BY SHERDON COWAN
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
A sensational swim by the Tornadoes ‘A’ team brought the curtains down on the Amateur Swimming Association of Jamaica (ASAJ) Christmas Open Championships in record-breaking style in the ultimate event on Sunday’s final day at the National Aquatics Centre.
The team of Jesse Marsh, Alex Mignott, Sean-Douglas Gooden and Joseph Black smashed the club’s old record of 4:00.94 minutes set in 2011, when they posted 3:53.92 minutes to win the Boys’ 400-metre freestyle relay.
Second-placed Swimaz Aquatics team of Kevaughn Campbell, Kymon Naar, Bryce Butler and Jordan Hines also went below the mark with a time of 3:54.28 minutes, while the Marlins team closed out the top three with a time of 4:13.43 minutes.
The Wendy Lee-coached Tornadoes Swim Club were named overall champions with a tally of 648.50 points. Pace-setters Swimaz Aquatics finished second with 636.50 points, while Y-Speedos (527 points) were third. The six-team table was rounded off by Marlins Swim Club (356 points), Blue Seal Swim Club (171 points) and Wahoo Swim Club (78 points).
Naomi Eaton of Wahoo, who accumulated 75 individual points, was named top girl in the 10-12 category, while Jordane Payne (85 points) of Swimaz won the boys’ category.
Meanwhile, Annastazia Chin (74 points) of Tornadoes was the top girl in the open category with teammate Jesse Marsh (65 points) being named top boy.
Earlier in the day, Chin opened her account in the Girls’ 400-metre freestyle event. The 14-year-old won in a time of 5:05.49 minutes, ahead of Britney Williams (5:15.67) of Swimaz with Angara Sinclair (5:15.81) of Speedos finishing a close third.
Joseph Black took the boys’ equivalent in 4:37.56 minutes ahead of Kymon Naar (4:41.19) and team Jesse Marsh (4:41.62). The 14-year-old Black then followed up with victory in the 50-metre freestyle, which he won in a blistering 25.36 seconds. Jordan Hines (26.27s) of Swimaz was second, followed by Orane Garrick (26.78s) of Marlins in third.
Anjuii Barrett of Marlins took the girls’ event in 28.63 seconds, ahead of Sinclair (29.09s) and Ivana Chang (29.30s) of Swimaz back in third.
Britney Williams of Swimaz won the Girls’ 10-12 event in 30.75 seconds, just ahead of teammate Emily MacDonald (30.91s), and Eaton (30.98s). Jordane Payne topped the boys’ age-group event in 29.12 seconds, with Cameron Brown (30.01s) of Speedos and Adrian Grant (30.17s) of Blue Seals finishing second and third, respectively.
Eaton returned to win the girls’ 10-12 200-metre breaststroke event in 3:17.58 minutes. Thandiwe McDonald (3:26.20) of Swimaz and Paris Clare (3:26.20) of Speedos.
Chad Young of Blue Seals took the boys’ age-group equivalent in 3:04.99 minutes, ahead the Speedos pair of Cameron Brown (3:05.20) and Rajiv Redhi (3:10.75).
Llori Sharpe of Tornadoes easily won the girls open in 3:06.85 minutes. Gabrielle Hopkins (3:10.70) of Blue Seals was second, while Chin (3:11.10) had to settle for third.
Bryce Butler of Swimaz was just outside the 2:45.30 minute record when he won the Boys’ open event in 2:47.42 minutes. Keith Wilkinson (2:52.75) of Marlin took second, ahead of Kevon Findley (3:10.21) of Speedos.
The 11-year-old sensation Eaton also copped the Girls’ 10-12 50-metre backstroke event. She had to stave off the challenge of Blue Seals’ Courtnae Dwyer as they both touched in a time of 36.77 seconds.
However, Eaton gained the top spot with a better seeded time of 35.93 seconds, compared to Dwyer’s 36.26 seconds. Joel Wilkinson of Marlins won the boys’ age-group equivalent in 34.14 seconds, ahead of Payne (37.60s) and teammate Akeem Alleyne (38.04s).
Black won the boys’ open event in a fast time of 30.92 seconds, followed by Garrick (31.32s) and Anthony Morrison-Vincent (31.41s) of Speedos.
Angara Sinclair won the girls’ event in 32.48 seconds, ahead of Chin (35.29s) and Barrett (35.37s).
Meanwhile, Saturday’s penultimate day was highlighted by Swimaz Aquatics ‘A’ team, who erased the record in the Boys’ 400-metre medley relay. The team of Kymon Naar, Bryce Butler, Kevaughn Campbell and Jordan Hines stopped the clock at 4:24.65 minutes to erase the six-year-old mark of 4:28.27 minutes set in 2008 by Tornadoes Swim Club.
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Record-breaking Tornadoes "A" bring curtains down in style
