Kamehameha, Punahou swim to state titles

KIHEI, Maui » The Kamehameha School boys and the Punahou School girls found success by taking the emphasis off winning and focusing on fun.

That was the winning recipe for both schools at Saturday’s finals of the Hawaii High School State Swimming & Diving Championships held at the Kihei Aquatic Center.

Kamehameha won all three relays en route to taking the boys championship with 52.5 points, more than 19 points better than runner-up Punahou’s 33. Mililani was third with 26 points, followed by Seabury Hall’s 24 and ‘Iolani’s 17. The Warriors’ only other state boys crown came in 2006 on the Big Island.

Buoyed by a pair of gold medals from sophomore Jasmine Mau, the Buffanblu girls edged Mid-Pacific to claim their sixth state championship in the past seven years and the 14th under head coach Jeff Meister. The Owls finished four points shy (47-43) of earning their first state title in school history. ‘Iolani was third with 29, Kauai had 21 and Kealakehe was fifth with 17.

"It was a fantastic meet and everyone swam well," said Meister. "Mid-Pacific was great, their girls swam great. I am proud of our girls — they swam hard and they had fun and that’s what makes it so much fun. The girls came in really focused on doing what we needed to do. We don’t swim to win, we swim to do our best and that’s what they did."

Punahou capped the meet with a win in the girls 400 freestyle relay. Mau anchored the winning team in 3 minutes, 34.51 seconds. She was joined by seniors Sara Kahanamoku-Snelling, Courtney Miller and Zoe Namba. Mau defended her titles in the 500 free (5:02.48) and 200 IM (2:04.38).

The Kamehameha boys maximized their 10-member team to collect gold medals in the 200 medley and 200- and 400-freestyle relays.

"Winning all three relays was definitely huge," Kamehameha coach Kevin Flanagan said. "We knew what we were capable of before the meet and I think the guys achieved that and maybe a little bit beyond what they thought was possible. They swam great, and I’m happy for them."

Sophomore Ryan Stack earned the Warriors’ only individual title, using a final burst at the end of the 100 free to edge Kalani’s Taiga Hashimoto, 46.65-46.96.

"I saw (Hashimoto) coming up and on that last turn, that last 25, I just gave everything I had left," Stack said. "It hurt, but I got it done. I’m stoked. I’m so happy to just be here and swim. It’s been fun."

Not surprising for Kamehameha, since Flanagan took the priority off the prize itself.

"We try not to focus on what other teams do. We talked from day one about focusing on the process and doing everything we can to be successful," Flanagan said. "We didn’t want to emphasize winning … we wanted them to learn and to prepare. If they focused on the process and are successful at that, they are going to be fast and our probability of winning here was going to be higher."

The commitment and team effort enabled the Warriors to see their dreams come true, Flanagan said.

"We had some obstacles this year at the school — our pool was down so we had to train off campus at Kalihi Valley Pool. Most kids would have said, ‘Oh well, we don’t really want to do that’ or put in the effort, but these guys just shook it off like it wasn’t even an issue and I think it kind of showed in how they swam. Everyone stepped up. We didn’t ride one big horse; we brought 10 guys and they all swam great and everyone contributed."

Stack swam on the winning 200- and 400-free relays. Joining Stack in the 200 (1:25.88) were freshman Kanoa Kaleoaloha and juniors Kevin Hartley and Kaikena Naone. In the 400 (3:12.15), juniors Kale Ai and Sean Terada joined Naone and Stack. Kaleoaloha, Ai, Hartley and Naone made up the winning quartet in the 200 medley (1:37.90).

The meet was highlighted by a pair of state records. Punahou’s Spencer Madanay broke his own mark in the boys 1-meter diving event with a score of 581.10. The winning mark was almost 100 points better than the state record of 486.10 Madanay set as a junior.

"I’m super stoked about it," Madanay said. "My ninth dive was my 3.0 dive, and I rode the board well and nailed it. It was probably my best dive ever. But I had to stay focused because I still had two more dives left."

Divers get 11 total dives, six on the second day.

Like Madanay, Seabury Hall junior Renny Richmond broke his own record in the boys 100 butterfly, lowering the mark of 48.04 seconds he set last year to 47.57.

"A little bummed. I was really hoping to get the national record … but I had some mistakes," said Richmond, who also won the 50 free for the second straight year in 20.52. "On my first turn I was really long and that was probably half a second right there, and then my last lap, I was just off, I guess. I know I have next year, but I was really hoping for it this year."

Besides Richmond, ‘Iolani senior Kacy Johnson was the only double individual winner in the boys competition, claiming the 200 IM in 1:51.41 and the 500 free in 4:32.16.

"I am actually training for a bigger meet coming up in March … so this shows that what I’ve been doing in the pool is paying off," Johnson said.

Mid-Pacific’s five-member team was led by sophomore Summer Harrison’s individual victory in the 100 free (51.39). She also joined a trio of freshmen — Rebecca Walton, Lena Hayakawa and Gayla McQuaid — in winning the 200 medley relay (1:50.22).

"We knew it was going to be tight," Mid-Pacific coach Drew Saranillo said. "The girls truly worked hard. They just did an outstanding job. All of our girls worked hard the entire season."

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