Mililani again sweeps girls, boys swimming, diving titles

The sweep is golden, and officially back to back for Mililani.

For a second year in a row, the Trojans won the Oahu Interscholastic Association girls and boys swimming and diving championships on a cool, overcast Saturday afternoon at Veterans Memorial Aquatic Center in Waipio.

Mililani’s girls won by a 205-point margin over runner-up Kalani. Mililani (394) and Kalani (189) were followed by Roosevelt (156), Kaiser (130) and Kalaheo (104) in the 17-team field.

The Trojans boys finished with 266 points, followed by Kaiser (205), Kalani (134.5), Kalaheo (130) and Moanalua (129) in the 13-team field.

“I feel great. This has been a long season, our first traditional season,” Mililani coach Grant Bramer said. “Last year was all kind of wishy-washy with COVID protocols. This year, every team was bringing their ‘A’ game. The whole OIA was back to full strength, so pulling off the wins today was great for these kids. They’ve worked very, very hard. I could not be more proud as a coach. I’m always nervous when it comes to the championship meets. The kids did a fantastic job today.”

Elise Swartwood, a junior, won the girls 100-yard IM (2:07.50), placed second in the 100 fly, and also won in the 200 medley relay and 200 freestyle relay.

“Elise hit a future sectional cut or two, actually fantastic. A high-level USA swimming cut. That’s huge for nationals for her and her club (competition),” Bramer noted.

Swartwood’s low-key approach is a big part of a winning culture.

“We have a really strong team this year, so it’s important for us to race each other and push each other, but it was a really fun season,” Swartwood said. “There’s just a really good group of people who are not only fast, but we’re really close as a team, and that’s really important.”

Shota Ferreira stepped up for Mililani’s boys with individual wins in the 100 freestyle (48.05) and 200 freestyle (1:46.57), as well as first-place finishes with Mililani’s 200 medley relay and 400 relay.

“Shota dropped insane,” Bramer said.

The senior was slightly disappointed about his preliminary round.

“For the 200 free, I was very nervous. I wasn’t the top seed. There were guys that I know, famous guys, very fast,” Ferreira said. “I just had to tell myself, it’s only a race. No matter what happens, you have to push through or else you’re going to regret it later.”

Mililani went 1-2-3 in the boys diving competition and their girls also placed high, Bramer added.

Two individual records fell, one by Kalani’s Hailey Takai and the other by Kalaheo’s Tehani Kong. Takai set the tone for Kalani by shattering the OIA record in the 1-meter dive. The junior’s score of 510.88 broke a mark that had stood since 2014. The previous record was held by Nikki Imanaka (448.40). She also swam in the 50 freestyle, 200 medley relay and 400 freestyle relay.

“This year has been hard for me because I haven’t had much board time. Practices coming out here at VMAC have been difficult,” Takai said. “But I’ve been getting the reps in and it paid off. I also do club (Tropic Lightning), too, so that helped, too.”

Takai also won the event in OIA and states last year. The state championships are named after her uncle, K. Mark Takai, the congressman and former state representative who died in 2016. Her father, Ross, has coached her since a very young age. Her aunt, Nadine (Takai) Day, is the president of US Masters Swimming and still holds the 200 freestyle record of 1:52.35 set in 1988.

Kong won the 100 fly in 55.50, breaking the previous mark of 55.63 set by Kaya Takashige of Leilehua in 2019. Her time in Friday’s preliminary round was 56.37.

“It’s a pretty big record. I remember racing Kaya in 2019 and she set a big goal for me to come up to, to come close to. She killed me when I was a freshman racing her,” Kong said. “She set a crazy time. It wasn’t the best time for me, but it was just fun getting up and racing and going for it.”

Kalani junior Kokona Watanabe won the 50 (24.95) and 100 freestyle (54.73). Last year, she won the OIA 100 breaststroke and was second in the 50 free. She also swam in the 200 medley relay and 400 freestyle relay.

“Yesterday, I didn’t have a good race. It was after school and I was running around a lot. This morning, I was well-rested and I ate my instant ramen,” Watanabe said.

She plans to race in the 50 freestyle and 100 breaststroke at states in two weeks, as well as relays.

The K. Mark Takai/HHSAA Swimming and Diving State Championships will be held Feb. 10-11 at the University of Hawaii Aquatics Complex.

“At states, I’m up against all the private schools’ swimmers and we’re just getting more momentum for that meet,” Kong said. “I love that pool (at UH). Good walls, good turns.”