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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, February 24, 2008

Punahou dominates to sweep boys, girls championships

By Christie Wilson
Advertiser Neighbor Island Editor

KIHEI, Maui — Punahou yesterday swept all six relays and collected 10 individual golds to capture the boys and girls HHSAA/Local Motion Swimming and Diving Championships held at the Kihei Aquatic Center.

Leading the Punahou charge were seniors Brett Gomes and Michelle Yoshida and junior Christel Simms, who each claimed four golds.

In addition to two relay wins, Gomes and Yoshida won their respective 50- and 100-yard freestyle races. Simms also earned two relay golds and was an easy winner in the 200-yard freestyle and 100-yard butterfly events.

With yesterday's victories, Yoshida has won a total of 16 golds in her high school swimming career, and with one year still to go, Simms has 12.

Punahou teammate Rachel Cote was the only record-breaker of the meet, finishing the 100-yard backstroke in 56.51 seconds, besting the mark she set last year by almost a full second. She also won the event in 2006.

A heavy favorite with the only sub-minute time in Friday's preliminaries, Cote said she wasn't trying to set another record.

"I just wanted to do something for my team," the senior said.

Cote, who will attend Pepperdine, also was a member of Punahou's victorious 200-yard medley and 400-yard freestyle relay squads.

The 400-yard crew of Simms, Yoshida, Cote and senior Nica Nordyke took a big lead right off the starting block and finished almost 10 seconds ahead of the field.

"We wanted to get out fast. This was the last event for three of us. We wanted to make the last one the fast one," Cote said.

The only junior on the relay, Simms said: "I was just stoked to be racing with these girls for the last time."

The other individual double gold medalists included Lahainaluna's Jack Pope, who was untouchable in the 200- and 500-yard freestyle events for the third year in a row.

Kekoa Taparra of Kamehameha won the 200-yard individual medley, his second gold in that event, and 100-yard breaststroke, his third first-place finish in three years.

Punahou's Mitchell Chong earned his third straight gold in the 100-yard backstroke, and Iolani's Geramiah Simoes was a three-peater in the 100-yard butterfly.

With so many repeat winners, the only new stars to emerge were Libby Matthews of Seabury Hall, who took first in both the 200-yard individual medley and 100-yard breastroke; and Krista Maier of Kealakehe, who claimed the 500-yard freestyle event.

Maier, a senior, grabbed the lead from top seed Jennifer Cahill of Baldwin in the first few laps and pulled further ahead with each stroke before winning by more than 9 seconds.

Maier also came in second behind Simms in the 200-yard event, and boosted the Kealakehe girls to third in the final team standings.

In the 1-meter diving competition, freshman Kathryn Chinn and senior Dylan Jude of Punahou took gold, with Jude edging out James Keawe of Kamehameha by less than a point for the boys' crown.

The Punahou girls team total of 93 was more than enough to earn a three-peat, while the boys team won its second title in a row, with a total of 73 points.

Both squads are heavy with seniors, which gave yesterday's victories more significance, according to team members and coaches.

"This is my last year and we've been on the team together for years and now it's come down to the last meet," said Gomes, who will attend the University of Pennsylvania.

"We didn't expect to dominate. We just went out there and that's what happened."

Although the Buffanblu boasts the state's winningest high school swimming program, head coach Jeff Meister said he took nothing for granted heading into yesterday's finals.

"It's never business as usual. These kids worked so hard and our goal was to come and see if can could get our best times," he said.

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BOYS

Team standings

1, Punahou 73. 2, Kamehameha 33. 3, Hawai'i Prep 28. 4, 'Iolani 21. 5, Mililani 18. 6, Lahainaluna 12. 7, Kapolei 9. 8, Baldwin 8. 9, Lutheran 7. 10t, Kaiser 6. 10t, Kalani 6. 12, Seabury Hall 5. 13t, Island Pacific 4. 13t, King Kekaulike 4. 15, Waiakea 3. 16, Le Jardin 2. 17, Kealakehe 1.

1 Meter Diving

1, Dylan Jude (Pun) 374.90. 2, James Keawe (KS) 374.20. 3, Joshua Tavares (KS) 366.85. 4, Kainoa Lopes (Kais) 297.75. 5, Connor Logsdon (Bald) 276.15. 6, Ryan Brem (Bald) 265.50. 7, Beau Brians (Kais) 265.25. 8, Mark Brians (Kais) 217.60.

50 Freestyle

1, Brett Gomes (Pun) 21.26. 2, Kevin Kim (Bald) 22.13. 3, Haku Mokulehua (Luth) 22.19. 4, Ruddy Kiessling (Pun) 22.34. 5, Eddi Zandee Van Rilland (Pun) 22.41. 6, Eric Deer (Pun) 22.60. 7, Rayfe Gaspar-Asaoka ('Iol) 22.75. 8, Aaron Pasoquen (Lei) 22.95.

100 Freestyle

1, Brett Gomes (Pun) 47.27. 2, Haku Mokulehua (Luth) 48.52. 3, Ruddy Kiessling (Pun) 48.93. 4, Eric Roth (Mili) 49.48. 5, Rayfe Gaspar-Asaoka ('Iol) 49.60. 6, Eric Deer (Pun) 50.05. 7, Aaron Pasoquen (Lei) 50.11. 8, Noah Murray (HPA) 51.57.

200 Freestyle

1, Jack Pope (Lah) 1:42.75. 2, Nick Penny (HPA) 1:47.50. 3, Taylor Fife (IPA) 1:48.07. 4, Jayson Hagi (Kap) 1:48.97. 5, Thomas Fee (Pun) 1:49.30. 6, Sean McCaulley (Lei) 1:49.74. 7, Aaron Schmaltz (Pun) 1:50.65. 8, Ryan Ross (HPA) 1:53.34.

500 Freestyle

1, Jack Pope (Lah) 4:41.23. 2, Jayson Hagi (Kap) 4:47.35. 3, Ashton Srock (Kap) 4:49.46. 4, Zach Johnson (Sea) 4:52.21. 5, Taylor Fife (IPA) 4:56.96. 6, Kevin Moy (Pun) 5:00.23. 7, Sean McCaulley (Lei) 5:02.70. 8, Ryan Saunders (Pun) 5:03.52.

100 Backstroke

1, Mitchell Chong (Pun) 51.35. 2, Geramiah Simoes ('Iol) 53.54. 3, Thomas YI (Kaln) 53.71. 4, Keahi Parker (HPA) 54.23. 5, Matthew Hamilton-Cave (Keala) 56.46. 6, Dustin Ikeda (Pun) 57.62. 7, Caelan Kakalia (Kais) 57.74. 8, Ridge Altman (Sea) 58.23.

100 Breaststroke

1, Kekoa Taparra (KS) 57.66. 2, Kent Yamada (Mili) 1:00.20. 3, Peter Chi (Waiak) 1:00.85. 4, Marc Okimura (Kais) 1:00.98. 5, Adrian Jacobs (HPA) 1:01.18. 6, Kila Pickering (KS) 1:01.37. 7, Logan Borowski (HPA) 1:01.84. 8, Spencer Dung (Pun) 1:02.81.

100 Butterfly

1, Geramiah Simoes ('Iol) 50.53. 2, Jasmeet Jernaill (KK) 52.47. 3, Kevin Kim (Bald) 52.87. 4, Brandon Ching (Pun) 53.24. 5, Nick Penny (HPA) 53.74. 6, Avery Chern (Pun) 53.76. 7, Bryan Hill (Rad) 54.17. 8, Jason Frifeldt (Pun) 54.45.

200 Individual Medley

1, Kekoa Taparra (KS) 1:54.31. 2, Mitchell Chong (Pun) 1:57.03. 3, Thomas YI (Kaln) 1:57.66. 4, Kila Pickering (KS) 1:58.39. 5, Zach Johnson (Sea) 1:59.97. 6, Ashton Srock (Kap) 2:00.90. 7, Logan Borowski (HPA) 2:02.14. 8, Brandon Ching (Pun) 2:03.45.

200 Freestyle Relay

1, Punahou (Brett Gomes, Ruddy Kiessling, Eric Deer, Eddie Zandee Van Rilland) 1:27.69. 2, Kamehameha 1:31.11. 3, 'Iolani 1:31.13. 4, Hawai'i Prep 1:31.50. 5, Le Jardin 1:32.65. 6, Waiakea 1:34.89. 7, Mililani 1:35.47. 8, Leilehua 1:35.60.

400 Freestyle Relay

1, Punahou (Brandon Ching, Brett Gomes, Ruddy Kiessling, Mitchell Chong) 3:13.71. 2, Hawai'i Prep 3:20.69. 3, Mililani 3:20.94. 4, 'Iolani 3:21.43. 5, Kaiser 3:27.60. 6, Leilehua 3:28.98. 7, Waiakea 3:29.89. 8, Le Jardin 3:30.55.

200 Medley Relay

1, Punahou (Mitchell Chong, Spencer Dung, Brandon Ching, Eric Deer) 1:38.28. 2, Hawai'i Prep 1:40.46. 3, Mililani 1:41.35. 4, Kamehameha 1:42.33. 5, Seabury Hall 1:45.53. 6, Kaiser 1:45.67. 7, Kalani 1:47.08. 8, Kealakehe 1:49.31.

GIRLS

Team standings

1, Punahou 93. 2, 'Iolani 27. 3, Kealakehe 26. 4t, Pearl City 18. 4t, Hawai'i Prep 18. 6t, Seabury Hall 12. 6t, Lahainaluna 12. 8, Baldwin 7. 9, Mililani 6. 10t, Hawai'i Baptist 5. 10t, Kamehameha 5. 12, Maui 4. 13, Le Jardin 3. 14, Island Pacific 2. 15t, Sacred Hearts 1. 15t, Kapolei 1.

1 Meter Diving

1, Kathryn Chinn (Pun) 355.65. 2, Sheyenne Machida (Maui) 340.70. 3, Nicki Kumura (Pun) 330.70. 4, Ashley Maginot (IPA) 316.80. 5, Chelaine Eliazar (Pun) 309.80. 6, Cecilia Durocher (PC) 291.55. 7, Cristin Lim ('Iol) 279.20. 8, Cailtin Currameng (Bald) 267.15.

50 Freestyle

1, Michelle Yoshida (Pun) 24.02. 2, Jaymee Krochka (HPA) 24.57. 3, Kelli Moy (Pun) 24.74. 4, Shanelle Choi (PC) 25.08. 5, Madeline Jamora (Kap) 25.14. 6, Noe Vargas (HPA) 25.23. 7, Victoria Crozier (KSM) 25.32. 8, Claire Montgomerie (Hilo) 25.56.

100 Freestyle

1, Michelle Yoshida (Pun) 52.19. 2, Jaymee Krochka (HPA) 52.97. 3, Rachel Randall (LJ) 55.51. 4, Jade Morton (Keala) 55.52. 5, LillyBelle Deer (Pun) 55.78. 6, Kelcie Kimura (Mili) 55.97. 7, Stephanie Chun ('Iol) 56.04. 8, Alexandra Jamora (Kap) 56.69.

200 Freestyle

1, Christel Simms (Pun) 1:49.72. 2, Krista Maier (Keala) 1:53.35. 3, Jennifer Cahill (Bald) 1:56.35. 4, Kira Sasaki ('Iol) 2:01.41. 5, Kelcie Kimura (Mili) 2:02.40. 6, Stephanie Chun ('Iol) 2:02.42. 7, Kristi Torkildson (Pun) 2:02.89. 8, Lauren Van Heukelem (Hilo) 2:05.00.

500 Freestyle

1, Krista Maier (Keala) 5:01.58. 2, Jennifer Cahill (Bald) 5:10.69. 3, Kimberlee Cadell (KS) 5:19.64. 4, Elise Baker (Pun) 5:23.36. 5, Kristi Torkildson (Pun) 5:25.70. 6, Michelle Dudley (PC) 5:32.41. 7, Kendra Rask (Pun) 5:35.76. 8, Desiree Mazzone (Kap) 5:41.90.

100 Backstroke

1, Rachel Cote (Pun) 56.51*(HHSAA record). 2, Noe Vargas (HPA) 1:00.64. 3, Catherine Nakamura (HBA) 1:00.72. 4, Sarah Billiamosa (PC) 1:00.79. 5, Alyssa Foo (Keala) 1:01.68. 6, Marissa Yamamoto (Pun) 1:01.70. 7, Remy Hirai (KS) 1:03.12. 8, Kamaehu Alboro (Lah) 1:04.75.

100 Breaststroke

1, Elizabeth Matthews (Sea) 1:08.23. 2, Kiana White (Mili) 1:08.48. 3, Marie Calvet ('Iol) 1:10.51. 4, Kelli Moy (Pun) 1:11.00. 5, Brittany Ho (SHA) 1:11.26. 6, Kaili Faust (Lah) 1:11.91. 7, Brandi Halemano (SHA) 1:12.65. 8, Stephanie Boeckmann (Keala) 1:12.87.

100 Butterfly

1, Christel Simms (Pun) 56.83. 2, Marissa Yamamoto (Pun) 59.43. 3, Shanelle Choi (PC) 59.71. 4, Catherine Nakamura (HBA) 1:00.60. 5, Jourdan Cline (Keala) 1:00.64. 6, Carolyn Li ('Iol) 1:01.32. 7, Kira Sasaki ('Iol) 1:02.53. 8, Sarah Lee (Keala) 1:03.10.

200 Individual Medley

1, Elizabeth Matthews (Sea) 2:08.76. 2, Rachel Cote (Pun) 2:09.20. 3, Sarah Billiamosa (PC) 2:12.04. 4, Jade Morton (Keala) 2:14.46. 5, Kiana White (Mili) 2:14.80. 6, Alyssa Foo (Keala) 2:17.21. 7, Koral Gill (Lah) 2:17.76. 8, Elise Baker (Pun) 2:18.88.

200 Freestyle Relay

1, Punahou (Christel Simms, Michelle Yoshida, Kelli Moy, LillyBelle Deer) 1:37.19. 2, 'Iolani 1:42.64. 3, Hawai'i Prep 1:43.18. 4, Lahainaluna 1:43.86. 5, Kealakehe 1:44.56. 6, Kamehameha 1:44.66. 7, Baldwin 1:45.56. 8, Kamehameha-Hawai'i 1:47.82.

400 Freestyle Relay

1, Punahou (Christel Simms, Michelle Yoshida, Rachel Cote, Nica Nordyke) 3:33.80. 2, Kealakehe 3:43.27. 3, 'Iolani 3:44.69. 4, Pearl City 3:44.75. 5, Lahainaluna 3:49.00. 6, Le Jardin 3:50.20. 7, Baldwin 3:54.72. DQ, Hawai'i Baptist.

200 Medley Relay

1, Punahou (Rachel Cote, Kelli Moy, Marissa Yamamoto, Rachel Fujita) 1:51.17. 2, 'Iolani 1:55.17. 3, Lahainaluna 1:55.42. 4, Pearl City 1:56.75. 5, Kamehameha 1:57.47. 6, Hawai'i Prep 1:58.03. 7, Kapolei 1:59.22. 8, Mililani 1:59.35.

Reach Christie Wilson at cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com.

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