Swart, Sakamoto go off course, but win
By Mike Tymn
Special to The Advertiser
Ashley Swart and Noa Sakamoto didn't swim the shortest distance between two points in winning the Surf & Sea Cup ocean swim at Hale'iwa yesterday morning. And it wasn't, as is sometimes the case, because the current dictated a deviation from a straight line.
"I got disoriented and couldn't see the beach," said Swart, winner of the women's race.
Swart wasn't the only one taking an indirect route to the finish.
"I couldn't see where I was going," said Sakamoto, the men's winner.
Swart, a 17-year-old recent Kaiser High graduate, had built up such a commanding lead in the women's race, which preceded the men's race, that she was never threatened by swimmers taking a more direct route from the final buoy to the finish line on the beach. She won the 1.2-mile event in 24 minutes, 54.5 seconds, well ahead of Jennifer Baker, 16, who recorded 26:04.3. Koko Jinbo-Doran, 19, edged Adrienne Mason, 25, for the third spot in 26:27.8.
Sakamoto, a 16-year-old Punahou junior, lost his lead to Evan Duffin Barnes when he took the indirect route to the finish, but quickly caught up with Duffin Barnes and outsprinted him to the finish, winning in 22:50.8. Duffin Barnes, 16, clocked 22:56.6, while Rick Heltzel, 45, finished third in 23:36.9.
With 99 competitors, the women's race got under way at 9 a.m. About half of the field headed directly for the first buoy, where the swimmers were to take a right turn for the second buoy over a somewhat triangular course. The other half headed for a channel marker about 70 yards to the left of the buoy.
Baker was one of those in the second group. "I didn't know where I was going," she said, laughing. Swart took the shortest route on that segment, but it was after turning around the second buoy that she began heading toward Hale'iwa town instead of the beach.
"Hey, knowing where you are going is just part of the challenge in ocean swimming," said Ernie Leskovitz, who would later win the men's 65-over division, as he observed from the beach.
After the last woman had finished, the men's race, with 115 competitors, got under way. Sakamoto immediately went to the lead and was in command until making the turn around the second buoy.
"He was way ahead and then all of a sudden he was behind me," said Duffin Barnes. "I think I was on a straight line and he went off track."
After Sakamoto made a course correction, the two swimmers matched strokes for several hundred yards. Then, about 50 yards from the finish, Sakamoto pulled ahead.
The event was the fourth and final in the North Shore Swim Series. Although Swart and Sakamoto also won the first two events, both missed the third race because they took part in the USA Swimming regional championships in Phoenix. There, Swart took second in the 200 individual medley and 400 freestyle, while also finishing third in the 200 breaststroke. Sakamoto placed third in the 200-, 400- and 800-meter freestyle races.
With a cumulative time of 2 hours, 3 minutes, 22.6 seconds, Heltzel was the men's series winner, while Baker topped the women with a time of 3:15:49.4.
In addition to the performances by Heltzel and Leskovitz, outstanding age-class efforts were recorded by 56-year-old Betty Ann Barnett Sallee, who was 16th overall in the women's race with a 27:34.4, 53-year-old Bruce Sloan, 20th overall in the men's race with a 26:31.0, and Roger Cundall, 56, 25th overall in 26:47.4.
Surf & Sea Cup
At Hale'iwa
Male
Overall: 1, Noa Sakamoto 22:50.8. 2, Evan Duffin Barnes 22:56.6. 3, Rick Heltzel 23:36.9. 10-under: 1, Ashton Srock 32:45.7. 2, Garrett Costello 33:54.1. 3, Jayson Hagi 38:46.4. 11-12: 1, Brett Johnson 25:49.8. 2, Rayfe Gaspar-Asaoka 28:36.4. 3, Ben Pugh 30:04.6. 13-14: 1, Yusuke Kobayashi 24:15.4. 2, Andrew Kinimaka 27:58.5. 3, Alec Uyeno 28:19.1. 15-19: 1, Matthew Seymour 23:37.9. 2, Sean Steele 26:02.5. 3, John Chock 26:14.5. 20-24: 1, Chad Seymour 24:10.4. 2, Billy Brown 24:29.5. 3, Thomas Lyttle 25:57.6. 25-29: 1, Anthony Coda 26:06.6. 2, Peter Koprowski 26:20.5. 3, Clint Trocchio 26:42.5. 30-34: 1, Gary Brothers 26:22.1. 2, Lou Ortiz 26:23.0. 3, Michael Mullahey 26:26.5. 35-39: 1, Alex Jampel 25:27.1. 2, Lane Johnson 26:40.4. 3, Donald Koslowsky 28:10.3. 40-44: 1, Steve Watkins 26:24.6. 2, Russell Iwamura 26:34.3. 3, Peer Blichfeldt 28:26.9. 45-49: 1, Michael Anderson 27:56.0. 2, Chad Harrison 29:53.0. 3, Roger Komori 30:21.1. 50-54: 1, Bruce Sloan 26:31.0. 2, Tom Sena 28:42.8. 3, Alton Motobu 29:05.0. 55-59: 1, Roger Cundall 26:47.4. 2, Warren Duryea 30:20.5. 3, Carl Kawauchi 30:26.1. 60-64: 1, Jim Wiencke 33:10.9. 2, John Lockett 37:46.7. 65-over: 1, Ernie Leskovitz 28:29.2. 2, Pete Schlegel 34:06.8. 3, Vernon Knight 38:40.3.
Female
Overall: 1, Ashley Swart 24:54.5. 2, Jennifer Baker 26:04.3. 3, Koko Jinbo- Doran 26:27.8. 10-under: 1, Michelle Dudley 31:31.5. 2, Nicole Talion 38:38.7. 3, Megan Steele 38:56.5. 11-12: 1, Christel Simms 27:36.0. 2, Kristi Torkildson 28:23.1. 3, Brittany Cody 30:32.2. 13-14: 1, Nicole Hagi 26:33.2. 2, Kristy Horiuchi 27:04.8. 3, Christine Nakamura 29:43.2. 15-19: 1, Samantha Moran 26:48.8. 2, Leslie Christian 27:10.2. 3, Kristin Simunovich 27:20.8. 20-24: 1, Lauren Trocchio 27:03.5. 2, Elizabeth Weidling 27:18.8 3, Emily Bresser 27:36.9. 25-29: 1, Adrienne Mason 26:28.2. 2, Beth Greenway 30:52.2. 3, Bridget Smith 30:53.0. 30-34: 1, Susan Burr 26:59.8. 2, Miki David 27:01.8 . 3, Tomoko Turner 28:24.4. 35-39: 1, Allison Reid 26:53.3. 2, Theresa Michal 27:46.2. 3, Cheryl Henry 28:33.7. 40-44: 1, Jeaneen Heldt 29:40. 2, Paula Africa 31:10. 3, Annamarie Watkins 31:33.6. 45-49: 1, Marie Wagner 31:12.0. 2, Barbara Germann 33:53.0. 3, Jill Buss 35:52.3. 50-54: 1, Linda Kaiser 30:50.5. 2, Julie Rosenheimer 34:27.0. 3, Rina Wetcott 43:36.0. 55-59: 1, Betty Ann Barnett Sallee 27:34.4. 2, Sui-Lan Ellsworth 31:41.0. 3, Sharyn Klafehn 40:10.4. 60-64: 1, Kathleen Quinn 38:41.5. 65-over: 1, Bonnie Eyre 41:44.5.
Eyecatcher North Shore Swim Series
Overall standings
(Raging Isle Spring, Surf & Sea North Shore Challenge, Cholo's 2000 Swim, Surf & Sea Cup)
Male
Open: 1, Rick Heltzel 3:03:22; 2, Billy Brow 3:12:36; 3, Alex Jampel 3:13:43. 10-under: 1, Garrett Costello 3:59:33. 11-12: 1, Rayfe Gaspar-Asaoka 3:29:00. 13-14: 1, Alec Uyeno 3:46:07. 15-19: 1, Kyle Yoneshige 3:20:07. 20-24: 1, Todd Polk 3:25:53. 25-29: 1, Clint Trocchio 3:20:14; 2, Anthony Coda 3:23:48; 3, Dave Hardesty 3:35:11. 30-34: 1, Gary Brothers 3:16:43. 2, Michael Mullahey 3:19:08; 3, Tom Presler 3:23:26. 35-39: 1, Donald Koslowsky 3:34:56; 2, Scott Shimada 4:00:45. 40-44: 1, Russell Iwamura 3:18:26; 2, 3:43:23; 3, Paul McCurdy 4:13:17. 45-49: 1, Brian Cody 3:35:53; 2, Kalakihana Aea 4:00:55. 50-54: 1, Bruce Sloan 3:18:46; 2, Alton Motobu 3:30:45; 3, Jack Suyderhoud 3:36:17. 55-59: 1, Roger Cundall 3:21:02; 2, Carl Kawauchi 3:34:49; 3, Warren Duryea 3:36:31. 60-64: 1, Jim Wiencke 3:49:24; 2, John Lockett 4:26:23. 65-over: 1, Ernie Leskovitz 3:28:48; 2, Vernon Knight 4:33:00.
Female
Open: 1, Jennifer Baker 3:15:49; 2, Nicole Hagi 3:16:41; 3, Samantha Moran 3:19:45. 11-12: 1, Remy Hirai 3:54:34. 15-19: 1, Koko Jinbo-Doran 3:20:52; 2, Kristin Simunovich 3:25:49. 20-24: 1, Emily Bresser 3:20:21; 2, Lauren Trocchio 3:26:39; 3, Kendra Yanney 3:36:27. 25-29: 1, Beth Greenway 3:43:20; 2, Bridget Smith 3:47:50; 3, Clarissa Sweet 4:06:06. 30-34: 1, Susan Burr 3:23:53; 2, Miki David 3:25:08; 3, Tomoko Turner 3:30:26. 35-39: 1, Allison Reid 3:24:41; 2, Cheryl Henry 3:28:00; 3, Theresa Micha 3:28:31. 40-44: 1, Jeaneen Held 3:37:22; 2, Sarah Rogers 4:34:23; 3, Kim Osborn 4:44:45. 45-49: 1, Marie Wagner 3:58:07; 2, Barbara Germann 4:11:08, 3, Linda Moran 4:50:40. 50-54: 1, Linda Kaiser 3:43:10; 2, Julie Rosenheimer 4:05:35. 55-59: 1, Betty Ann Barnett Sallee 3:22:41; 2, Sui-Lan Ellsworth 3:48:43; 3, Sharyn Klafehn 4:43:26. 60-64: 1, Kathleen Quinn 4:33:39.
