Senior Games still going swimmingly

At most multi-sport events, there are a number of premiere competitions.

For the 20th annual Pasadena Senior Games, event organizer Cynthia Rosedale said the June 10 swim meet at the Rose Bowl Aquatic Center was such an event.

“Obviously, when you have such a large number of athletes involved, there are going to be some impressive results,” Rosedale said. “It’s safe to say that swimming is an event everyone waits for.”

And to Rosedale’s credit and those of the involved athletes, there were certainly several highlights.

Perhaps the strongest effort came from 66-year-old Robert Owens, who competed in the 65-69 year-old age bracket.

Owens was the only male competitor to claim four victories in the freestyle competition.
Owens began with a victory in the 50-meter freestyle in a time of 32.72 seconds and followed that victory with triumphs in the 100 (1 minute, 13.72 seconds), 200 (3:01.77) and 400 (5:39.74).

Perhaps the only other men’s competitor who dominated his field to a near extent as Owens was 56-year Barton Parnes.

Parnes, who competed in the 55-59 age range, clinched victories in the 50 (50.10), 100 (1:56.93) and 200 (4:12.34) breaststroke.

On the women’s side, 63-year-old Colleen Reid and Dionne Caldwell, 80, also notched four victories in the freestyle events.

“I’ve been swimming for quite a while and I wanted to see how I could do on the national level,” said Caldwell, who registered wins in the 50 (50.04), 100 (1:54.80), 200 (4:10.46) and 400 (8:55.40). “I always enjoyed competing and this was special.”

Reid notched wins in the 50 (39.53), 100 (1:30.28), 200 (3:28.49) and 400 (3:28.49).
In the feats of strength competition that took place June 12 at Los Angeles Valley College, 67-year-old Sarah Sneider and Sanford Werner, 81, proved to be the two top winners.
Sneider was first in all three of the feats events, including needing 7.23 seconds for the 10-foot rope climb, squeezing out 77.1 pounds of pressure in the dynamometer hand grip and completing four push-ups per repetition that garnered her 717 points.

Werner finished with 1,139 points in holding off 65-year-old Bill Weinstock (1,043 points) and was victorious in his 80-84 year range with marks of 2.69 in the rope climb, 104 pounds in the hand grip and 11 push-ups per rep.

As for lawn bowling, several champions were crowned on June 16 at the Pasadena Lawn Bowling Club, including male winners James Chang (50-54), Lee Herman (55-59), Marc Rich (60-64), Alan Ngo (65-69), Kai Ming Wong (70-74), Roger Flann (75-79), John San Martini (80-84), Vern Edwards (85-89) and George Rajacich (95-99).

Cheryl Barkovich (60-64), Evelyn Lucero (65-59), E.B. Parkell (70-74), Alice Lou (75-79), Shirley Price (80-84) and Winifred Hinson (85-89) made up the female champions.
In shuffleboard mixed doubles action that took place June 15 at the Highland Park Shuffleboard Club, the duos of Deborah Zamora and Masashi Noritake (50-54), Maria Huerta and Robert Chavez (55-59), Barbara and John Irigoyen (70-74), Frank Gottschalk and William Rindone (75-79) and Albert Torres and Joseph Waters (80-84) all claimed mixed-age titles.
Zamora (50-54), Doreene Morgan (55-59), Huerta (70-74), MM Rozell (80-84) and Mary Cantrell (85-89) all claimed singles titles on the women’s side, while Chavez (55-59), John Irigoyen (70-74), John Zavala (75-79), Torres (80-84) and George Crabtree (85-89) earned men’s crowns.

Lastly, the Pico Rivera Go Getters No. 2 won the softball championship of the co-ed softball tournament that took place from June 15-16 in Pico Rivera.
The Crown Valley Royals No. 2 of Pasadena took the silver, while the Pico Rivera Go Getters No. 1 claimed the bronze.