Sammy Stokes, 9, earned her first Swimmer of the Meet award, Sunday following the two-day Mokihana Aquatics timed trials held at the Kaua‘i High School pool. Stokes finished the two days of swimming with improvements in nine out of her
Sammy Stokes, 9, earned her first Swimmer of the Meet award, Sunday following the two-day Mokihana Aquatics timed trials held at the Kaua‘i High School pool.
Stokes finished the two days of swimming with improvements in nine out of her 10 events, including gaining a Hawai‘i B time standard in the 100 Yard Breaststroke where she touched the wall at 2:03.10. Her strong showings came in the 200 Individual Medley (4:06.08) where she shaved 18.70 off her seeded time, the 200 Free (3:51.89) where she cut 12.38 off her seeded swim, and in the 100 Yard Butterfly (2:05.87) where she trimmed 11.63 off her seeded time.
Mokihana coach Orlando “O” Anaya said the timed trials were qualifying swims for the upcoming Bill Smith swim meet, but with so many families being on vacation, less than half of the Moki‘Ohana swimmers participated.
“Races were a little closer together than usual, and with so many young swimmers with little experience, this would be a recipe for only a few, if any, best times,” Anaya said. “The big problem — no one told any of this to the swimmers and they went out and swam some exceptional races, making more best times than anyone would have guessed.”
Joining Sammy, Alana Cayabyab, 9, posted six new best times, including the 200 Freestyle (3:04.55) where she cut 4.12 off her seeded time, the 50 Freestyle (37.12) where she was 3.49 faster than her seeded swim, and the 100 Breaststroke (1:51.58) where she improved by 3.15.
Gracie Stokes, 13, Sammy’s older sister and swimming in the 13-14 age group for the first time, posted two Hawai‘i AA time standards, the first in the 50 Free (28.57) for a .41 improvement over her seeded swim and in the 100 Free (1:03.37) where she shaved 3.10 off her seeded time.
Tory Taboniar, 11, finished with gains in four of the five swims, his biggest coming in the 50 Fly (37.44) where he was 3.98 faster than his seeded swim, the 50 Breaststroke (49.88) for a 3.21 improvement and in the 100 Freestyle (1:13.62) for a 3.04 gain.
Micah-Kamuela Nobriga-Ferris, 16, a strong finisher for the Kapa‘a High School cross country team, posted two big gains, his best showing coming in the 200 Butterfly (2:52.05 where he gained 6.47 on his seeded swim and in the 200 Breaststroke (2:56.88) where he improved 4.45 on his seeded swim, shadowing that effort in the 200 Backstroke (2:40.40) where he posted a 3.97 improvement.
“By club rule, our 8 and Under swimmers cannot win any individual club awards, but that did not stop them from stealing the show,” Anaya said. “Simply put, they were ‘Da Best!’ Very awesome.”
Fiona Godsill, 7, was one of the new swimmers, experiencing her first timed meet, finishing consistently and posting times in eight of 10 events.
She was joined by Nevaeh Ibanez, 7, who posted three first finishes in the 25 Backstroke (35.14), the 25 Breaststroke (38.56) and the 50 Freestyle (1:09.07).
“This was a hot one — both in and out of the water,” Anaya said. “Mahalo plenty to all of our great families who do so much for your children. Pat yourselves on the back because it is what you do that the swimmers have such success.”
Mokihana Aquatics is currently accepting orders for its annual Christmas tree sale.
Tickets may be purchased from any of the Mokihana swimmers or parents, or by calling 821-0587.
