KAPAA — Mokihana Aquatics swimmer Rhett Leonard copped his first Mokihana Swimmer of the Meet award at the Fun Meet that wrapped up Sunday at the Kapaa Pool.
KAPAA — Mokihana Aquatics swimmer Rhett Leonard copped his first Mokihana Swimmer of the Meet award at the Fun Meet that wrapped up Sunday at the Kapaa Pool.
“Simply amazing,” said Mokihana Aquatics coach Orlando “O” Anaya. “How else can you put it? Rhett Leonard wins his very first Mokihana Swimmer of the Meet award with a perfect meet. He was on fire.”
Leonard, 10, finished the meet with four first place finishes and posted gains in eight of his 10 swims over two days at the Kapaa Pool. His strongest showing came in the 200 individual medley where he finished seventh by touching the wall at 3 minutes, 37.03 seconds for a Hawaii A rating and an improvement of nearly 18 seconds over his seeded time. Leonard also showed well in the 50 breaststroke where he touched first on a 53.27 swim, an improvement of 12.91 seconds over his seeded swim.
Mokihana team leader Leigh Idica, 12, also fared well by not only shepherding the young flock of swimmers, but finishing with a pair of Hawaii AA ratings — 100 freestyle (1:07.43) and 50 freestyle (30.98) — both swims being personal bests with the 100 freestyle knocking off 2.14 seconds on her seeded swim.
Hekili Kamalani, 12, also made his mark with four first finishes and a Hawaii A ranking in the 50 freestyle (32.96) with his first touch.
The Mokihana Fun Meet unfolded with less than a hundred swimmers representing Pearl City Aquatics, Iolani Swim Club, Hawaii Swim Club, Swim Kauai Aquatics and host Mokihana with Lloyd “Da Moloka‘i Flash” Yonemura guiding fans and swimmers throughout the two days of fun.
Volunteers from the Waimea High School JROTC, the Lions Clubs of Kauai and parents ensured that everyone enjoyed the theme of the meet — fun!
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
