LIGHTNING JACK KIRBY STRIKES AGAIN,SETS ANOTHER NATIONAL BACKSTROKE RECORD

The fans at the Aquatic Centre in Wildey, St Michael Barbados were on hand to witness a lightning quick national record performance in the 15 and over 100 metre backstroke by Jack Kirby. The occasion was the 28th Aquatic Centre International Invitational Swim Meet.

Jack Kirby Photo courtesy of Pirates Swim Club Barbados

Before second day of the competition on May 25 the fastest a Barbadian swimmer had ever navigated the two back stroke race was 56.19 . That mark was set by Kirby in a fifth place finish in the Championship final at the 2018 CAC (Central American and Caribbean Games)in Barranquilla Colombia. But this is new year with new standards to be achieved and Jack certainly did that .

When the starter’s gun sounded two swimmers separated themselves from the field with their excellent underwater work Kirby of the Pirates Swim club and Nicky Neckles Olympian (1996 Atlanta, 2000 Sydney and Athens and CAC 100 metre backstroke medallist (Bronze 2002,Gold 2006,Silver 2010).

Barbados Backstroke Stars Jack Kirby and Olympian Nicky Neckles Photo courtesy of Pirates Swim Club

Jack gained the ascendancy and pushed his way to the lead with a split of 27.77. Kirby’s underwater work was almost as good if not better than the start . He used that to gain a sizeable lead and all eyes were now on the clock. He did not disappoint with a final 50 metres timed at 28.03 which helped to a total time of 55.80.

There was a change of tactics for this record swim as he went out more conservatively to bring it home faster. As evidenced by his splits in 2018 which were 26.77 and 29.42

The first swimmer under 56 seconds in the event in Barbados lowering the meet and open record of 56.76 set by Venezuela’s Luis Rojas in 2012. Second went to Neckles of Flying Fish Masters in 1:01.29 and Bronze to Nkosi Dunwoody of Alpha Swim club in 1:07.37.

Draftingthecaribbean spoke to Kirby about his achievements and he gave us the following thoughts.He first spoke about why the race was special

” The race was special because I was able to achieve my goal at home in front of my friends and family”.

He also spoke about the training behind his great underwater work

” For the underwaters, I practice them everyday in warm up. We always have these 8 50s and as I go through them, I do 4 kicks off the turn for 3 50s, 6 kicks off the turn for 3 50s, and 8 kicks off the turn for the last two. The goal is to work on going far with those kicks. So by time I get to the 8 kicks, I break out at 15 metre mark. In the race, I do 8 kicks off the turn, hoping to get to the 15 metre mark”.

He also told draftingthecaribbean about his mindset before the race

” I kept my thoughts pretty relaxed before the 100 back. I planned to go after it the same way I always do. Back half it because I’m pretty good with easy speed, so I had to trust my wall and back end speed”.

His new personal best and national record also moves him past Jamaican record holder Olympian Timothy Wynter, a recent USC (University of Southern California) graduate on the best all time English speaking CARIFTA region list. That list is headed by another USC graduate Trinidad and Tobago Olympian Dylan Carter.Jack now holds two of the three senior national backstroke records to include the 50 metre backstroke at 26.07. The last remaining record he does not own is the 200 . That mark was set by Neckles in 2006 in a time of 2:00.85.

CARIFTA backstrokers at USC from left to right Carter,Kirby and Wynter Photo courtesy of swimmingworld

Name	First 50	Second 50	100	Year
Dylan Carter TTO	26.41	27.68	54.09	2019
Rex Tullius USVI	26.61	28.46	55.07	2016
George Bovell III TTO	26.18	29.04	55.22	2012
Jack Kirby Bar	27.77	28.03	55.80	2019
Bradley Ally Bar	27.38	28.50	55.88	2011
Timothy Wynter Jam	26.93	29.22	56.15	2016
Shaune Fraser Cay	28.06	28.93	56.99	2011
Jack Kirby Bar	26.77	29.42	56.19	2018

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SCHREUDERS AND HIGGS EARN CAREER BEST PLACINGS AT SEC’S ON DAY TWO, MIKEL WINS FREESTYLE BRONZE

The second day of the SEC championships being held in Georgia. Mikel Schreuders and Albury Higgs both set new personal bests and recorded their highest ever placings in the 50 yard freestyle and 200 yard individual medley respectively.

Albury Higgs Photo courtesy of swimswam.com

Higgs of the Bahamas competing for the South Carolina Gamecocks earned her first ever spot in an SEC final in the 200 yard IM when she lowered her personal best from 2:00.37 to 1:58.30, an NCAA B qualifying time. In 2018 she had placed 38th overall. She would have more in store in the C final as she lowered that time further to place 6th overall in 1:58.24. This is a big improvement from November 2018 when she recorded her previous best heading into the SEC’s as seen by the splits below

Albury Higgs

butterfly	26.49	26.02
backstroke	29.83	29.68
breaststroke	34.57	33.53
freestyle	29.48	29.01
Total time	2:00.37	1:58.24

With her SEC performance Higgs now moves from joint fourth to the third fastest performer in South Carolina history.

Mikel Schreuders Photo courtesy of mutigers.com

Aruban Mikel Schreuders of Missouri earned his best ever placing in the 50 yard freestyle when he won Bronze in the event in a new personal best time of 19.24. Coming to Georgia Mikel had a personal best time of 19.45. He lowered that in the morning heats to 19.31. Schreuders has swum faster each year he has contested this event.

2019	19.24	Bronze
2018	19.69	1st C final
2017	20.17	28th
2016	20.71	39th

With that swim he now moves from fourth to second fastest all time in Missouri Tigers history. He moves to being the third fastest ever performer from the CARIFTA region . The list is headed by the legendary George Bovell III Trinidad and Tobago who is the region’s fastest ever swimmer in yards, short course metres and long course metres

Goerge Bovell III Photo courtesy of sportsmax.tv

2009	George Bovell III	18.98
2017	Dylan Carter	19.04
2019	Mikel Schreuders	19.24
2018	Justin Plaschka	19.30
2009	Shanune Fraser	19.30

Justin Plaschka Photo courtesy of und.com

In 2017 at the NCAA Championships during the heats Schreuders had anchored the 200 yard freestyle relay to a time of 1:16.78 , a new school record,with a split of 19.61.That enabled the Tigers to make the final . He never swum in the final and the team placed seventh with the exact same time. In Georgia he blew past the 19 seconds barrier to split 18.77 on the second leg. Mikel, along with Luke Mankus 19.48,Danny Kovac 19.14 and Kyle Leach 19.29 combined to swim to a new school record of 1:16.68 and place fourth.

Mikel Schreuders in action Photo courtesy of mutigers.com/Mike Krebs

ALEX THE GREAT!!!SOBERS SETS NEW PB, SCHOOL AND CONFERENCE RECORDS AT CAROLINAS MEET

Alex Sobers of Barbados continues to add to his swimming legacy with another five star performance for the Emmanuel College Lions at the 2019 Conference Carolinas Men’s Swimming Championship  at the Mecklenburg County Aquatic Center in Charlotte,North Carolina. Sobers laid waste to all his personal bests and conference records in every single event that he contested.

The opening battle in the 200 yard medley relay saw the Lions disqualified. With a moniker such as Lions the team from Franklin Springs would not be deterred or bowed and swam a time trial in the event . And what time trial it was as the Lions shattered the school record , the Carolinas record and recorded the eighth fastest time in the NCAA Division II so far.

Lions record setting 200 medley relay team Rosa, Santos,Coach Gilchrest,Sobers and Mendes.Photo courtesy of goeclions.com

Leg	Name	Time
Backstroke	Thiago Rosa	22.60
Breaststroke	Joao Santos	24.46
Butterfly	Rafael Mendes	22.05
frreestyle	Alex Sobers	19.69
Total Time	1:28.80

The previous school and conference records previously stood at 1:30.43 in 2017 and 1:30.08 by the 2018 Limstone College team.

Sobers denied a Gold medal with the disqualification would certainly make up for it with his performances in his remaining events.

Sobers competing in the heats of the 500 yard freestyle .Photo courtesy of goeclions.com

Coming to the Conference Championships Alex was the holder of the 500 yard freestyle mark with a time of 4:27.56 set in 2017. The 2018 conference record belonged to Robert Zamarano of Barton who had stopped the clock in 4:42.09. Both marks were swept away with disdain in Sobers’ preliminary swim as he touched in 4:22.74. Now already the best his school and the conference had ever seen in the event the final served to be a coronation ceremony as he lowered that time to win by over 20 seconds and record a time of 4:19.41 , the fastest time currently in Division II . The Division II record of 4:17.09 held by Dutch Olympian Dion Dreesens while competing for Queens University of Charlotte can officially be put on notice.

Sobers celebrating with Gold medal in the 500 yard freestyle

Comparison of Personal best splits

2019	2017
48.92	50.67
52.36	55.17
52.32	55.18
53.13	54.00
52.68	52.54
4:19.41	4:27.56

Sobers is now the fastest ever English speaking Caribbean and CARIFTA region swimmer in the event bettering the 4:25.03 set by countryman and Olympian Damian Alleyne in Nov 1999. Alleyne set that time as 16 year old swimming for the world renowned Bolles school in Jacksonville Florida . He still holds the Bolles record for the 15-16 age group .He set that time at the 1999 4A state when it was a then record performance.The girls record is held by Jamaican Olympian Janelle Atkinson . The record board also includes names such as US Olympic gold medallist Caleb Dressel.

Top times from the Region

Country	Name	Time
Aruba	Mikel Schreuders	4:25.31
Aruba	Daniel Jacobs	4:25.82
The Bahamas	Jeremy Knowles	4:26.00
Cayman Islands	Shaune Fraser	4:27.56

The Lions would roar to an emphatic win of more than five seconds in the 400 yard medley relay. Falling by the wayside was the school record of 3:18.77 and the Carolinas conference record of 3:17.84

Lions Gold medal relay medallists 3:17.21

Leg	Name	Split
backstroke	Thiago Rosa	49.05
Breaststroke	Joao Santos	54.49
Butterfly	Rafael Mendes	50.37
freestyle	Alex Sobers	43.30
Total time	3:17.21

Sobers had the fastest time of the relay that bettered his 43.68 when he was the anchor on the team that set the school record in 2017. It also puts the Lions as the 16th fastest team in Division II.

In the 200 yard freestyle relay the same quartet put up a gold medal winning time of 1:21.53 . That places them 16th in Divison II and broke the Conference record.

The 200 yard freestyle saw the 2018 Carolinas record of 1:40.43 set by Saint Leo ‘s Fridtojov Mork taken down in the heats when Sobers touched in a time of 1:37.94. He crowned himself King and the best the conference has ever since when he set a new PB, School record and conference record of 1:35.32 (split time 46.41). That ranks him as the second fastest in Division II.He crushed the field by more than five seconds.

In the 100 yard freestyle he again took down the Conference record in the heats with a swim of 44.25. The old record belonged to Mork of Saint Leo with a time of 45.06.The final saw the Lions going 1-2 as Sobers recorded his first sub 44 seconds clocking of 43.65 (split time 20.86).Silver went to teammate Rose in 44.01. Sobers bettered his PBof 44.20 and Rosa’s school record of 44.00.The swim places Sobers ninth overall in the Division.

Sobers and his teammates capped the meet with yet another school and conference record in the 400 yard freestyle relay and a winning margin of almost ten seconds.They stopped the clock in a time of 2:57.90

Leg	Name	Split
First	Joao Santos	44.49
Second	Thiago Rosa	43.59
Third	Rafael Mendes	46.13
Fourth	Alex Sobers	43.69
Total time	2:57.90

The old school and conference records stood at 2:58.24 and 3:00.34.

For his tremendous efforts Sobers was named Carolinas Co -swimmer of the Year along with his teammate Joao Santos. The Lions finished second to Barton College amassing 732 points.

Nicky Neckles with Silver in the 100 metre backstroke at the 2010 Games Photo courtesy of swimbarbados.com

Sobers continues to raise the bar for his country with record breaking exploits. In December draftingthecaribbean spoke with Damian Alleyne, a leader in the freestyle events in his time from the late 90’s to early 2000’s, after Sobers lowered his national record in the 200 metre freestyle at the World Short Course Swimming Championships in in China from 1:48.98 to 1:47.55. Alleyne belonged to a Golden era of male swimming in Barbados that included such names asNicky Neckles, Bradley Ally, Cliff Gittens, Martyn Forde, Shawn Clarke,Andrei Cross among others. We spoke to Alleyne about his record breaking swim in 2001 and what
what Alex’s swim in China meant in the context of swimming in Barbados moving forward

Damian Alleyne Barbados Olympian (2000,2004) Photo courtesy of Khalil Goodman for Better Health Magazine June 2011

” To be honest, I don’t remember the exact details of my swim, I believe I was home for SC Nationals at Christmas and managed to squeeze that time out. As far as what Alex has accomplished, I believe it shows a positive progression for the sport of swimming in Barbados and the Caribbean. I am very proud of Alex and what he has been able to accomplish in his swimming career and I can’t wait to see what more he can achieve! I always had the mindset that I wanted to set the bar for swimming in Barbados. I wanted to make sure that bar was so high that the next swimmer to come along and challenge it would be a legitimate, world class, athlete and Alex has displayed this. I wish him all the best in any future endeavors and can’t wait to see how much further he takes the sport for the next generation to aspire to”.

GIRL WONDER!! JILLIAN CROOKS OF CAMANA BAY CONTINUES NATIONAL RECORD ONSLAUGHT ON FINAL DAY OF DEAN MARTIN

As it was on the first two days of the 2018 Dean Martin Memorial meet in Kingston Jamaica so it was on the final day  Sunday October 28 where Jillian Crooks of Camana Bay Aquatics continued the constant assault on the Cayman Islands 11-12 age group records.

Jillian Crooks 11-12 metre record holder in 100 metre butterfly and fastest ever 11-12 swimmer in the event in Jamaica Photo courtesy of Cheser Adams

In her first event of the day she raised the bar for her age group in the 100 metre butterfly. The 11-12 meet record stood to Jamaican standout Zaneta Alvaranga at 1:08.85 in 2017 which was also the fastest time by  a female swimmer at the meet, Jillian’s 11-12 Cayman record was 1:06.87 from her CCCAN Gold medal performance in Aruba and the best ever  11-12 time in Jamaica was 1:05.98 by another wunderkind Bermuda’s Elan Daley in her Gold medal winning performance at CARIFTA 2018.  Jillian would blast through all of those times  to record a winning time of 1:04.54.  Her opening split of 30.21 almost broke her 50 metre butterfly record of 30.08.Crooks has made considerable progress since her first regional meet of 2018 which was UANA where she recorded a time of 1:12.43.

100 butterfly	UANA	CCCAN	Dean Martin
First 50	33.95	32.64	30.21
Second 50	38.48	36.67	34.33
Final Time	1:12.43	1:09.31	1:04.54

Olympian Heather Roffey Photo courtesy of gamecocksonline.com

Still in only her first year of the 11-12 age group she is already faster than the Cayman Islands 13-14 record held by Olympian Heather Roffey (Athen 2004) of 1:05.62 and is closing fast on the senior record of Lara Butler (Rio 2016)  of 1:04.10. Her winning time at Dean Martin would have won her the Silver medal in the boys race at CARIFTA earlier in the year

Lara Butler Photo courtesy of http://www.ciasa.ky

100 butterfly	Crooks 2018	Butler 2016
First 50	30.21	30.15
Second 50	34.33	33.95
Final Time	1:04.54	1:04.10

Kendese Nangle Photo courtesy of dartmouthsports.com

She would not finish with her record breaking in the butterfly but also extended that to the 200 metre backstroke. Jillian would slice a few hundredths off her PB and national record of 2:33.98 to register  a winning time of 2:33.91 . That now stands at the 11-12 record and fastest  ever female time of the meet. The old 11-12 meet record was held by Kendese Nangle of the Blue Seals swim club from 2007 who posted a time of 2:42.95.

Emily MacDonald  Photo courtesy of Mike C Lyn

She would close out the meet with a meet record in the 50 metre freestyle record of 27.78 just eclipsing the  2016 meet  record of  27.79 by CAC and Youth Olympics representative Emily MacDonald of Swimaz Aquatics.  Crooks now dominates the LCM record board for the Cayman Islands in the 11-12 age group and has a chance to lower the CARIFTA and CCCAN records in those events in 2019.

Event	Crooks Cayman	CARIFTA	CCCAN	CCCAN best/Country
50 metre freestyle	27.25	26.59	27.46	26.59 Ber
100 metre freestyle	59.93	1:00.06	59.65	58.12 Ber
200 metre freestyle	2:15.17	2:10.26	2:10.24	2:08.16 Ber
50 metre backstroke	32.11	31.52	30.78	30.78  Tri
100 metre backstroke	1:08.40	1:08.69	1:07.14	1:06.65 Tri
200 metre backstroke	2:33.91	2:29.11	2:26.35	2:25.91 Mex
100 metre breaststroke	1:23.60	1:14.60	1:14.39	1:13.33 Tri
50 metre butterfly	30.08	28.87	28.74	28.74 Jam
100 metre butterfly	1:04.54	1:05.98	1:05.55	1:04.46 Ber
200 metre IM	2:34.88	2:27.95	2:27.38	2:25.21 Ber

Continuing his own meet record smashing streak was Zarek Wilson of the Blue Dolphins Swim club of Trinidad and Tobago. He recorded the fastest ever time at the meet of 4:30.45 while destroying the 11-12 record of Sean -Douglas Gooden of 4:51.45.In his final event of the competition he clocked 26.20 just missing the 2017 record of 26.16 set by Nathaniel Thomas of the Tornadoes swim club.

Sabrina Lyn National record holder in the 13-14 100 metre butterfly Photo courtesy of Cheser Adams

In one of the most exciting races of the day in the 13-14 age group in the 100 metre butterfly which saw the 2018 CARIFTA Silver medallist Zaneta Alvaranga of the Kaizen Swim Club in a head to head battle with the 2018 CCCAN Gold medallist and national record holder Sabrina Lyn of the Tornadoes. It would be Alvaranga’s fast opening 50 metres that proved to be the difference as she held off a late charge from Lyn. They would finish in times of 1:05.24 and 1:05.56  well under the 2008 record of 1:10.86. Also finishing under the record was P’aige Lewis of the Y Speedos who recorded a time of 1:10.57.

Zaneta Alvaranga, fastest ever female swimmer at the Dean Martin meet Photo courtesy of Cheser Adams

Alvaranga would return to close out her individual races with  an emphatic win in the 50 metre freestyle in a time of 27.23 . That shattered the  2016 meet record of 28.38 by 2018 Commonwealth Games competitor Alison Jackson of the Stingrays Swim Club of the Cayman Islands.The performance will also stand as the fastest ever female time at the meet.

Nathaniel Thomas 13-14 record breaker in the 100 metre butterfly and 50 metre freestyle Photo courtesy of Cheser Adams

Also in record standard setting mode was Thomas of the Tornadoes Swim Club in the 13-14 age category. In the 100 metre butterfly he set a new personal best time of 1:00.54 to take the win and break the meet record of 1:01.80. He would top the 13-14 field in the 50 metre freestyle with a time of 25.12 ,just under the old record of 25.16 in yet another personal best.He will be targeting the 2004 national record of 24.47 set by another Tornadoes swimmer Brad Hamilton.

Jordan Hines 17-18 50 metre freestyle record breaker Photo courtesy of Cheser Adams

In the 15-16 category Jordan Crooks of Camana Bay Aquatics produced the meet’s first ever sub minute swim in the 100 metre butterfly when he touched the pads in 59.83.In the 15 and over category of the 50 metre freestyle he held off two members of Jamaica’s national record setting 15-17 200 metre freestyle team at CARIFTA Jordan Hines of the Tornadoes Swim Club and Kyle Sinclair of the Y Speedos to be the fastest sprinter in the history of the meet. He cut through the water to touch in 24.60. Hines was a touch back in 24.61 and Sinclair ,the final sub 25 seconds swimmer with a 24.80. Both Jordans won their respective 15-16 and 17-18 age groups.

The Y Speedos Swim club retained their crown with 845 points followed by the Tornadoes Swim club with 745 and the Marlins swim club third with 256 points.

NATIONAL RECORDS CONTINUE TO FALL AT 2018 DEAN MARTIN ZAREK WILSON LOWERS ENGLISH SPEAKING CARIBBEAN BEST BUTTERFLY MARK, CROOK BETTERS FREESTYLE RECORD

The afternoon session of the Dean Martin Memorial Swim meet on October 27 saw Jillian Crooks  of Camana Bay Aquatics again breaking more Cayman Islands 11-12 national records. Joining her in the record breaking party was Zarek Wilson of the Blue Dolphins of Trinidad and Tobago who also lowered the English speaking record 11-12 butterfly record.

Zarek Wilson Photo courtesy of Harold Wilson

It would be Wilson who started the record breaking in the 200 metre butterfly. Zarek already held the fastest English speaking Caribbean mark  in the 11-12 age group when he had set the bar at 2:20.25 at meet earlier in the month. As the race was open he would test his skills with older swimmers . He did not waste the opportunity as he and Jordane Payne of the Y Speedos battled for the majority of the race for supremacy. In the end it would Wilson prevailing and becoming the first 11-12 English speaking swimmer under 2:20. He touched in a time of 2:17.82 .

Race analysis

200 butterfly	Splits
First 50	30.50
Second 50	35.30
Third 50	37.41
Fourth 50	34.61
Final Time	2:17.82

Damon St Prix Photo courtesy of swimbarbados.com

Records bettered on the way to his new mark was the meet standard of 2:33.52 set by Nathaniel Thomas and the fastest time set in Jamaica by an 11-12 boy of 2:22.71 in 2013 by Damon St Prix at CARIFTA 2013. Also downed was the fastest time recorded at the meet of 2:20.91 by Payne in 2017. When he was in Jamaica for the  CARIFTA Championships  and won this event  he had recorded a time of 2:23.22. In his sights before he enters the 13-14 age group will be the all time 11-12 CCCAN record of 2:15.69 set by Mexico’s Joshua Laisequilla in 2011. Payne would top the 15-16 swimmers and better his own record with a clocking of 2:20.86.

Zarek would also record the fastest time for the meet when he won the 400 IM in a time of 5:18.30. That bettered the 2015 mark of 5:24.99 held by Zachary Moore of the Stingray Swim Club of the Cayman Islands.

Jillian Crooks 11-12 200 metre freestyle record holder Photo courtesy of Cheser Adams

Crooks would set her national marks in the 200 metre freestyle and 100 metre breaststroke. In  the freestyle event  would see Crooks, the 2018 CCCAN Bronze medallist in event battling with the CCCAN Gold medallist and national record  holder Jamaican Morgan Cogle of Jupiter Dragons. Crooks would take the win in Kingston as both swimmer went under the 2016 record of 2:19.16  held by the former Jamaican national record holder in the event  Emily MacDonald of Swimaz. Crooks would touch in 2:15.17 with Cogle second in 2:17.00. Crooks previous best and national record  from CCCAN stood at 2:16.95.

200 freestyle	CCCAN	Dean Martin
First 50	30.89	31.95
Second 50	35.21	33.98
Third 50	35.78	34.90
Fourth 50	35.07	34.34
Final Time	2:16.95	2:15.17

Kokolo Foster 11-12 100 metre breaststroke record holder Photo courtesy of Cheser Adams

In the 100 metre breaststroke she was not the first to wall as Kokolo Foster of the Tornadoes Swim club lead her to the pads in a time of 1:23.18. Jillian touched just behind in 1:23.60. Both swimmers bettered the 2008 record of 1:24.19 held by Octivia Gray of the Marlins Swim Club. Crooks bettered the 2015 national  record of Alison Jackson of 1:24.96.

Alison Jackson Photo courtesy ofcaymansportsbuzz.com

100 breaststroke	Jackson 2015	Crooks 2018
First 50	39.62	39.07
Second 50	45.34	44.53
Final Time	1:24.96	1:23.60

Jordan and Jillian Crooks Photo courtesy of Lynval Lowe

Brother Jordan , a 2018 Youth Olympics competitor and flag bearer  would  also  set meet marks in Kingston . He took down the record in the 15-16 boys 100 metre freestyle of 55.48 with a time of 54.42. Battling him to the wall was Kyle Sinclair of the Y Speedos timed in 55.02. In the same race teammates from the Tornadoes Swim Club Jordan Hines and Sean -Douglas Gooden topped the 17-18 division with swims of 57.41 and 58.26 respectively and were both under the meet standard of 59.26.

The 200 metre freestyle would see Jordan lowering the 15-16 mark of 2:05.00 by Stingrays Jonathan Key and recording the best time ever done at Dean Martin with a  2:01.05 performance (split time 58.68).

Morgan Cogle 11-12 400 IM winner Photo courtesy of Cheser Adams

Cogle would bounce back from the 200 freestyle to record the fastest time ever done by a girl at the meet when she stopped the clock in 5:39.56. that swim broke the 11-12 record of 5:47.56 by Ria Plunkett of the Stingrays Swim Club in 2015.It is also faster than the best mark ever at the meet , the 15-16 record of 5:39.99 by Breanna Roman of Swimaz Aquatics.

Other notable records on the day saw the Tornadoes duo of Sabrina Lyn and Sean -Douglas Gooden taking down the breaststroke records in the 13-14 and 17-18 age groups respectively with swims of 1:19.74 and 1:11.45.

Sabrina Lyn of the Tornadoes Swim club .  13-14 200 metre butterfly meet record holder  Photo courtesy of Cheser Adams

Lyn also lowered the 200 metre butterfly record for good measure in a time of 2:41.67 .Last year she had set the 11-12 record with a time of 2:46.66.

LITTLE POOL, BIG POOL, NO ISSUES AS JILLIAN CROOKS COLLECTS MORE CAYMAN NATIONAL RECORDS AT DEAN MARTIN MEET IN JAMAICA

The 2018 Dean Martin Memorial swim promised to be an exciting three days of swimming action  and the first session held at the National Aquatic Centre did not disappoint. Leading the way on night one of action was young sensation from the Camana Bay Aquatics Club from the Cayman Islands Jillian Crooks.

Her last competitive outing saw her  smashing eight national records including a senior national record in the 25 metre pool. The question now was could she transfer her short course form to the big pool (50 metre ) .Question asked Answer EASILY.

In her very first event the 100 metre backstroke she produced a new PB, meet record and 11-12 Cayman national record swim and the fastest time ever swum by an 11-12 girl in Jamaica of 1:08.40. That was the only sub 1:10 swim of the day and  also the fastest female performance ever at meet. With splits of 33.43 and 35.95 Jillian proved herself a class a part.

Tyla Martin Photo courtesy of pinecrestswimming.com

She has also shown much improvement as the youngest swimmer in the Championship final of this event at CARIFTA in Kingston earlier this year  she had placed 5th in 1:15.71. The old national record of 1:10.45 has already belonged to Jillian from her CCCAN  Silver medal winning performance. The old meet record belonged to Jamaican age group star Angara Sinclair at 1:14.97.The previous fastest ever mark by an 11-12 girl was held by Trinidad and Tobago’s Tyla Martin who won Gold in that age group at CARIFTA 2010

Top 11-12 swimmers in the 200 metre IM from left to right Morgan Cogle of the Jupiter Dragon USA and Jillian Crooks of Camana Bay Aquatics Cayman Islands Photo courtesy of Cheser Adams

In her next race on the night she would destroy another Cayman 11-12 age group record in the 200 metre individual medley. At the 2018 CCCAN Championships in Aruba  she won the Silver medal in a time of 2:36.70. After she swum the race it would become part of history as she clocked the  only sub 2:40 time time on the night and the fastest ever female performance at the meet of 2:34.88. The old 11-12 record of 2:42.65 belonged to another Jamaican age group star Victoria Ho. An aggressive opening butterfly leg changed the course of the race and allowed her to win easily.

200 IM	CCCAN	Dean Martin
butterfly	32.72	30.98
backstroke	39.67	41.10
breaststroke	48.97	46.91
freestyle	35.34	35.89
Total Time	2:36.70	2:34.88

 

Second in the 11-12 age group was Jamaican age group star and 2018 CCCAN Bronze medallist in the event Morgan Cogle of Jupiter Dragons who stopped the clock in 2:43.81.

Zarek Wilson of the Blue Dolphins Swim Club Trinidad and Tobago Photo courtesy of Cheser Adams

There would be another quality performance in the 11-12 age group as CARIFTA’s top 11-12 male swimmer Zarek Wilson of Blue Dolphins of Trinidad and Tobago won the 1500 metre freestyle in 18:24.66 . That shattered the previous fastest 1500 metre freestyle of 18:51.65 set by Zachary Moore of the Stingrays Swim Club in 2015. He also produced the fastest time across all age groups on the night.He would also set a new mark in the 11-12 200 metre individual medley as he became the first 11-12 swimmer under 2:30 seconds at the meet with a top age group time of 2:28.86

Daniel Mair of the Tornadoes Swim Club Photo courtesy of Cheser Adams

Jamaica’s first CCCAN open water medallist  Daniel Mair  of the Tornadoes Swim Club dropped more than 10 seconds to place second overall in the 11-12 age group with a time of 19:04.69.

Britney Williams Photo courtesy of Cheser Adams

Jamaica’s 2018 15-17 CARIFTA Championship Gold Medallist in the 200 metre freestyle Britney Williams lowered the 15-16 age group meet record in the 100 metre backstroke.The Swimaz aquatics athlete touched the wall in a time of 1:15.16 .That bettered the old meet record held by Angara Sinclair of 1:16.01.

Kyle Sinclair Y Speedos Swim Club Photo courtesy of Cheser Adams

There would be an exciting battle in the 15-16 10 metre backstroke as Kyle Sinclair of the Y Speedos and and a member of the 15-17 2018 CARIFTA 200 freestyle team that set the Jamaican age group record in the event and Jordan Crooks,2018 Youth Olympics flag bearer of the Cayman Islands and Camana Bay Aquatics went stroke for stroke to the wall . Sinclair got the victory in 1:03.75 and Jordan a touch behind in 1.03.98.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RED HOT JILLIAN CROOKS OF CAMANANA BAY TO BRING HEAT AT DEAN MARTIN MEET

There will be more international talent on display at this year’s edition of the Dean Martin Memorial meet at the National Aquatic Centre (50 metre pool) in Kingston Jamaica as siblings Jillian and Jordan Crooks will be representing Camana Bay Aquatics Bay Club from the Cayman Islands. Brother Jordan is coming from a successful 2018 Youth Olympics Games campaign today draftingthecaribbean will feature sister Jillian .

As the year has gone on Jillian has put in faster and faster performances in the pool. At her most recent meet the CBAC Fall meet from the 12th to the 14th she set eight new short course metres national age group records at the  Camana Bay Sports Complex

Event	Time
50 metre butterfly	29.20
50 metre freestyle	27.05
100 metre backstroke	1:06.77
100 metre butterfly	1:05.59
200 metre butterfly	2:31.33
100 metre individual medley	1:10.51
100 metre breaststroke	1:23.18
200 metre freestyle	2:14.31

The 50 metre butterfly also doubled as the senior record . The previous record of 29.24 was held by Cayman Islands standout and current Florida State University freshman Lauren Hew.

Jillian Crooks exiting the pool after the heats of the 50 metre freestyle at CCCAN Photo courtesy of CCCAN

Jillian has seen constant improvement since her first regional outing in 2018 at the UANA swimming Cup in Coral Springs in January. One of those events is the 50 metre freestyle where her last long course meet saw her producing a new 11-12 national record of 27.25 which is faster than the meet record of 27.70 held by Jamaican standout Emily MacDonald

Meet	Time	Place
UANA	30.52	14th
CARIFTA	28.72	4th
CCCAN	27.46	Gold CR
TYR meet	27.25	Gold NR

In the 100 metre freestyle fans on hand at the meet may see not only a new meet record but also the fastest 11-12 girls time produced on Jamaica.This as her personal best and Cayman National record stands at 59.93 , a time that few in the region at her age have ever swum. The meet record stands to MacDonald at 1:01.66 and the Jamaica best time 1:00.06 to Bermuda’s Elan Daley when she Gold in the event at CARIFTA here in Kingston earlier this year.Crooks won the CCCAN title in 1:01.72.

Jillian in the marshalling area at CCCAN Photo courtesy of CCCAN

Another meet record that looks to be on borrowed time is the 11-12 100 metre butterfly of 1:08.85 .Jillian has a personal best and national record time of 1:06.87. She recorded that when winning the CCCAN title in Aruba this summer.The Jamaica best time may also be on the cards as the Elan Daley standard from CARIFTA is 1:05.98.

The  meet record  in the 11-12 100 metre backstroke stands at 1:14.97 and Jillian boasts a best time of 1:10.45 which is also a national age group record. She will also be vying to record the fastest time record at the meet as the fastest overall female time of 1:13.72  was recorded last year by Brianna Anderson in the 13-14 age group.

Other meet standards under threat by Jillian are

Event	Time	Meet record
200 metre freestyle	2:16.95	2:19.16
200 metre backstroke	2:33.98	2:42.95
200 metre Individual medley	2:36.70	2:42.65

 

Crooks is not stranger to Jamaica having set four 10 and under records last year. Her improvement can be seen in the sport as her 200 metre freestyle record time last year was 2:31.43.

CCCAN 11-12 200 metre freestyle podium from left to Zoe Anthony Trindad and Tobago Silver medallist, Morgan Cogle Jamaica Gold medallist and Crooks Cayman Islands Bronze medallist Photo courtesy of CCCAN

The three days of action from October 26 to 28 should be quite interesting as Crooks will be trading strokes with Morgan Cogle of Jupiter Sea Dragons from Florida who she has shared the podium with at CCCAN and CARIFTA this year in a number of races . That duo along will a strong local contingent including Safiya Officer, the CCCAN 50 metre freestyle Bronze medallist  will ensure that the races are entertaining.