The 54th Bahamas Aquatics Federation’s National Swimming Championships got off to a thrilling start at the Betty Kelly-Kenning (BKK) National Swim Complex on Thursday.
Swimmers from the various age groups produced new personal best times, lowered their seed times, and collected medals for their respective swim clubs in hopes of their clubs emerging as national champion following the four-day meet.
The Mako Aquatics Club, seven-time champion, is looking to capture an eighth consecutive national title, with Head Coach Travano McPhee leading the charge. They are currently in the lead with a total of 689 points. The Alpha Aquatics Club is second overall with 281 points, and the Blue Waves Swim Club is trailing second by one point in third with 280.
In terms of performances, a number of Mako swimmers made it to the podium on the opening day of the swim nationals.
Mako swept the boys’ and girls’ 11-12 200 meters (m) breaststroke finals. Isabella Munroe and Kymani Cooper won the events with times of 3:03.31 and 2:52.54, respectively.
CARIFTA gold medalist Isabella Cuccurullo got the edge over her fellow swimmers in the girls’ 13-14 200m breaststroke final. She swam 2:49.89 to secure the gold medal for the Alpha Aquatics Club.
Cuccurullo also medaled in the girls’ 13-14 100m butterfly. She finished first in a personal best time of 1:08.55.
Lauchlan Menzies, representing Lyford Swim Club (LSC), dropped significant time in the boys’ 13-14 200m breaststroke final. Menzies shaved 9.59 seconds off his entry time of 2:55.07, improving to 2:45.48 for first place in the final.
He also came away as the victor in the boys’ 13-and-over 800m free final, finishing in 9:36.01, once again trimming significant time off his entry mark. He dropped 17.87 seconds off his previous time of 9:53.88.
Mako swimmer Kimaya Saunders touched the wall first in 2:50.63 in the girls’ 15-17 200m breaststroke. Saunders erased 1.31 seconds from her initial mark of 2:51.94.
CARIFTA standout and Mako swimmer Tristen Hepburn topped the podium in the boys’ 15-17 200m breaststroke final. He touched the wall in 2:28.98.
Moving on to the 50m backstroke, the Black Marlin Swim Club’s Alissa Ferguson earned gold medal honors in the girls’ 13-14 final. She stopped the clock at 31.69 seconds, trimming 1.55 seconds off her seed time.
Freeport native and Mako swimmer Sean Norville-Smith captured the boys’ title. He completed his swim in 29.03 seconds.
Alpha Aquatics swimmer Siann Isaacs claimed victory in the girls’ 15-17 50m backstroke final. She finished with a winning time of 31.82 seconds.
Additionally, Isaacs picked up a gold medal in the girls’ 15-17 100m butterfly. She won the event in 1:05.10. Her clubmate Rafael McBroom swam to victory in the boys’ 15-17 50m backstroke in a personal best time of 27.33 seconds.
Olympian Lamar Taylor was in top form in the boys’ 18-and-over 50m backstroke final. He edged out his competitors in 26.61 seconds to defend his national title.
It was Blue Waves’ Christon Joseph who took the boys’ 13-14 100m butterfly title. He got the better of his competitors in a personal best time of 57.39 seconds. The CARIFTA gold medalist dropped 1.23 seconds from his preliminary time of 58.62 seconds.
Alexander Murray, representing Beast Aquatics, held his own for a first-place finish in the boys’ 15-17 100m butterfly, clocking 57.71 seconds for the gold.
Collegiate swimmer Marvin Johnson won the boys’ 18-and-over 100m butterfly in 55.01 seconds, and Elyse Wood took top honors in the girls’ division in 1:03.25.
Day two of the national swimming championships will begin with the morning session at 9 a.m. today at the Betty Kelly-Kenning complex.
