Marcus Robinson finished with seven first places and a second place en route to being named Mokihana Aquatics Swimmer of the Meet at the Sparky Kawamoto swim meet in Hilo over the weekend. “The story of the meet was without
Marcus Robinson finished with seven first places and a second place en route to being named Mokihana Aquatics Swimmer of the Meet at the Sparky Kawamoto swim meet in Hilo over the weekend.
“The story of the meet was without doubt, the spectacular performance of Marcus Robinson,” said Mokihana coach Orlando “O” Anaya, in an e-mail. “Marcus was swiming in his first meet outside of our Team Time Trials.”
Robinson, 10, finished the off-island meet with seven first finishes, a second finish, had no disqualifications whil notching a AA time standard and four A time standards, including two in races he swam legally for the first time, Anaya said.
The first-timer captured first in the 100 Freestyle on a 1:23.16 swim for the AA time standard, chopping 9.47 off his seeded time, his best performance of the meet.
Robinson also posted improvements in the 50 Fly (46.32), chopping 6.61 off his seeded time for an A time, the 50 Back (52.02), taking 5.20 off his seeded time for a B time standard, the 50 Free (39.11) where he took off 3.28 off his seeded time for an A time.
John Quinlan, 13, had a near-perfect meet, improving in seven of his eight events, the biggest gain coming in the 200 Individual Medley (3:54.45) where he chopped 48.94 off his seeded time.
Micah Nobriga-Ferris, 14, also posted a near-perfect meet with seven improvements in eight swims. Nobriga-Ferris’ biggest chop also came in the 200 IM (2:43.78) where he finished second with a 15.91 improvement over his seeded time for an A time standard. He also gained an AA time, his career first, in the 50 Free (28.79) where he sliced 2.19 off his seeded time.
Kamalani Brun, 15, posted seven first finishes in eight events, her best swim coming in the 50 Fly (41.16) where she finished second, but had the biggest improvement, 5.93 better than her seeded time. She also swam the 100 Fly (1:39.02) for a first finish, posting a 3.65 improvement over her seeded time.
“Kama was so Kailtyn Jarry-like,” Anaya said, alluding to Kapa‘a High School swimmer who had strong Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation swims. “She wasn’t getting best times, but swimming what the coaches thought were some of the best races of her life. Kama swam every race consistently close to best times with hard finishes. Great to watch.”
Luke Roberts, 10, gained an A time standard in the 100 IM (1:49.13) for a second finish. His 100 Back (1:51.21) earned him one of two golds with a 1.31 improvement over his seeded time and a B time, Anaya noting the 10-year-old spent the weeks leading to the meet fighting off colds and case of the hives, but still managing some personal bests.
Kaikea Roe, 13, also pocked an AA time in the 100 Free (1:01.68) where he took 2.61 over his seeded time for a first finish, his only one in eight swims. Roe ended with three second finishes and three third finishes.
