Mikayla Holzman and Bradley Pratt became the latest two Swim Kauai Aquatics athletes to make the SKA State Championship team last week. Holzman and Pratt were among the 49 swimmers who participated in the final swim meet to make the
Mikayla Holzman and Bradley Pratt became the latest two Swim Kauai Aquatics athletes to make the SKA State Championship team last week.
Holzman and Pratt were among the 49 swimmers who participated in the final swim meet to make the Hawaiian Swimming State cuts before the meet in December.
Holzman, one of seven swimmers coming out of the water with perfect meets, or improvements in every event swam, pocketed her state qualifying times in the 100-yard breaststroke and the 200-yard freestyle.
The 10-year-old Holzman also finished with improvements in all five events she swam in. She was joined in the Perfect Meet circle by Daisy Asai, 10, Laa Chun, 8, Ohu Chun, 12, Mao Fukada, 12, Cassie Hays, 12, Talen Koerte, 8, and Trevyn Nishimura, 8.
“All of these kids have been working hard and it shows — from our little guys to the veterans,” SKA head coach Doc Ludemann said in a release. “We’ve seen real dedication from this kids.”
Pratt, 9, joined Holzman in the circle of SKA State Swimmers with a qualifying time in the 200-yard freestyle. He joins his older brother James, 12, on that team.
The swim meet hosted at the YMCA pool in Puhi yielded 16 new state qualifying swims, including Alana Cayabyab, who posted two times, the 100-yard breaststroke and the 100-yard Individual Medley; Dutch Fairbanks, a recent standout in the Kauai Interscholastic Federation cross country runs, posting two times, the 100-yard breaststroke and the 500-yard freestyle; Mao Fukada, securing a berth in the 100-yard breaststroke; Kaira Kaaihue, getting a time in the 1,650-yard freestyle; Kai Norman, posting a qualifying 200-yard freestyle swim; Ryden Williams, getting two times, the 50-yard and 200- yard breaststroke; and Kassy McCoy, pocketing qualifying times in the 50-yard and the 100-yard backstroke.
Henry Scherer, 13, posted a major accomplishment in the mile swim, taking three minutes off his seeded time and jumping from a HI-A time standard to a state qualifying spot.
Saber Fairbanks, 16, had his first attempt in the mile swim, emerging from the pool with a state qualifying swim.
Other accomplishments saw Olivia McSweeney, 12, dropping 19 seconds off her 100-yard IM; Logan Juvan, 11, chopping 15 seconds from his 100-yard breaststroke; Joey Richards, 11, taking 13 ticks off his 200- yard freestyle swim; and Juliana Tampus whacking off 49 seconds from her 100-yard breaststroke swim.
Taking advantage of the ripples for the state championship qualifying meet, Sydney Cervantes, 13, Kaori Koerte, 8, and Keison Haraguchi, 8, entered the water for their first SKA swim meet, supported by enthusiastic teammates and coaches as they made the initiation into the SKA swim ohana.
The state championship meet will be held in Kihei, Maui.
