Swim Kauai Aquatics was well represented at the Hawaiian Swimming Long Course Age Group State Championships last weekend at the Veterans Memorial Aquatic Center on Oahu. The team sent nine swimmers and brought home 44 medals and three state champions.
Swim Kauai Aquatics was well represented at the Hawaiian Swimming Long Course Age Group State Championships last weekend at the Veterans Memorial Aquatic Center on Oahu. The team sent nine swimmers and brought home 44 medals and three state champions. Twenty-one teams throughout the state competed in the four-day meet.
“I am very proud of this small but very committed group of swimmers,” said head coach Richard “Doc” Ludemann. “Their dedication and focus to the task at hand earned them exceptional swims.”
The team combined for 52 new personal best times.
Ten-year-olds Ryden Williams and Kai Norman each became a first-time state champion in the boys 10-and-under division. Williams, who stated it was his “life goal,” captured his first gold in the 50m freestyle, touched the wall in 32.19 seconds. Teammate Norman placed third in 32.82.
Williams, who placed second for boys in his age group, went on to place in the top four in the state in each of his events. He clinched second place in the 100m backstroke, 100m freestyle, and 200m individual medley events. He was third in the 50m backstroke, 100m breaststroke, and 200m freestyle events, and a fourth in the 50m breaststroke.
Norman won his first state championship title in the 100m butterfly, stopping the clocks at 1:19.79. Norman also captured third in the 50m butterfly, sixth in the 100m freestyle, and eighth in the 200m freestyle and 50m backstroke events. He finished the meet in sixth place overall in his age division.
Kate Machorek, 16, grabbed gold for the second year in a row in the 200m backstroke (2:25.61) in the girls 15-16 division. Machorek went on to clinch third place in 400m freestyle and 400m individual medley events, fourth in the 200m individual medley, sixth in the 50m freestyle and 100m backstroke, seventh in the 200m freestyle, and eighth in the 100m freestyle. She finished the meet tied for 5th place overall in her division.
“I am assured without a doubt that many more of our swimmers will be joining us at the short course state champs in December,” Ludemann said. “They’re really close to hitting those state qualifying times.”
SKA’s 13-year-old boys, Akira Williams, Jack Machorek and Jackson Evans, each posted personal best times throughout the course of the meet, combining for 13 of the teams total medals earned. Williams was second in the boys 13-14 200m freestyle in 2:42.11, less than a second off of the winner. He earned third in the 100m freestyle and fourth in the 50m and 400m freestyle events. He placed fifth in the 200m individual medley, and seventh in both the 100m and 200m backstroke events.
Machorek was second in the 400m individual medley in 5:18.36. He also grabbed fourth in the 200m breaststroke, fifth in the 100m breaststroke, sixth in the 800m freestyle and seventh in the 200m individual medley event.
Evans took fifth in the 50m freestyle (27.32) and seventh in the 100m butterfly. The boys finished in 4th, 11th, and 23rd place respectively in their age group.
Kaira Kaaihue, 14, posted seven new personal best times during the meet. Swimming in the girls 13-14 division, Kaaihue clinched 10th in the 800m freestyle (10:20.30) and 11th in the 50m freestyle. She placed in the top 20 in the state in each of her other events as well.
Tambrina Fairbanks, 18, and Yasmine Ware, 17, each competed in five events in the girls 17-18 division. Fairbanks, who will be heading off to Cal State University at Monterey Bay next month, placed fifth in the 200m breaststroke (2:54.75) and seventh in the 100m breaststroke. Fairbanks finished in 16th place and Ware finish eighth in their division.
