By: Duke Sullivan
The Cayman Junior National Swim Team shined bright last night on Day 2 of the 36th Annual Carifta Swimming Championships being held in Willemstad, Curacao. Cayman swimmers collected 7 Gold, 4 Silver, and 2 individual bronze medals while the depth of the Cayman Team was also on display as they placed 4 of their relay teams on the medal podium.
For the second night in a row, Harper Barrowman got the party started, outlasting fierce competition from her Jamaican and Barbadian counterparts, to touch first in the 200m Freestyle. Teammate James Allison followed up with a silver medal in his 200m Freestyle battle with Trinidad & Tobago’s Nikoli Blackman.
In the 11–12-year-old age group, Gabriel Bispath, following up a great prelim swim earlier in the day, and Lev Fahy excelled in their final, with the difference between 1st and 7th place being less than 2½ seconds. Sofia Bonati (15) and Dominic Gunn (14) also placed in their age group final races.
As the night turned to the Butterfly and Backstroke disciplines, familiar faces joined into the medal frenzy. Sierrah Broadbelt and Jillian Crooks backed up their victories in the 100m Butterfly on Thursday with impressive performances to claim gold in the 50m Fly in their respective age groups. They turned their own version of a “Daily Double” as they both were victorious in the 100m Backstroke as well. Crooks out-touched teammate Lila Higgo in what became a “race within a race” as they distanced themselves from the field.
Will Sellars (15–17-year-old) swam to silver and Fahy took bronze with great efforts in their 100m Backstroke finals.
Friday night included the 400 Individual Medley event, widely considered the toughest event in swimming. Higgo (15-17) and Broadbelt (13-14) led from start to finish to secure gold medals in their respective age groups. Cassidy Coles swam to bronze in the
11-12-year-old final while Dominic Hilton used a strong final 200 to capture silver in the 15-17-year-old race.
The relay portion of the session kept the action fast and furious. Loud and proud friends and family were treated to highly entertaining 4 x 100 Medley Relays on this Good Friday. The boys 11–12-year-old team of Chase Watson, Eli Bain, Fahy, and Bispath won silver while Will Sellars, Jordan Lisle, Danny Kish, and
James Allison fought hard to take bronze in the 15-17-year-old relay. On the girls’ side, the 13–14-year-old team of Riley Watson, Reagan Lisle, Broadbelt, and Eva Oldfield took silver, as did the 15–17-year- old grouping of Higgo, Kaitlyn Sullivan, Crooks, and Barrowman, each in highly competitive races.
Cay 3 Sports 