Kaua‘i swimmers may have missed the cut, but at least one finalist at the Hawai‘i High School Athletic Association’s state swim and dive championships has Garden Island connections. Kendra Rask, a freshman at Punahou, finished No. 7 in the Girls
Kaua‘i swimmers may have missed the cut, but at least one finalist at the Hawai‘i High School Athletic Association’s state swim and dive championships has Garden Island connections.
Kendra Rask, a freshman at Punahou, finished No. 7 in the Girls 500 Yard Freestyle event yesterday.
Rask, whose grandparents, Bob and Helen Rask live in Kupolo, finished the event in 5:35.76, bettering her preliminary swim of 5:36.10.
Punahou swept the HHSAA Local Motion Swim & Dive Championships on Maui with the Punahou Girls piling up 93 points through 24 events and the Punahou Boys accumulating 73 points.
Iolani and Kealakehe High School finished second and third for the Girls division with 27 and 26 points, respectively.
On the Boys side, Kamehameha Schools-Kapalama and Hawai‘i Prep finished second and third with 33 and 28 points, respectively.
Kaua‘i’s entries into the state meet failed to make the cut to the final competition, Friday, said coach Orlando “O” Anaya, coach for the Mokihana Aquatics program.
“Matt Ross was our best bet, going in as No. 10 seed, but finishing No. 12 in the preliminaries,” Anaya said. “Emma Rausch had several strong swims as well, but none of them got her into the finals.”
Rausch, a freshman at Kapa‘a High School, was part of the Girls 200 Yard Medley team which finished 19th at the prelims on a 2:07.82 swim.
Rausch also finished 17th in the Girls 100 Yard Freestyle on a 57.52 swim, and 18th in the Girls 100 Yard Backstroke on a 1:06.71 performance.
Ross, a Kaua‘i High Senior, was part of the Boys 200 Yard Medley Relay team which finished at 1:51.38 for 11th place, missing the cut by two seconds.
In that same event, Kapa‘a’s team finished 17th on a 2:01.80 swim.
Kapa‘a boys also posted a 20th finish in the 200 Yard Freestyle Relay on a 1:40.72 swim, and 22nd in the Boys 400 Yard Freestyle Relay with a 3:47.96 swim.
Ross also finished 11th in the Boys 500 Yard Freestyle on a 5:04.03 swim.
Tyson Chihara, another Kaua‘i senior, finished 18th in the Boys 100 Yard Butterfly and 21st in the Boys 200 Yard Individual Medley.
Kaua‘i’s Girls 200 Yard Freestyle Relay team of Casie Ford, Mary Tausend, Tory Kobayashi and Trisha Lamay finished 15th in that event with a 1:50.89 swim. That same team went on to finish 18th in the Girls 400 Yard Freestyle Relay on a 4:05.40 swim, finishing ahead of the Kapa‘a team which finished 22nd in the event at 4:08.79.
Tania Rames, a Kapa‘a junior, clocked in at 1:14.68 for a 14th finish in the Girls 100 Yard Breaststroke.
