STELLA Maris Preparatory successfully retained the overall championship title at the 15th staging of the Burger King/YMCA All Preparatory and Primary Schools swim meet at the National Aquatics Centre on Friday.

Stella Maris amassed 312 points to win ahead of Immaculate Conception with 267 points, and Sts Peter & Paul Preparatory with 212 points. Wolmer’s Preparatory with 193 and Hillel Academy Prep with 173 rounded off the top five.

Zaneta Alvaranga of St Hugh’s Prep was once again the star of the show as she broke the lone record of the meet in the girls’ 9-10 50-metre butterfly.

Alvaranga lowered the previous mark of 36.03 seconds set in 2012 by Ahkira Brown, as she clocked a fast 33.58 seconds when winning ahead of Sabrina Lyn (37.15sec) of Immaculate, and Paig’e Lewis (38.54sec) of Sts Peter & Paul.

Zachary Jackson-Blaine of Creative Kidz Learning Academy won the boys’ equivalent in 37.45 seconds, with Matthew Baker (38.93sec) of Wolmer’s Prep and Tajay Hoo-kim (39.72sec) of Vaz Prep finishing second and third, respectively.

The girls’ 11-12 event was won by Emily MacDonald of Stella Maris in 35.00 seconds ahead of Amore Hunter (38.21sec) of Immaculate and Jaden Morales (39.07sec) also of Stella Maris. Joseph Richards (36.96sec) of Hillel Prep won the boys’ 11-12 equivalent followed by Rin Gyles (39.28sec) of Mt Alvernia and Kito Campbell (40.50sec) of Sts Peter & Paul.

Alvaranga was also an easy winner in the backstroke event in 39.72 seconds ahead of Safiya Officer (42.39sec) of Emmanuel Christian Academy and Harik Gordon (43.80sec) of Our Lady of the Angels.

However, she along with teammates Michaela Reid-Samuels, Khiara Roomes and Leighanne Williams had to settle for third in the 200-metre freestyle relays, behind Immaculate Conception and Hillel Prep.

Joshua-Daniel Alleyne of Sts Peter & Paul clocked 39.79 seconds to win the boys’ 9-10 50-metre backstroke ahead of Jackson-Blaine (42.00sec) and Daniel Mair (43.74sec) of St Hugh’s Prep.

MacDonald (37.77sec) won the girls’ 11-12 event again followed by Hunter (40.14sec) and Morales (40.46sec), while Rin Gyles (36.87sec) won the boys’ event ahead of Marc-Anthony Morris (37.77sec) of Our Lady of the Angels and Dantay Brooks (40.14sec) of Stella Maris.

Sabrena McDonald-Radcliffe, sales and marketing manager of Burger King, was delighted by the success of the event which was a part of Burger King’s celebration of youth expression and excellence and also a key part of child’s month activities.

“The meet went exceptionally well; we have almost 1,000 kids who competed, and one of the reasons why this meet continues to do well is because it’s a development meet that all the swimmers, parents and coaches look out for,” she told the Jamaica Observer.

“What we did this year was to bring more on-the-ground fun activities that are fun for the kids. So apart from swimming they had dual interaction throughout the day to keep them stimulated and excited.

“We are right now looking at how we can help the sport of swimming to expand. We have been supporting this meet for 15 years, so we are really committed to swimming and youth development, as always, and we are looking at how we can make this meet bigger,” she added.

Approximately 40 schools participated in the meet which has over the years attracted numerous children coming from as far as Negril.

Five coaches were also recognised on the day for their outstanding contribution to the sport.

Kenneth Hayles of Immaculate was rewarded for over 30 years of service, with Prince Easton of Sts Peter & Paul Prep and Excelsior Primary, and Krishna Rose of Stella Maris Prep being awarded for their consistency.

Meanwhile, Rory Alvaranga, father of Zaneta of St Hugh’s Prep, was named most improved coach, while Rosemarie Logan received a special award for outstanding contribution to swimming in western Jamaica.

Olympic swimmer Janelle Atkinson also made a surprise appearance to the delight of the young swimmers who posed for pictures and got their jerseys signed.