T&T’s 13-14 Boys 200m freestyle relay quartet won gold while breaking a 14-year-old record as T&T swimmers bagged seven gold among 15 medals on the fourth and final night of the swimming segment of the 37th Carifta Swimming Championships in Nassau, Bahamas on Tuesday.
Overall, T&T captured 58 medals (24 gold, 15 silver, and 19 bronze) to be second on the medal table, behind champions and host Bahamas among the 25 countries.
Last year, T&T led by Nikoli Blackman, a three-time Commonwealth Youth Games gold medal winner, and Zarek Wilson who also won three medals at the CYG and Carrington, T&T secured 54 medals (22 gold, 16 silver, and 16) for 534 points to finish behind defending champions the Bahamas who captured 85 medals (37 gold, 27 silver, and 21 bronze) for 1,113 points, while Cayman Islands finished in the second spot with 53 medals (25 gold, 16 silver, and 12 bronze) for 752 points in Curacao.
On Tuesday night, competing at the Betty Kelly-Kenning Aquatic Centre, the 13-14 Boys 200m freestyle relay quartet of Jaden Mills (24.64 seconds), Jonathan Sambrano (25.27), his brother Joshua Sambrano (25.59), and Aaron Colthrust 25.11) established a new record of one minute, 40.61 seconds to lower the 2010 record of 1:40.90 which was set by countrymen Joshua Romany, Dylan Carter, Blaine Sobrian and Keegan Boisson-Yates. Jamaica took the silver in 1:42.39, and Bahamas, bronze in 1:43.80.
It was the third relay record of the meet for T&T swimmers after the 15-17 Boys 4x100m freestyle quartet of Anpherne Bernard (53.05), Zachary Anthony (52.91), Darren Belfon (54.28), and USA-based Liam Carrington (52.00) won gold in 3:32.24 to lower the 2023 mark of 3:32.27 which was set by countrymen, Wilson, Zachary Anthony, Joshua Changar, and Blackman while the 15–17 Girls medley relay team of Zuri Ferguson (1:03.70), Tyla Ho A Shu (1:16.26), Lyla Browne (1:06.32), and Amari Ash (1:00.98) raced home in four minutes, 27.26 seconds, to improve on the 2008 mark of 4:27.37 minutes which was set by Bahamas.
Also winning gold for T&T on Tuesday night were Zara Persico, two-time Olympian Dylan Carter in his exhibition event, Ethan Mc-Millan-Cole, Ferguson, and Carrington.
Persico swam to T&T’s first gold on the final night when she won the 11-12 Girls 400m freestyle in four minutes, 49.06 seconds, just ahead of US Virgin Islands’ Reagan Uszenski (4:50.50 mins), and Antigua & Barbuda’s Anya De Gannes (4:54.16 mins) while T&T’s Marena Martinez was fourth in 4:55.33.
Mills won gold in the 13-14 Boys 50m freestyle in 24.96, followed by countryman Aaron Colthrust in 25.19, who edged Bermudan Connor Hupman (25.20) to the wall.
Multiple World Championship medallist Carter stormed to in the 18 and Over Boys 50m freestyle in 21.98, with Bahamian Lamar Taylor taking silver in 22.32, and Antigua & Barbuda’s Stefano Mitchell, bronze in 22.99, and T&T’s Johann-Matthew Matamoro, fourth in 24.20.
Mc Millan-Cole topped the field in the 11-12 100 breaststroke in one minute, 15.88 seconds well clear of Bahamas’ Christon Joseph’s silver swim of one minute, 20.30 seconds, and St Vincent and The Grenadines’ Kione Deshong who took bronze in one minute, 22.79 seconds.
Ferguson continued her impressive debut with another gold, this time in the 15-17 Girls 200m backstroke in a new record time of two minutes, 16.04 seconds, which bettered her record time of 2:19.32 set in the morning heats to leave Cayman Islands’ Sierrah Broadbelt (2:28.85), and Bahamian Elle Theberge (2:29.94) in a distant second and third position respectively.
And Carrington followed suit in the 15-17 Boys 200m backstroke final with a golden swim of 2:07.71 minutes, leaving Jamaica’s Brady Lewis (2:13.28) in his wake, with Cayman Islands’ Will Sellars taking the bronze in 2:14.91, and T&T’s Darren Belfon, fifth in 2:15.99.
The 15-year-old Carrington also received the Age-Group High Point Trophy with a total of 61 points after he finished with four gold medals, two silver and one bronze among his individual haul, and one silver and one bronze each in the relays.
Olympian Cherelle Thompson for T&T when she touched the wall second in the 18 and Over Girls 50m freestyle in 25.95, beaten by Jamaica’s Sabrina Lyn who won in 25.82, with Bermudan Madelyn Moore, third in 26.11 while T&T’s Gabrielle Vickles was seventh in 27.48.
Tyler Marchan touched the wall in silver position in the 11-12 Girls 200m backstroke in two minutes, 36.59 seconds, with Bahamian Alissa Ferguson swimming to gold in two minutes, 34.51 seconds, and her compatriot Skyler Smith taking the bronze in two minutes, 37.98 seconds, while Persico was sixth in two minutes, 49.30 seconds.
Alejandro Agard picked up silver in the 13-14 Boys 200m backstroke in two minutes, 20.13 seconds, well behind Aruban Ocean Van Loon, who won in 2:16.13 minutes, while US Virgin Islands’ Zion John Baptiste was third in 2:21.15
And in the 15-17 Boys 200m freestyle relay, Anthony (24.09 seconds), Belfon (24.45), Evan Gillard Bruce (23.48), and Carrington (23.26) won the silver medal for T&T in 1:35.28, with the host swimming to gold in 1:34.76, while Jamaica got silver in 1:36.72.
There were also five bronze medals won by T&T on the final night with Persico getting bronze in the 11-12 Girls 50m freestyle in a time of 28.63 seconds to finish behind Jamaican gold medal winner Kia Alert who won in 27.55, and Bahamian Tiah Seymour (28.43).
Colthrust added a bronze medal in the 13-14 Boys 100m breaststroke in one minute, 13.60 seconds, with Jamaica’s Kai Radcliffe winning gold in one minute, 10.77 seconds, and host swimmer David Singh, second in one minute, 12.27 seconds and T&T’s Alejandro Agard, seventh in one minute, 16.53 seconds.
World Junior Championship competitor Tyla Ho A Shu swam to bronze in the 15-17 Girls 100m breaststroke in one minute, 16.45 seconds with Antigua & Barbuda’s Ellie Shaw taking gold in one minute, 14.48 seconds, and Bahamian Rhanishka Gibbs, the second in one minute, 17.20 seconds.
Alyssa Reid earned her first bronze in the 13-14 Girls 200m backstroke in two minutes, 41.39 seconds well adrift of Cayman Islands’ winner Riley Watson (2:35.38), and Barbadian Jaiya Simmons (2:39.56).
And the 11-12 Girls 200m freestyle relay quartet of Persico (29.12 seconds), Zalayhar Lewis (30.75), Martinez (30.09), and Marchan (30.02) got bronze in 1:59.98 minutes, to finish behind champions Bahamas (1:57.51), and Barbados (1:58.92).
The Bahamas won a sixth consecutive swimming title, and eighth in the last nine meets after they ended the four days of competition with 1,096.50 points well clear of its nearest competitor, Cayman Islands who tallied 660 points while T&T was third with 639.
The French Antilles won four straight swimming titles from 2005 to 2008, the longest streak in the meet’s history until The Bahamas secured its fifth straight last year
In the medal standings, Bahamas again topped the table, finishing with 34 gold, 39 silver and 28 bronze for 101 total medals while T&T was second with 24 gold, 15 silver and 19 bronze for 58 medals with Cayman Islands third with 50m medals (18 gold, 13 silver and 19 bronze).