Dolphins Excel at Swim Meet in Puerto Rico

The St. Croix Dolphins had an amazing weekend at the 2014 Copa German Riechehoff Sampayo Swim Meet in the Albergue Olimpico in Salinas, Puerto Rico, which resulted in a first place overall win finishing by over 500 points. Seventeen Dolphins, ranging in ages 7 to 17, traveled to the Puerto Rico Olympic Training Center and competed against several local teams from Puerto Rico as well as a team from the Dominican Republic.
With the Virgin Islands National Team swimmers gearing up for the Carifta Swimming Championships in Aruba in just two weeks, there were many impressive swims from the Dolphins all around. V.I. rookie national swimmer Nati Kuipers (11) swam all best times and achieved first place in all her events. Also of the National Team, JJ Washshah (16) broke the 30 second barrier in the 50-meter freestyle with a time of (29.59), achieving first place in all of her events over the weekend. Matthew Mays (15) had a few outstanding lifetime best swims, specifically in the 200-meter butterfly (2:16.55), 200-meter backstroke (2:18.93), and 100-meter backstroke (1:03.73). Jonathan Thomas (14), Alex Lewit (17), and Tony Hendricks (16), all members of the national team, placed in the top three spots in their events.
Tyler Jones (7), the youngest swimmer who traveled with the Dolphins, and Victoria Sperber (8) achieved all first place finishes and several best times. Maya Griffith (9) achieved several first place finishes for the Dolphins and many best times as well. TJ Tang How (12) scored first place in most of his events and improved his 100m breaststroke by 24 seconds! Lidia Boguslawska (12) did well in all of her events but exceptionally well in her 200m backstroke, dropping 29 seconds from her best time! Nyla Griffith (12), Kira Griffith (13), Jelena Vialet (13), Daniel Garriga Cerni (14), Antonio Lewit (14) and Kyren Wold (15) all swam great races, accomplishing best time in many of their events and scoring points for the team.
The next event on the Dolphins calendar is the International Water Safety Day that will be held on May 15. For more information on this event, call the Dolphins office at 719-7946. The Dolphins Pool will also host the V.I. Swimming Long Course Championships that will be held on May 17-18.
If interested in becoming a part of this rewarding sport or for more information about the program, contact the Dolphins Swim Team on St. Croix at 719-7946, e-mail at stcroixdolphins@gmail.com, or visit the Web site: www.stcroixdolphins.org.
In addition to the competitive youth and masters swim teams, the Dolphins offer a Learn to Swim Program that includes classes for infant, toddler, children and adults as well as life guard and CPR certifications.