Blue Marlins RHAC up medal count in St Lucia

An eleven-member swim team of the Blue Marlins Swim Club stunned the extremely well supported Rodney Heights Aquatic Centre (RHAC) Swim Meet over the weekend in St Lucia. The team comprised five boys and six girls, accompanied by coaches Neisha Alexander and Rickydene Alexander.

This Meet can be considered the Blue Marlins’ crowning moment for its young swimmers, as they copped a staggering 26 medals, including nine gold, nine silver and eight bronze. This tally does not include the four medals, two gold, won by Zariel Nelson and two silver by Seth Byron, in the Age Group Sprint Challenges.

The eight-year-old Zariel also broke Meet records in the 25m and 50m freestyle and 25m backstroke events, claiming the overall top spot in the Sprint Challenge in her age category. Zariel continued her brilliant performance with four gold, one silver and three bronze medals from just 12 events she entered, including 11 personal best times (PBs).

Ten-year-old Adiah Phillips demonstrated her prowess by copping three gold, a silver and a bronze from her nine events. The youngest star, however, was six-year-old Tyler Robinson, mightily achieving one gold and four silver from his six events. The rest of the medal cache was made up from Seth Byron (8) contributing a silver and placing 2nd overall in the Sprint Challenge in his age category; one gold and three bronze from stalwart Kennice Greene (9) in her first year of a new age group category; Abigale DeShong (10) with a silver and a bronze and Matthew Ballah contributing a silver.

Worthy mention is made of Brandon George (9) in his first year of a new age category, performing with six PBs; Lauren DeRoche with five PBs, and siblings of the young star Tyler, his older brother and sister, Jomaine and Rhema, contributing four and three PBs respectively.

A release from the club said their achievement over the weekend “underlines in bold print the abilities of the coaches Neisha, Rickydene and Sarah Smith. It is also reflective of the keen spirit of the swimmers and their individual quest for greatness through dedication and a level of commitment which can easily mirror professional athletes.”

The Swim Meet attracted over 300 swimmers from across the region representing over 25 clubs.