Four young swimmers gained ‘provisional’ status for the Philippine Team after passing the qualifying time standards in their respective events in the Luzon National Tryouts yesterday at the Teofilo Yldefonso swimming pool inside the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex (RMSC).
Catherine Cruz of Mabalacat Race Pace Swim Team, Arabella Nadeen Taguinota of Pasig City Swimming topped their events in the first day of the tryouts designed to select the country’s representatives in the 35th Southeast Asian Age Group Swimming Championship scheduled Aug. 24-26 in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Also bettering the standard time in their events were Peter Cyrus Dean of Killerwhale Elite Swim Team Quezon and Ivo Nikolai Enot of Ayala Harpoons Swim Club.
The 15-year-old Cruz bettered the 2:13.23 QTS in the girls 14-15 200m freestyle after clocking 2:13.15 in topping the event that saw her beat Daryn Santamaria of Ilocos Sur (2:17.72) and Jada Corine Cruz of Ilustre East Aquatic.
Taquinota, meantime, dominated the girls 14-15 100m breaststroke with a time of 1:15.57, surpassing the QTS of 1:17.89 in the tournament sponsored of the Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee and Speedo.
Both Dean and Enot also made it to the PH Team after surpassing the QTS of 28.10 in the boys 16-18 50m backstroke with the former posting 27.97 and the latter submitting 28.07.
The four were put in provisional status since there are still three more tryouts scheduled – another Luzon meet in Vigan City, which will be held simultaneously with the Visayas event on July 21-23 in Dumaguete.
In other results, the Waverunners’ Sophia Garra led the girls 11-13 50m back (33.04); Maxene Uy of NOGCC in girls 14-15 (32.50); Ishaelle Villa of CM Riptide in girls 16-18 (31.08); Rio Coliyat of Aqua Sonic in boys 11-13 100m breaststroke (1:13.47); Seb Rafael Santo in boys 14-15 (1:11.34); and Jalil Taguinod in boys 16-18 (1:06.44).