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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, February 1, 2009

Mililani earns OIA swimming three-peat

By Kalani Takase
Advertiser Staff Writer

WAIPI'O — The Mililani boys and girls swept the O'ahu Interscholastic Association swimming championships for the third consecutive year yesterday at the Veterans' Memorial Aquatic Complex at Central O'ahu Regional Park.

It was the ninth OIA title for the Trojan boys and 10th overall for the girls. The three-peat was especially satisfying for the boys, who held off Kaiser with a first-place finish in the final event —the 400-yard freestyle relay — to win top honors.

"It was really gratifying for the boys because their leadership — led by Kent Yamada — really wanted it and they knew they were behind," Mililani coach Sharon Lopez said.

The Trojans trailed the Cougars, the Eastern Division champions, heading into the 400 freestyle relay.

"They had to take first to get enough points to jump Kaiser," Lopez said.

"It was a matter of every one of us holding our side of the deal," said Yamada, who swam the third leg. "I really wanted to win (OIAs) again because our coach put so much effort into it. I'm pretty proud of our team."

The rest of the winning 400 freestyle relay team was made up of: Kramer Ichimura, Sean Yamada and Jeremy Howze. Yamada repeated as 100 breaststroke champion, winning in a time of one minute and .82 seconds.

Mililani earned 215 points to Kaiser's 199. Kalani (139), Moanalua (132) and Kapolei (126) rounded out the top five teams.

Hurricanes' junior Jayson Hagi took home two first-place finishes. He repeated as the 200 freestyle champion and reclaimed the 500 freestyle after winning as a freshman, but taking second last year.

"It was pretty relaxed. I tried to keep it easy and hit my turns," said Hagi, who was the state runner-up in the 500 freestyle in 2008.

Also, two individual records were broken. Kaiser junior Kyle Reese-Sanchez broke the meet record in the 100 butterfly in a time of 52.08 seconds. The previous record was 52.59 seconds by Kaimuki's Randall Gibo in 1990.

Pearl City's Daren Choi continued a stellar freshman campaign as he remained unbeaten in the 100 freestyle and 100 backstroke this season. He took first in both events yesterday and broke the OIA record in the latter twice in as many days.

"This feels really good, I've been working really hard," Choi said. "I broke the record in Friday's trials, but knew I could be faster and break it again in the finals."

According to his coach, Ken Suenaga, Choi's time of 52.15 seconds qualifies as a high school All-American mark. The old record was 54.15 seconds by Kalani's Thomas Yi in 2008.

"I knew he could do it, he's got a lot of talent and a lot of speed," Suenaga said.

The Trojan girls racked up 266 points and won in relative ease, with second-place Kapolei finishing nearly 80 points behind (189). Eastern Division champion Kaiser (160), Roosevelt (136) and Leilehua (98) rounded out the top five.

Junior Kiana White took home first-place finishes in the 200 individual medley and the 100 breaststroke to pace Mililani.

"It was a big relief (to win)," White said. "I was nervous because I got sick on Wednesday and haven't practiced since then so I was pleased with that."

Lopez cited runner-up finishes by junior Kanani Mazzone in the 100 backstroke and 100 butterfly and senior Kate Kawamoto in the 200 individual medley as important points toward the team title.

"The girls had to come together as a team to score as many points as possible," Lopez said. "It was a real team effort."

The Trojans have won the OIA championship in each of White's three seasons on the team.

"It's a really good feeling and we're really happy," White said. "This says that as a team, we're all-around really strong."

White, who finished second in the 100 breastroke at last year's state meet, has not lost in the 200 individual medley or 100 breaststroke this season.

"She was excellent as usual," Lopez said. "She's been getting better and better all season and she should do well at states."

The HHSAA/Local Motion Swimming and Diving State Championships are Feb. 13-14 at CORP.

Reach Kalani Takase at ktakase@honoluluadvertiser.com.