lightbourne was third with 40 points.
Joseph’s teammate Dijon Simmons powered his way to a first-place finish the high-point award in the 11-12 boys category. He scored 54 points. On his tail, finishing in second place, was Mako’s Maxwell Daniels who scored 49 points. Trace Russell, who also swims for Mako, was third with 44 points.
Simmons, who swam in his first CARIFTA Championships this year, won all six of his races. The 12-year-old won the 50m free, the 50m back, the 50m breast, the 400m IM, and the 50 and 100m fly events.
It was a stiff race for the senior boys title between Mako teammates Erald Thompson III and Tristin Ferguson. In the end, Thompson edged Ferguson by three points to win the 15-and-over boys category high-point award with 48 points. Ferguson was second with 45 points. There was a tie for third as Mako swimmers Cherkadin Wells and Andrew Walcott both scored 36 points.
Thompson, who is back home from Howard University in Washington DC, swam in six races and won four of them. He won the 50m and 200m free, the 50m back and the 200m IM.
It was a battle for the top spot in the 15-and-over girls category. The host club’s Devin Cuffy-Bethel won one of her seven races and still managed to win the high-point award with 48 points. The win came in the 50m breast event. She had three second-place finishes and three third-place finishes.
Jamilah Hepburn, who swims with Mako, scored 38 points to finish second. Lyford Cay’s Delaney Mizell and Mako’s Rachel Lundy were tied for third with 36 points apiece.
Other sponsors of the meet were Evolve Functional Fitness, McDonald’s, Yes! It’s Switcharific and The Swim Shop.