Records aplenty at Mayberry Investment Schools Swim Champs
The Mayberry Investment Schools Swimming Championship has once again solidified its status as the biggest and finest of its kind, following two days of top-class, record-splashing performances at its 17th staging at the National Aquatic Centre over the weekend.
After two action-packed sessions of intense competition among the high school and tertiary swimmers on Friday’s opening day, there were no changes to the leader boards. Immaculate Conception, Campion College and the University of the West Indies (UWI) all retained their respective titles.
Immaculate maintained their hold on the coveted girls’ title with a tally of 634 points and once again got the better of Campion College (354) and St Andrew High (282.5), with Wolmer’s Girls (137) and Convent of Mercy Alpha (57) completing the five-team table.
Campion College totalled 419 points on the boys’ standing ahead of Wolmer’s (366), Jamaica College (282) and Hillel Academy (166). UWI had a combined total of 316 points to Caribbean Maritime Institute’s 107 points in their face-off.
However, it was the rising stars of the primary and preparatory schools who set the pool alight on Saturday, with an unparalleled 29 records being established, as Wolmer’s Prep dethroned Stella Maris Prep.
Wolmer’s Prep accumulated a combined total of 348.50 points to lift the overall crown, after topping the boys’ section with 232.50 points and finishing fourth on the girls’ standing with 116 points. Mona Prep topped the girls’ section with 151 points and were third on the boys’ side with 138 points to finish second overall, with a combined total of 289 points.
Sts Peter & Paul (278) were third overall after tallying 148 and 130 points for second and third on the boys’ and girls’ standings, respectively.
Dethroned champions Stella Maris had to settle for fourth overall with a combined total of 251 points, after the girls ended second on their standing with 133 points. St Hugh’s Prep (230) were fifth overall.
Meanwhile, Zaneta Alvaranga, in her farewell performance, seemed poised for great things at the high school level, as she asserted dominance over her age group peers. She once again took the spotlight with five records, four of which were in individual events.
The St Hugh’s Prep representative embarked on a mission to erase her own records from last year, and started with a fast 35.19-second clocking to lower the previous mark of 41.96 seconds in the Girls’ 9-10 50-metre backstroke.
She then lowered the 32.32 seconds in the 50-metre freestyle with a blistering 29.23 seconds, before clocking 1:07.08 minutes in the 100-metre equivalent, to lower the old mark of 1:14.49 minutes.
With her smooth form in the 50-metre butterfly, which is her favourite event, Alvaranga soared above the water to stop the clock at 31.97 seconds, beating the old 35.59 seconds.
She brought the curtains down on her prep school career in fine style by anchoring her team to victory in the 200-metre freestyle relay in 2:33.71 minutes, just lowering the previous mark of 2:34.12 minutes set last year by Hillel Academy Prep School.
Joshua Alleyne of Sts Peter & Paul, who had four records on the day, had his first in the Boys’ 11-12 50-metre backstroke, clocking 35.89 seconds to remove the previous mark of 37.25 seconds set by Rin Gyles last year.
He also erased Gyles’ previous mark of 33.64 seconds in the 50-metre freestyle with a 30.25-second clocking, and later lowered his own mark of 1:16.48 minutes to 1:07.45 minutes in the 100-metre equivalent.
Alleyne returned to win the 50-metre breaststroke in 40.52 seconds, lowering Jonathan Thompson’s old mark of 48.37 seconds.
Wolmer’s Prep’s Christanya Shirley also established four records on the day with her first coming in the girls’ 7-8 equivalent. She clocked 43.52 seconds to lower the previous mark of 48.43 seconds set by Leanna Wainwright last year.
Shirley stopped the clock in at 34.98 seconds in the 50-metre freestyle, to pull down the previous mark of 38.83 seconds set by Adonay Fearon last year, before accounting for Kokolo Foster’s old mark of 53.16 seconds with a 47.19-second clocking in the 50-metre breaststroke.
The young sensation stopped the clock in 39.77 seconds in the 50-metre butterfly, as she glided to victory and rewrote the previous time of 46.45 seconds set by Emma Marston last year.
Jonathan Haynes of Stella Maris accounted for three records and Joshua Scarlett, also of Stella Maris accounted for two. Zachary Jackson-Blaine of Creative Kids Learning Academy and Paig’e Lewis of Sts Peter & Paul also had two records each in their respective age groups.