Posted on: Sunday, February 24, 2002

Waiakea girls make history; Iolani boys roll in state swim

• State swim records
• Local Motion State Swimming and Diving Championships
• Personal goals keep swimmers on top

Advertiser Staff

Waiakea High's girls answered their coach's challenge in the final event yesterday and brought the Neighbor Islands their first girls state high school swimming championship in history.

Iolani's national stars, with a solid supporting cast, set five meet records in a dazzling rush to the boys' championship.

Ten records fell in 22 swimming events at the Kailua, Kona Aquatics Center in perhaps the fastest swim meet in Hawai'i high school history.

For the first time in the 45 years of the Hawai 'i High School Athletic Association championships, Punahou won neither title.

Buffanblu teams had won 80 of the previous 88 crowns. The girls had won 41 of 44 and the title had never gone off O'ahu.

Yesterday, it came down to the last event.

Senior Nicole Okuna, anchor for Waiakea's 400-yard freestyle relay team, said coach Dan Lyons gathered the four relay-team members before the final race and informed them that Waiakea led Punahou by one point. The team that finished ahead of the other in the relay would win the championship. (Points for relays are 12-8-6-4-2 for first through fifth.)

"All four of us were really nervous and excited, " Okuna said. "He said if we were going to win the championship, it was going to be right then and there."

Tamarah Binek, Marlene Yafuso, Whitney Nekoba and Okuna left no doubt, breaking the meet record by 4.34 seconds and padding their point total to 59. Punahou finished third in the race and second in the meet with 54 points. Iolani was third with 39.

Waiakea had finished second the past two years.

"The way it ended was amazing," Lyons said. "Nekoba swam probably three seconds faster than she's ever gone in her life in the relay."

Okuna, who passed up an individual event to swim in three relays, turned a personal-best anchor of 52.5 seconds.

Binek won both sprints and Cassie Ka'apu Lyons won the 100 breaststroke by 1/100ths of a second for Waiakea's individual victories. The 200 medley relay team also set a meet record.

The boys' meet was not as close. Iolani outscored Punahou 91-52. But Iolani coach Brian Lee took no chances, putting nationally ranked stars Hongzhe Sun and Mark Eckert Jr. into the same 200 freestyle relay with four events to go.

Iolani beat Punahou, and the meet record, by nearly two seconds to establish a safe cushion in the point standings.

But Sun, who contributed a 20.9 leg to the relay victory, was too tired to threaten his own meet record in the next event, the 100 backstroke.

That was the only event in which Iolani's boys did not get a record they were targeting. Eckert, a sophomore, set meet marks in the 200 and 500 freestyle; Sun broke the butterfly record and Sun, Eckert, Daniel Toba and Joshua Anaya set a new 200 medley relay record.

Punahou's boys 400 freestyle relay team improved its own record.

Kaiser's Ashley Swart set her second record of the meet, adding the 200 individual medley to the 500 freestyle mark she broke in Friday's trials. No other individual girls' records fell.

Waiakea coach Lyons, speaking of his own eight girls, but effectively describing all competitive swimmers, said, "It takes a lot of work, twice a day, four hours a day. It's neat to see young people who can make these sacrifices."

• • •

State swim records

BOYS

• • 200-yard medley relay: 1:35.98 by Iolani (Hongzhe Sun, backstroke; Daniel Toba, breaststroke; Mark Eckert Jr., butterfly; Joshua Anaya, freestyle). Former record 1:36.98 by Baldwin, 2000.
• • 200 freestyle: 1:39.28 by Mark Eckert Jr. of Iolani, breaking his own record of 1:39.89 set in Friday's trials.
• • 100 butterfly: 49.40 by Hongzhe Sun of Iolani, breaking his own record of 49.71 set in Friday's trials.
• • 500 freestyle: 4:28.60 by Mark Eckert Jr. of Iolani. Former record 4:31.00 by Jimmy Murakami of Punahou in 1981.
• • 200 freestyle relay: 1:25.22 by Iolani (Pat Morrissey, Hongzhe Sun, Mark Eckert Jr., Josh Anaya). Former record 1:27.09 by Punahou last year.
• • 400 freestyle relay: 3:10.44 by Punahou (Nick Tyau, C.J. Smith, Noa Sakamoto, Nick Borreca). Former record 3:10.78 by Punahou last year.

GIRLS

• • 200-yard medley relay: 1:48.18 by Waiakea (Jessica Bartolome) backstroke; Kathy Ka'apu-Lyons, breaststroke; Nicole Okuna, butterfly; Tamarah Binek, freestyle), breaking their own record of 1:49.12 set in Friday's trials.
• • 200 individual medley: 2:03.80 by Ashley Swart of Kaiser. Former record 2:04.66 by Jodi Jackson of Punahou, 1995.
• • 500 freestyle: 4:57.27 by Ashley Swart of Kaiser in Friday's trials. Former record 4:57.33 by Diane Williams of Hawai'i School for Girls (La Pietra) in 1983.
• • 400 freestyle relay: 3:33.49 by Waiakea (Tamarah Binek, Marlene Yafuso, Whitney Nekoba, Nicole Okuna). Former record 3:37.83 by Punahou last year.

• • •

Local Motion State Swimming and Diving Championships

At Kailua, Kona Aquatics Center

All distances in yards

BOYS

Team standings

1, Iolani 91

2, Punahou 52.

3, Seabury 18.

4, Roosevelt 12.

5, Hawai'i Prep 11.

6, Damien 10.

7, Baldwin 9.

8 (tie) Kealakehe and Kaiser 7.

10 (tie) Kamehameha and Kapolei 6.

12, St. Joseph 5.

13, King Kekaulike 3.

14, Hilo 2.

15, Waimea 1.

50 Freestyle

1. Nick Borreca, Punahou 20.88
2. Randall Tom, Seabury 21.23
3. Justin Lee, HPA 21.50
4. Nick Tyau, Punahou 21.53
5. Pat Morrissey, Iolani 21.67

100 Freestyle

1. Justin Lee, HPA 46.70
2. Nick Tyau, Punahou 47.82
3. Pat Morrissey, Iolani 47.92
4. Joshua Anaya, Iolani 48.64
5. Puna Moku, Kealakehe 48.80

200 Freestyle

1. Mark Eckert Jr., Iolani 1:39.28 (meet record).
2. Noa Sakamoto, Punahou 1:40.06
3. Evan Duffin-Barnes, Kaiser 1:46.48
4. Damon Jones, Iolani 1:48.86
5. Daniel Lim, Iolani 1:49.96

500 Freestyle

1. Mark Eckert Jr., Iolani 4:28.60 (meet record).
2. Noa Sakamoto, Punahou 4:31.57
3. Kimo Yamashiro, Iolani 4:47.01
4. Damon Jones, Iolani 4:55.57
5. Daniel Lim, Iolani 5:00.56

100 Backstroke

1. Hongzhe Sun, Iolani 50.42
2. Jared Heine, Damien 53.54
3. Justin Yadao, St. Joseph 55.96
4. Kai Yamashiro, Damien 56.44
5. Hogan Orikasa, K. Kekaulike 57.14

100 Breaststroke

1. Edward Afualo, Kapolei 58.83
2. Daniel Toba, Iolani 59.58
3. Julian Price, Iolani 1:02.05
4. Joey Albarico, Roosevelt 1:03.35
5. Jack Flores, Waimea 1:03.56

100 Butterfly

1. Hongzhe Sun, Iolani 49.40 (meet record).
2. Randall Tom, Seabury 50.98
3. Jared Heine, Damien 53.45
4. Justin Yadao, St. Joseph 54.48
5. Evan Duffin-Barnes, Kaiser 54.76

200 Individual Medley

1. Kimo Yamashiro, Iolani 1:57.15
2. Daniel Toba, Iolani 2:01.09
3. Jordan Otomo, Baldwin 2:02.49
4. Jonathan Lau, Iolani 2:04.55
5. Kai Yamashiro, Damien 2:06.78

1-meter Diving

1. Joshua Tyau, Kamehameha 414.15.
2. Drew Wallace, Punahou 390.85
3. Matthew Elm, Kaiser 327.35
4. Greg Takeshima, Hilo 255.35
5. Nelson Quan, Iolani 250.75

200 Freestyle Relay

1. Iolani 1:25.22 (Pat Morrissey, Hongzhe Sun, Mark Eckert, Joshua Anaya), (meet record).
2. Punahou 1:27.13 (Nick Tyau, CJ Smith, Noa Sakamoto, Nick Borreca)
3. Seabury Hall 1:33.23 (Tristan Adlawan, Sterling Thomas, Nick Meyer, Randall Tom)
4. Roosevelt 1:34.93 (Joey Albarico, Chris Ota, Aaron Gon, Jonathan Ching)
5. Hawai'i Prep 1:35.12 (Justin Lee, James Hustace, Al Bushnell, Garry Burns)

400 Freestyle Relay

1. Punahou 3:10.44 (Nick Tyau, C.J. Smith, Noa Sakamoto, Nick Borreca), (meet record)
2. Iolani 3:16.33 (Pat Morrissey, Damon Jones, Kimo Yamashiro, Daniel Toba)
3. Roosevelt 3:27.49 (Chris Ota, Joey Albarico, Richard Aoki, Jonathan Ching)
4. Seabury Hall 3:27.93 (Tristan Adlawan, Sterling Thomas, Kale Haywood, Randall Tom)
5. Baldwin 3:29.94 (Jordan Otomo, Derek Ono, Ryan Hanzawa, Andrew Janiszewski),

200 Medley Relay

1. Iolani 1:35.98 (Hongzhe Sun, Daniel Toba, Mark Eckert Jr., Joshua Anaya), (meet record)
2. Punahou 1:43.68 (Kenni Nakakura, Noa Ching, Geoffrey Long, Nick Borreca)
3. Kealakehe 1:46.38 (Sean Cooney, Puna Moku, Aaron Boranian, Chandler Nacino)
4. Baldwin 1:47.05 (Derek Ono, Ryan Hanzawa, Jordan Otomo, Andrew Janiszewski)
5. King Kekaulike 1:48.19 (Hogan Orikasa, Kahone Speed, Toby Orikasa, Kila Baker)

GIRLS

Team standings

1, Waiakea 59

2, Punahou 54

3, Iolani 39

4, Maui 19

5 (tie) Lahainaluna and Kaiser 17

7, Radford 7

8 (tie) Kealakehe and Kalani 6

10, King Kekaulike 5

11 (tie) Kamehameha, Kalaheo and Hawai'i Prep 3

14, Mililani 2.

50 Freestyle

1. Tamarah Binek, Waiakea 24.00
2. Chelsea Nagata, Maui 24.07
3. Kamaile Crowell, Punahou 24.35
4. Anne Richardson, Punahou 24.77
5. April Woo, Iolani 24.89

100 Freestyle

1. Tamarah Binek, Waiakea 52.65
2. Kristin Simunovich, Punahou 53.56
3. Vanessa Ng, Iolani 53.80
4. Katie Flanagan, Punahou 54.33
5. Kamaile Crowell, Punahou 54.45

200 Freestyle

1. Jessica Nohara, Lahaina 1:55.28
2. Kim Ono, Iolani 1:55.78
3. Alison Wilson, Punahou 1:56.22
4. Kristin Simunovich, Pun. 1:56.77
5. Christine Phillips, Kalaheo 1:57.51

500 Freestyle

1. Ashley Swart, Kaiser 4:58.01 (Swart set meet record of 4:57.27 in trials.)
2. Alison Wilson, Punahou 5:07.65
3. Marlene Yafuso, Waiakea 5:07.92
4. Christine Phillips, Kalaheo 5:13.94
5. Helena Suehiro, K. Keka. 5:15.59

100 Backstroke

1. Kim Ono, Iolani 58.30
2. Ashley Rose, Kealakehe 58.83
3. Jessica Nohara, Lahainaluna 59.18
4. Megan Rose, Kealakehe 59.70
5. Emalia Suehiro, K.Kekaulike 1:00.97

100 Breaststroke

1. Cassie Ka'apu-Lyons, Waiak. 1:06.19
2. Carly Omizo, Iolani 1:06.20
3. Karly Kopra, Hawai'i Prep 1:06.65
4. Cami Ichiki, Maui 1:07.64
5. April Woo, Iolani 1:08.25

100 Butterfly

1. Chelsea Nagata, Maui 56.01
2. Nicole Okuna, Waiakea 56.20
3. Stella Karoly-Brinich, Rad. 58.31
4. Marina Morie, Punahou 58.72
5. Kristin Sangren, Punahou 1:00.49

200 Individual Medley

1. Ashley Swart, Kaiser 2:03.80 (meet record)
2. Stella Karoly-Brinich, Rad. 2:08.82
3. Emalia Suehiro, K.Kekau. 2:09.01
4. Marlene Yafuso, Waiakea 2:09.63
5. Cami Ichiki, Maui 2:11.14

1-meter Diving

1. Sarah Delara, Maui 352.85
2. Claire Schiff, Punahou 343.75
3. Ronnie Oda, Kamehameha 325.50
4. Andrea Eng, Mililani 306.85
5. Kathryn Hurd, Kaiser 303.75

200 Freestyle Relay

1. Punahou 1:38.26 (Kristin Simunovich, Anne Richardson, Kamaile Crowell, Katie Flanagan)
2. Waiakea 1:40.51 (Jessica Bartolome, Marlene Yafuso, Whitney Nekoba, Nicole Okuna)
3. Iolani 1:42.29 (Vanessa Ng, April Woo, Christi Morrissey, Brianne Castillo-Huang)
4. Kalani 1:43.01 (Sayaka Ogura, Summer Nakasato, Ivy Yi, Erin Nakamoto)
5. Kaiser 1:43.27 (Ashley Swart, Jasmine Slovak, Leina Ribao, Kaetlen Bursey)

400 Freestyle Relay

1. Waiakea 3:33.49 (Tamarah Binek, Marlene Yafuso, Whitney Nekoba, Nicole Okuna), (meet record)
2. Punahou 3:34.80 (Kristin Simunovich, Marina Morie, Alison Wilson, Anne Richardson)
3. Iolani 3:42.13 (Vanessa Ng, Kim Ono, Brianne Castillo-Huang, Jinhee Hause)
4. Lahainaluna 3:45.61 (Noelle Serrano, Janna Otomo, Malia Kim, Jessica Nohara)
5. Kaiser 3:46.05 (Ashley Swart, Jasmine Slovak, Leina Ribao, Kaetlen Bursey)

200 Medley Relay

1. Waiakea 1:48.18 (Jessica Bartolome, Cassie Ka'apu-Lyons, Nicole Okuna , Tamarah Binek), (meet record)
2. Iolani 1:50.77 (Kim Ono, Carly Omizo, Sara Ajifu, April Woo)
3. Punahou 1:52.09 (Kamaile Crowell, Avery Cavanah, Marina Morie, Anne Richardson)
4. Lahainaluna 1:54.45 (Jessica Nohara, Noelle Serrano, Ciara Ganter, Janna Otomo)
5. Kalani 1:54.49 (Natalie Noborikawa, Ivy Yi, Nika Nakamoto, Summer Nakasato)