LIHU‘E — Ryan Valenciano swam for 10 improvements in 10 of the events he entered to earn Swimmer of the Meet honors during the Mokihana Aquatics timed trials which concluded Sunday at the Kaua‘i High School pool. “Our swimmer of
LIHU‘E — Ryan Valenciano swam for 10 improvements in 10 of the events he entered to earn Swimmer of the Meet honors during the Mokihana Aquatics timed trials which concluded Sunday at the Kaua‘i High School pool.
“Our swimmer of the meet, Ryan Valenciano, was superb,” said Mokihana Aquatics Coach Orlando “O” Anaya in an email. “Perfect. It doesn’t get better than this. I would not call Ryan’s weekend a breakout meet, but it was fantastic to watch him go 10-for-10.”
Bryson Baligad, 13, finished the meet with five qualifying time standards and two HIAA time standards in his unattached swim.
During his first heat in the Boys 200 Yard Breaststroke, Baligad touched with a 2:47.61 time, bettering the HIAA standard of 3:00.52 for his age group. In the Boys 100 Butterfly, Baligad improved upon his seeded time of 1:06.75 to touch at 1:03.73, jumping from the HIAA standard to earn a qualifying time.
Valenciano topped his perfect meet in the 200 Backstroke where he touched at 2:57.01 for a 14.20-second improvement over his seeded time. He also posted double-digit improvements in the 200 Breaststroke (2:49.73, -11.46) and in the 200 Freestyle (2:16.08, -11.11).
“This was another great Timed Trials,” Anaya said. “For the meet, including Saturday and Sunday, we finished with a team overall 55 percent best times (girls best times 48 percent, boys best times 63 percent). These are great statistics for a great meet.”
Kayana Yamaguchi, 13, finished with six improvements in 10 events, her best swim coming in the 200 Free (2:44.30) for a 15.13 improvement, a first finish and a HI-B standard, one of three she earned in the meet.
Kamalani Brun, 15, pushed hard and posted her best swim in the 200 Breaststroke (3:33.51), shaving 9.34 off her seeded time, Sara Funtanilla, 9, posted her best event in the 200 Individual Medley (3:56.80), taking 23.49 off her seeded time.
Makanani Mersberg, 11, improved in all five of the events she swam, getting a 4.50 improvement in the 200 Free (3:03.39), despite a second-place finish, but earning a HI-B standard, one of two for the meet. She stopped the clock at 1:35.73 in the 100 Breast for her only first finish of the meet, posting a 1.24 improvement and gaining a HI-A standard.
Micah Kamuela Nobriga-Ferris, 14, improved in six events, his best swim coming in the 200 Backstroke where he stopped the clock at 2:49.26 for a 10.35 improvement and a HI-A standard, while finishing second. He finished first in the 100 Breast (1:27.59) for a .27 improvement and a HI-A standard.
John Quinlan, 13, chopped 41.67 seconds in his fourth-place finish for the 100 Butterfly (1:58.87) and 20.60 in his fourth-place finish for the 200 Free (3:39.17).
Luke Roberts, 10, took 13.26 off his seeded time in a second-place finish in the 200 Free (3:14.27) and Marcus Robinson, 10, took 14.22 off his seeded time in the 100 Backstroke (1:43.27) in a second finish, while gaining a HI-A standard. He posted a first finish in the 100 Fly (1:57.17), shaving 15.09 off his seeded time.
Xaveria Rodriguez, 8, had her biggest event in the 100 Backstroke (2:10.18) where she chopped a whopping 37.46 seconds off her seeded time.
Gracie Stokes, 11, posted first-place finishes in nine of her 10 events, posting personal bests in seven events with the biggest gain coming in the 100 Back (1:26.88) for a 6.69 gain. She also posted a 6.22 gain in the 200 Free (2:52.09).
Alana Tamashiro, 10, posted six improvements in 10 events, her biggest coming with a first finish in the 200 IM (3:43.24) for a 15.82 improvement.
“Watching the swimmers improve in our sport is just so rewarding,” Anaya said. “The support from the volunteers and parents is extraordinary.”
