LIHU‘E — Eleven of Kaua‘i’s swimmers went head-to-head to see who would emerge as the Fastest Kaua‘i Swimmer in a unique race that kicked off the Mokihana Aquatics Fun Meet, Saturday. “Everything is critical,” Eugene Ancheta, a Kaua‘i water safety
LIHU‘E — Eleven of Kaua‘i’s swimmers went head-to-head to see who would emerge as the Fastest Kaua‘i Swimmer in a unique race that kicked off the Mokihana Aquatics Fun Meet, Saturday.
“Everything is critical,” Eugene Ancheta, a Kaua‘i water safety officer, and competitor, said while waiting for the call. “Because the distance is so short, you can’t make a mistake. Everything matters.”
The field of three women and eight men drew envy from among the field of off-island swimmers, one noting, “I don’t need the money. I would do it just because.”
However, to be eligible, swimmers had to be a resident of the island for at least 12 months.
Due to the large field, two elimination heats determined the best three swimmers who had a choice of doing the Dash for Cash heat immediately following the eliminations, or waiting until the first series of Mokihana Fun Meet events were completed — about an hour’s wait.
There was no hesitation on the part of Keenan Anaya, one of the qualifiers from heat two, who wanted to wait while Ancheta, and Matt Maddock leaned towards getting everything over with.
In the qualifying rounds, Anaya surged ahead off the blocks, and by the turn, was evident he would take heat one, while the second heat saw a tighter race with Ancheta and Mad-dock fighting for the pole position throughout the swim.
While no official times were collected for the finals, Anaya clearly pulled the pole position with a 23.31 qualifying time with Ancheta taking the No. 3 block on a 25.03 time.
Coming off the blocks, Maddock put heavy pressure on Anaya, making the turn first, but losing ground to the Kaua‘i High School student who surged ahead in the final 20 meters.
The final race was as tight as anyone could expect with all three swimmers placing based on Ancheta’s earlier prediction of, “it’s the mistakes that’s going to take you down.”
“I was just sleeping in the second race,” Ancheta said following his placing as the third place finisher.
Maddock pocketed the second place purse with Anaya topping the field on a narrow margin.
Coach Orlando “O” Anaya, meet director, explained that because of certification processes and requirements, it was suggested by Dave Coleman that a novelty race be created, thus planting the seed for the Fastest Kaua‘i Swimmer event.
However, due to the popularity of the event, Anaya, obviously pleased with the audience’s reception of the event, suggested that perhaps a Fastest Swimmer in Hawai‘i might be in the outing for next year’s Mokihana Aquatics Fun Meet.
