BY SHERDON COWAN

Observer staff reporter

With the Carifta Swim Championships less than a week away, the national age group swim team is brimming with confidence as they aim to surpass their previous medal haul in Aruba last year.

The 31-member team, which comprises 10 overseas-based swimmers, will be accompanied by six team officials when they depart the island on Tuesday for the 29th Carifta Swim Championships in Barbados April 4-7.

Jamaica ended last year’s competition in seventh-position with a total haul of 32 medals — six gold, 11 silver and 15 bronze. However, Coach Syreeta Biggs is anticipating an even more impressive showing this year.

“Preparations have been going good and with the quality team that we have this year, we expect to win medals in every age group, especially in the 15-17 girls and boys events,” she told the Jamaica Observer.

Following concerns that the parents would have to foot the costs of the travelling arrangements, it has been confirmed that all the swimmers that were selected to the team will make the trip.

The young sensations continued their build-up and sharpened their techniques at the Swim Jamaica Sprint meet, where they combined with a few senior swimmers to smash 24 records at the National Aquatic Centre on Saturday.

Kevaughn Campbell and Ivana Chang took down two records each which placed them among the outstanding performers at the one-day meet.

But it was Naomi Eaton who made the first big splash of the day when she clocked 1:25.29 minutes in the 11-12 100-metre breaststroke to take down her previous record of 1:27.99 minutes set last year.

The vastly improved Sean-Douglas Gooden then added his name to the cards when he erased the old mark of 1:16.31 minutes set in 2012 by Campbell. The 14-year-old Gooden stopped the clock at 1:15.31 minutes in the 13-14 event.

Octavia Gray lowered her old mark of 1:20.96 minutes set back in 2013 after posting a fast 1:20.47 minutes in the girls 15-and-over age group event.

Campbell then got in on the action when he posted 1:12.33 minutes in the boys’ equivalent, also lowering his old record of 1:13.64 set last year. Bryce Butler, who finished second in 1:12.88 minutes, also went below the old record.

The boys 11-12 50-metre backstroke record of 35.74 seconds set in 2013 by Jesse Marsh, was broken by Daniel McKenzie who posted 35.46 seconds, while Joel Wilkinson clocked 32.99 seconds in the 13-14 event to erase the old mark of 33.47 seconds set in 2012 by Stephan Duhaney.

Angara Sinclair also popped into record-breaking form when she won the girls 15 and over event in 32.95 seconds to lower Stefani Webley’s old mark of 34.49 seconds set in 2013. Dominic Mullings posted 1:15.45 minutes in the boys 11-12 100 metre butterfly event to pull down Jordane Payne’s old record of 1:16.85 set last year.

Jesse Marsh clocked 1:03.49 minutes in the boys 13-14 100 metre butterfly to wipe out the old record of 1:04.37 minutes set by Joseph Black. Campbell returned to post his second record when he swam a fast 1:00.66 minutes in the boys 15-and-over butterfly event to lower his old mark of 1:02.66 minutes set last year.

Ivana Chang lowered her old mark of 1:10.91 minutes in the girls 15-and-over butterfly event when she stopped the clocked at 1:10.66 minutes.

The 17-year-old then closed out a remarkable day for the Carifta swimmers when she clocked a fast 29.33 seconds in the 50- metre freestyle to take down Leanne McMaster’s old mark 29.43 seconds. Sinclair who was second in the event equalled the record.

Team:

Girls 11-12 — Naomi Eaton, Karci Gibson, Gabrianna Banks, Simone Vale, Brianna Anderson; girls 13-14 — Anjuii Barrett, Annabella Lyn, Bryanna Renuart, Sage Sinclair, Britney Williams; girls 15-17 –Ivana Chang, Michelle Dols, Leanne McMaster, Angara Sinclair. Boys 11-12 Akeem Alleyne, Cameron Brown, Kyle Sinclair; boys 13-14 Sean Douglas Gooden, Jordan Hines, Johnathan Lyn, Jesse Marsh, Alex Mignott, Nicholas Vale; boys 15-17 Joseph Black, Bryce Butler, Kevaughn Campbell, Nico Campbell, Barak Goren, Nicholas Haughton, Matthew Lyn, Kymon Naar.