HILO — Swim Kauai Aquatics swimmer Kealohi Oliveira, 8, picked up a perfect meet during the 32nd Charles “Sparky” Kawamoto swim meet that wrapped up Sunday in Hilo.
In addition to posting personal bests in each event she was in the water for, Oliveira finished with a second-place finish in the 25 breaststroke, touching the wall at 31.79 seconds for a seven-second improvement over her seeded swim.
Olivera was one of six swimmers — five girls and one boy — who returned to the Sparky’s meet following a hiatus of several years. The six swimmers traveled to the meet for beginner and intermediate level swimmers with SKA assistant coach Kailee Mu.
“This was their first time competing in an off-island meet,” said SKA Coach Curt Colby. “Despite their young age, the swimmers were ready and performed outstandingly. Their individual successes has forged the way to make this meet a new tradition for SKA.”
Kohlton Sanchez, 9, was the sole male swimmer that went to Hilo, but that did not stop him from enjoying two days of swimming. He finished the meet with first-place finishes in four of his eight swims. In the remaining swims, Sanchez piled up three second-place ribbons and a third-place ribbon, his crowning achievement coming in the 100 individual medley where he finished with a AA HI time standard on a 1:36.55 swim, a seven-second drop in his time. The AA HI time standard qualified Sanchez to compete in more off-island invitational meets.
Moana Liddell, 7, finished with four top-three finishes, a second-place in the 50 backstroke (54.10), and three third-place finishes in the 25 breaststroke, 25 butterfly and the 50 freestyle.
“Her outstanding performance in so many different strokes clearly shows her versatility in the sport,” Colby said.
Danika Ferrer, 10, picked up a third-place ribbon in the 50 breaststroke (57.25). Her strongest swim came in the 100 freestyle (1:46.34) where she picked up nearly eight seconds over her seeded swim.
Her twin sister, Tiffany Ferrer, earned a second-place finish in the 100 IM (1:47.30) with her most improved race coming in the 100 freestyle (1:34.07) where she picked up eight seconds similar to her sister.
Kiele Yamamoto, 8, rounded out the field with a second-place performance in the 25 backstroke (26.86).
“Kiele was also part of the girls 10-and-under 200 freestyle relay team that included Danika Ferrer, Moana Liddell and Kealohi Oliveira,” Colby said. “The team finished third with a 3:47.01 swim, an impressive feat since only one of the girls on the team is over eight years old.”
Colby said during the last SKA home meet, Maiha Kjeldsen’s name was incorrectly reported. Kjeldsen, 8, finished that meet with a perfect showing, including picking up four new A HI time standards, including the 50 butterfly where she picked up 14 seconds on her swim that stopped the clocks at 44.09.
“These performances prove that these are some of the up and coming swimmers for SKA,” Colby said.
Swim Kauai Aquatics next sends a contingent to the Pacific NW Regional Meet in Seattle, Wash., in the next three weeks.
The Kauai Classic, SKA’s signature event, will take place March 30-31 at the YMCA pool where SKA will host teams from across the state as well as a visiting team from Canada.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
