Hawai'i a paradise for N. Carolina surfer

By Brandon Masuoka
Advertiser Staff Writer

As a competitive swimmer for more than 10 years, Mike Sheldt drove himself to succeed with the same heart that would eventually take his life.

Sheldt, an 18-year-old University of Hawai'i freshman, died after he was found submerged at the bottom of Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex pool at the start of practice on Tuesday. An autopsy revealed that Sheldt drowned and that the contributing cause was hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, or an enlarged heart.

Yesterday, coaches remembered the wavy-haired surfer as someone who never gave less than 100 percent effort and never met a teammate or person he didn't like.

"He was a very positive young man who worked super hard," UH swimming coach Mike Anderson said. "He was always smiling and trying to get his teammates up. He was a very good student as well."

This week, Sheldt, was preparing to post a qualifying time at the Last Chance meet at UH tomorrow through Sunday. The team will compete at the meet.

"He competed in the 400 individual medley, which is one of the most brutal events in swimming," Anderson said.

Sheldt was in the team's top five for the 200 fly (2:09.34, 5th), 100 individual medley (55.81, 2nd), 200 individual medley (1:56.92, 5th), 400 individual medley (4:12.59, 3rd), 1650 free (17:18.80, 3rd), 50 breaststroke (1:00.42, 4th), 200 breaststroke (2:14.31, 4th) and 50 fly (24.48, 4th).

Mimi Goudes, who coached Sheldt for his final three seasons at Myers Park High School in North Carolina, called him a people magnet.

"He had a smile that could light up a room," Goudes said. "He was a beautiful person and not just simply good looking. He had such a good heart and good soul. He made friends pretty easily."

As a team captain of Myers Park, Sheldt led by example and never exhibited any health problems during swimming, Goudes said.

"To be real honest, I don't remember the kid getting the sniffles," Goudes said of the state champion. "He was almost always healthy. I don't remember him ever getting sick.

"He was such a leader, he would make people want to follow him," Goudes continued. "Teammates always seemed to do very well around him because he gave 110 percent. You had to swim your best to keep up with him."

The only thing Sheldt loved more than swimming was surfing, coaches said.

That was one of the reasons why Sheldt fell in love with Hawai'i, said Mecklenburg Aquatic Club (N.C.) coach Patty Waldron, who coached Sheldt when he was 14.

"Two words: surf's up," said Waldron when asked why Sheldt came to Hawai'i. "It was some place where he could combine his passion for competitive swimming and his love for surfing. He wanted to go there more than anything in the world."

Sheldt rarely missed practice, but when he did, Waldron knew where to find him.

"He would go to Wilmington, N.C., to try a little bit of surfing," Waldron said. "That was his real passion."

UH president Evan Dobelle said: "I knew Mike well and he was a promising young athlete and scholar. His loss is personally devastating to me and I am struggling to make sense of a situation that has no explanation. I would like to extend my deepest condolences to his family, friends, fellow students and teammates."

A moment of silence was held before last night's UH volleyball match and the same will be done at the basketball game today, UH athletic director Herman Frazier said. The swimming team will also honor Sheldt by dedicating the rest of the season to him, Anderson said.

"This has been a very difficult time for the institution, specifically for our student-athletes on the swim team," Frazier said. "I told the team earlier today that in 25 years of being involved in athletic administration, there's really no manual on how to deal with this type of tragedy."

Sheldt is survived by a younger sister, Mikaela, and parents, Mike and Shawnee.