Cayman’s amateur swimmers proved they had plenty left in the tank Saturday (9 March) as six more short course records fell on day three of the Cayman Islands Aquatics Sports Association (CIASA) National Championships held at the Camana Bay Aquatic Centre.
Camana Bay Aquatic Club’s Jillian Crooks smashed her own CIASA and National record in the Girls 11-12 200 individual medley by .07 seconds with a personal best of 2:30.31.
“In the fly, I went out strong,” said Crooks. “Backstroke, I took my breath, first 25 was a little slow, but coming back I picked up the pace a bit. Freestyle, I said go hard, or go home.”
The 12-year old CBAC standout later broke her own CIASA and National record of 1:00.04 in the 100-metre freestyle with a second personal best of 59.90.
“When I looked on the board, so many things were going through my mind,” said Crooks. “Coach told me if you put your head down and try, you’ll be good.”
Crooks now owns 39 combined short course amateur swimming records.
14-year old Kyra Rabess, however, would not be outdone. After setting a new CIASA and National record in the Girls 13-14 50 butterfly on day two, the Stingray Swim Club standout took down her third and fourth records of the championships, breaking teammate Alison Jackson’s duel short course record in the Girls 13-14 100 freestyle (59.24) with a new personal best of 58.94.
“I felt good, considering this morning was kind of rough,” said Rabess. “Tonight, I felt great.”
In total, 14 combined CIASA and National short course records have been broken over three days of swimming.
In addition, Stingray Swim Club’s Jake Alberga cleared a second CARIFTA qualification cut by 4.21 seconds, finishing first in the Boys 13-14 200 individual medley with a time of 2:23.74. Fellow Stingray Gabriella Roytson also hit a second CARIFTA qualification Saturday in the Girls 11-12 200 individual medley by 1.39 seconds with a time of 2:44.84.
In total, 23 swimmers have qualified for the 2019 CARIFTA Championships in Barbados starting 20th April.
View all of the results from day three of the CIASA National Championships here.
Local partnership yields first ever broadcast of CIASA National Championships
Cayman’s local sports community and viewers around the world were treated to a first time broadcast of the CIASA National Championships, as Cayman 27 televised the entire day three finals from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m Eastern Standard time. The broadcast, which was also available on both social media and web platforms, reached over 1,100 views on Facebook alone. Meet Director Duke Sullivan says the event, yielded through a partnership between CIASA and Cayman 27, was a tremendous success.
“It was a great environment with all the parents, and I think it showed our organization very well,” said Sullivan. “With all the people that make this happen, and with Cayman 27 being apart of this, it really came to fruition. The overall atmosphere, and the entire process went well. It just worked. The reward of seeing this event unfold, having all the records broken, to see everything go so well, was great.”
CBAC Coach Kirk Ermels, who doubled as one of three broadcasters for the evening, lauded Sullivan for his tireless work as Meet Director.
“This meet is running extremely well,” said Ermels. “We are so lucky to have a guy like Duke help us out and put events on like this.”
Olympian Lara Butler, who operated as the poolside interviewer, said the broadcast was a welcome edition to Cayman’s sports community.
“It’s so exciting to have had our first ever full broadcast of a finals session for Cayman’s Nationals,” said Butler. “I was very honored to be asked to be apart of it. The racing was incredible, and the enthusiasm poolside was just amazing.”
To view Cayman 27’s broadcast of CIASA’s National Championships on day three, click
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