Titans Swim club emerged victorious at the annual Amateur Swimming Association of T&T (ASATT) swim meet hosted by Marlins Swim Club at Morne Coco Road, Westmoorings, on Sunday night.
In a meet which saw 14 local clubs and 12 foreign clubs competing over four days, Titans amassed 1,091.50 points from 88 medals won (40 gold, 26 silver, 22 bronze), to end a 10-year winning streak by host club Marlins which had to settle for second with 914.50.
Third was last year's runners-up Tidal Wave Aquatics of T&T with 837, followed by Pirates of Barbados (394) and Blue Dolphins of T&T with 255.
Commenting on the win by the club, a merger between Centre of Excellence Sea Hawks of Macoya and Tsunami of San Fernando, coach Vincent Tardieu was pleased at the performances.
"We have been working hard and the victory is great but it shows these athletes that what you put out is directly related to what you get back, which can be related to every aspect of life. Life lessons are being learnt here and they don't even realize. We stay focused on our main goal which is to produce world class athletes and this performance radiates that we are on the right track."
The club has had an impressive 2012 with 26 athletes making national teams. The club won the Sea Hawks New Year Splash, Stingray October Classic, the Torpedoes Invitational, and now the ASATT Invitational.
At the Invitational, several athletes won high point trophies. Daniel Jesurum (8 & under male), Joshua Ramkissoon (13–14 male) and Theana Hay (15 & over female) won their respective age groups. Jonathan Ramkissoon (15 & over male), Kristin Julien (15 & Over female), Amira Pilgrim (11–12 female) won second place trophies, while Osaze Riley (11–12 male) and Melina Marcano (13–14 male) placed third overall.
President of the club Jason Wickham expressed utmost satisfaction with the performance of the team at the Invitational. "Team Titans performed exceptionally. This is the first time I believe since the advent of the 21st century that Marlins did not win the Invitational. Our team really went all out and came out ahead of two teams that had 10 and more swimmers than us, and more relay teams as well. Our athletes achieving qualifying times for next year was also impressive. This victory makes us a prime candidate for Club of the Year 2012 and we hope a prospect for local sponsors to invest in."
Titans also had the distinction of having the first qualifier for the 2013 FINA World Junior Championships. On day one of the meet, Kristin Julien won gold in the 15 & Over 50m backstroke in 30.25s, surpassing the qualifying time of 30.36.
Julien also achieved times for the 2013 CCCAN Championships in El Salvador and Carifta Championships in Jamaica in her gold medal performances in the 50m back, 50m fly and 100m backstroke. Like Julien, four other Titans achieved qualifying times for 2013 regional games: Amira Pilgrim, Jonathan Ramkissoon, Kyle Sirju and Jessie Changar.
President of ASAT&T Lindsay Gillette also expressed thanks to the Marlins Swim Club for another successful hosting of this signature meet as well as all officials, parents and the media for the support they continued to give for the development of the sport of swimming. He extended heartfelt goodwill and best wishes of the season on behalf of the fraternity to all visitors.
RESULTS
Top Teams
1 Titans-1091.50 pts
2 Marlins-914.50
3 Tidal Wave Aquatics (TWA)-837 points
4 Pirates Swim Club (Barbados)-394
5 Blue Dolphin SC-255
Age-Group High Point winners
Girls-Eight and Under
1 Kayla Smith (Alpha Sharks)-50 pts
2 Olivia Fuller (Storm)-45
3 Naomi Patterson (TWA)-34
9-10
1 Destiny Hardin (Alpa Sharks)-54
2 Deshor Edwards (Silver Sharks)-44
3 Vrisnelit Faure (TWA)-43
11-12
1 Hannah Gill (Pirates)-72
2 Amira Pilgrim (Titans)-54
3 Tiffany Titus (Alpha Sharks)-53
13-14
1 Alexis Clarke (Pirates)-79
2 Syriah David (TWA)-70
3 Melina Marcano (Titans)-49
15 & Over
1 Theana Hay (Titans)-67
2 Kristen Julien (Titans)-55
3 Lee Ann Rose (Titans Aquatics ST)-48
Boys-Eight & Under
1 Jesurum Daniel (Titans)-50
2 Aaron Bankay (TWA)-45
3 Neil Skinner (Titans Aquatic)-22
9-10
1 Lleyton Martin (Wadadli) & Aqeel Joseph (TWA)-52
3 Luke Gillette (Marlins)-2
11-12
Noah Mascall-Gomes (Wadadli)-77
Kerry Ollivierre (Grenfin)-62
Osaze Riley (Titans)-7
13-14
1 Joshua Ramkissoon (Titans)-66
2 David Wiltshire (Marlins)-63
3 Jabari Baptiste (Marlins)-54
15 & Over
1 Joshua Romany (Marlins)-54
2 Jeron O' Brien (TWA) & Jonathan Ramkissoon (Titans)-38