Familiar faces shine in national swimming tryouts for SEA Age-Group tilt

MANILA, Philippines — Experience prevailed as familiar faces topped their respective age group classes and passed the qualifying time standard (QTS) at the start of the MVP/Smart-PAI National Tryouts for the 47th Southeast Asia (SEA) Age-Group Championships on Friday at the Teofilo Yldefonso Aquatics Center in Manila.

University of Santo Tomas top junior athlete Aishel Evangelista and Manila-based Filipino American Rhianna Chantelle Coleman led the seven young swimmers who passed the grade in the first day of action in the three-day competition organized by the Philippine Aquatics Inc. and supported by MVP Sports, Smart Philippines and the Philippine Sports Commission.

The bronze medal time in last year’s SEA Age Group held in Thailand was used as a barometer for the inclusion in the team that will participate in this year’s edition, slated in August in Malaysia.

Evangelista, a veteran junior internationalist from the Betta Caloocan Swim club, topped the boys 14-15, 1,500-m freestyle clocking 17 minutes and 30.40 seconds, beating the 17:31.84 QTS. He beat Rio Stephen Coliyat of Aqua Sonic (17:36.90) and Phoemix Pajas of One Ilocos (17:39.90). The Junior High School also dominated the boys 14-15 200m freestyle, but his time of 2:01.92 fell short for the QTS.

The 16-year-old Coleman, a scholar at the National Academy of Sports in Clark, got another chance to don the National color as she claimed the gold in the girls 16-18 100-m breaststroke in a time of 1:14.38, just two-tenths of a second better than the QTS. She beat her much older rivals Cy Delos Santos, 18, of Marikina Poseidon (1:16.07), and junior internationalist Patricia Mae Santor, 17, of Iluste East (1:17.65). Last year, Coleman made it to the team with four QTS-breaking performances.

Those who passed the QTS are Ryian Zach Denzel of FTW Royals in the boys 16-18 50m back clocking 26.89 (QTS, 26.90); Sophia Garra of WaveRunners in the girls 11-13 50-m breast (31.00) beating the 31.16 seconds QTS; Kyla Louise Bulaga of La Union Bull Sharks in the girls 14-15 200m butterfly (2:21.17/2:25.39); while both Patricia Mae Santor and Fil-Am Ava Bautista passed the 2:26.22 QTS in the girls 16-18 200m butterfly clocking 2:21.00 and 2:24.06, respectively.

Those who struck gold but fell short of the QTS are Titus Sia, 13, who topped the boys 11-13 1500 freestyle (18:06.90) and 200m freestyle (2:08.75); Paulo Dominick Della Anton in the boys 16-18 200m free (2:01.47); Anya Dela Cruz in the girls 11-13 200m free (2:22.74); Ana David 14-15 class (2:12.25) and Billie Blue Mondonedo in the girls 16-18 200m free (2:11.19).

Action resumes at 8:30 a.m. Saturday.

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