The United States Virgin Islands Swimming Federation finished ninth out of 24 teams at the 2025 Caribbean Free Trade Association Games, propelled by standout performances from Reagan Uszenski and Riley Miller. The 12-member delegation totaled 173 points.
Uszenski, competing in the girls’ 13-14 division, led the medal count with five gold and two silver medals, earning the High Points Award in her division. Miller added one gold and two bronze medals in the girls’ 15-17 division, while Kaedan Gleason and Daryan Maynard each picked up a bronze in the boys’ 15-17 age group.
Although Uszenski prefers sprint races, she dominated the longer events. She set a new CARIFTA Games record in the girls’ 13-14 1500-meter freestyle, finishing in 18:03.37 against a field that included swimmers up to 17 years old. In the 800-meter freestyle, she won in 9:22.27, finishing 27 seconds ahead of the silver medalist.
“I prefer shorter races,” Uszenski said. “I like to think I would do better in shorter races, but at this swim meet, I definitely did better in the longer races.”
She credited her success to her coach, John Vasbinder.
“He knows what he is training for. He tells me to trust your training. Your body has been trained for it already,” she said.
Vasbinder said he was not surprised by her results.
“She trained hard. Each year, she gets more and more competitive,” he said.
Uszenski’s growth has been steady since her first CARIFTA Games in 2023, when she did not place. Last year, she earned two medals, culminating in this year’s breakout performance.
Miller captured gold in the 15-17 girls’ 50-meter butterfly and bronze in the 50-meter and 100-meter backstroke. Gleason earned bronze in the boys’ 400-meter individual medley, and Maynard took bronze in the 800-meter freestyle.
Zion John Baptiste placed fourth in the boys’ 13-14 50-, 100-, and 200-meter backstroke events.
Here is the complete list of awards won by the USVI Swim team:
13-14 Girls Division
- Reagan Uszenski – 100 m Freestyle – Gold
- Reagan Uszenski – 200 m Freestyle – Gold
- Reagan Uszenski – 400 m Freestyle – Gold
- Reagan Uszenski – 800 m Freestyle – Gold
- Reagan Uszenski – 1500 m Freestyle – Gold
- Reagan Uszenski – 50 m Freestyle – Silver
- Reagan Uszenski – 50 m Butterfly – Silver
15-17 Girls’ Division
- Riley Miller – 50 m Butterfly – Gold
- Riley Miller – 50 m Backstroke – Bronze
- Riley Miller – 100 m Backstroke – Bronze
15-17 Boys’ Division
- Kaeden Gleason – 400 m – Bronze
- Daryan Maynard – 800 m Freestyle – Bronze
The USVI Swimming Federation’s next event is the Territorial Championships on St. Croix, Saturday and Sunday. Congratulations to the USVI team traveling to Trinidad and Tobago for the 2025 CARIFTA Games.
The swimmers competing will be Cole Cullinan, Teague Gleason, Kaeden Gleason, Zion John Baptiste, Lu Joseph, Daryan Maynard, Diella Maynard, Lisa Melwani, Riley Miller, Sasha Poe, Reagan Uszenski, and Kalonji Von-Schilling-Royer.
