KAPA‘A — Kaua‘i High School freshman Yasmine Ware pocketed four Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation swimming records and earned four more qualifications to the state meet on Saturday at the Kapa‘a pool. Ware was at the helm of the Red Raider girls
KAPA‘A — Kaua‘i High School freshman Yasmine Ware pocketed four Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation swimming records and earned four more qualifications to the state meet on Saturday at the Kapa‘a pool.
Ware was at the helm of the Red Raider girls swim team on Dec. 10 when the KIF opened its swim season, the freshman earning three individual KIF records among the six records which were slashed at the meet. To date, Kaua‘i High School, led by freshman Ware, has bested 10 KIF records over two meets.
Saturday, Ware pocketed records for the 100 backstroke, 100 breaststroke and 100 butterfly, as well as being on the Kaua‘i girls relay team which shattered the record for the 400 freestyle relay.
All of her record swims earned automatic qualifications for the upcoming state Hawai‘i High School Athletic Association meet.
Hot on her heels, Kapa‘a senior Anya Littlefield shared six state consideration swims with Kaua‘i freshman Kate Machorek, Machorek, being part of the six KIF record swims on Dec. 10.
The crowd waited anxiously through the break for Ware to enter the water, the young freshman deep in concentration, earbuds plugged in and enjoying the shade behind the bank of timers.
But following the break, Ware, an active swimmer with the Swim Kaua‘i Aquatics program, heralded the resumption of the meet, storming through the 100-yard butterfly on a 59.26 swim, bettering the 1:02.68 record set in 2011 by Littlefield and bettering the Auto state standard of 1:03.19.
Filling in the runner-up berth, Waimea freshman Kayla Ishida, a Mokihana Aquatics swimmer, stopped the clock at 1:13.60.
Ware followed that performance with a 1:00.79 swim in the 100-yard backstroke, bettering the 1:03.42 record set in 2011 by Machorek and the Auto state standard of 1:04.09.
Littlefield, in filling the runner-up berth for that swim, pocketed one of her four consideration times at 1:05.49.
Ware’s third individual record came in the 100-yard breaststroke, where she touched the wall at 1:11.30, shattering a nine-year record of 1:13.14 set in 2002 by Katrina Hettinger of Kula Intermediate and High. Ware’s swim also bested the state Auto standard of 1:12.29.
Ware was joined by Machorek, Kaitlyn Santos and Britzmann for the Girls 400-yard freestyle relay, where the team stopped the clock at 3:51.86, besting the 3:56.25 record set in 2009 by Kaua‘i High School by almost four seconds. The runner up team from Kapa‘a consisting of Tambrina Fairbanks, Kiana Fores, Littlefield and Lana Vali earned a state consideration swim at 4:10.50.
The Kapa‘a team of Vali, Fairbanks, Littlefield and Kaylea Thayer earned a consideration swim in its top finish of the Girls 200-yard medley relay, touching at 2:07.25 and besting the consideration time of 2:07.27.
Littlefield pocketed additional consideration swims in the 50-yard freestyle with a first finish of 26.19 (26.59 cons), the 100 freestyle with another first finish 56.66 (58.81 cons) and the 100-yard backstroke (1:05.49; 1:08.00 cons).
Machorek pocketed consideration swims in the 200-yard freestyle, touching on a first finish 2:02.97 (2:05.52 cons) and the 500-yard freestyle on a first finish 5:31.69 (5:40.09 cons).
Kaua‘i High School hosts the third qualifying swim meet at 10 a.m. Saturday at the YMCA Pool in Puhi.