LIHUE — Leigh Idica, 10, looked at just .3 second between first and second places in the Girls 100 yard butterfly event during the Ken Suenaga Invitational Qualifying Swim Meet at the Kauai High School pool. Despite a burst of
LIHUE — Leigh Idica, 10, looked at just .3 second between first and second places in the Girls 100 yard butterfly event during the Ken Suenaga Invitational Qualifying Swim Meet at the Kauai High School pool.
Despite a burst of speed in the final 25 yards, Idica relinquished top honors to fellow swimmer Kamaira Silva, 10, touching the wall at 1 minute, 39.87 seconds to Silva’s 1:39.57. The swim was a 5.76 second improvement over her previous swim and a Hawaii A time standard, one of three Idica pocketed over the two-day swim meet which wrapped up Sunday.
That kind of performance pushed her to her first Swimmer of the Meet honor, according to Mokihana Aquatics coach Orlando “O” Anaya.
“This was a tough one,” Anaya said. “We had a lot of good swims, but this one came down between Maddie Hoesel and Leigh Idica. Congratulations, Leigh on her very first Mokihana Aquatics’ Swimmer of the Meet award.”
Idica finished the two days with six personal bests in 10 swims, her biggest improvement coming in the 200 individual medley (3:19.01) where she took 7.50 off her previous swim. She also finished with three HI A time standards and seven HI AA times.
Madeline Hoesel, 13, finished the meet with nine first finishes and five personal bests, her strongest showing coming in the 200 butterfly (3:05.89) where she sliced 10.40 off her seeded time. She finished with four HI A times and three HI AA times.
Alfred Auger, 9, kept turning Anaya’s head, coming in strong in the 100 backstroke (1:58.88) where he lopped 24.81 seconds.
Elijah Adams, 9, finished with eight personal bests, his strongest swim coming in the 200 freestyle (3:42.00) where he was 17.45 better than his previous swim.
Silas Adams, 7, pocketed eight personal best times in nine swims, his biggest showing coming in the 200 freestyle (5:57.89) where his improvement was a whopping 66.31.
Sara Funtanilla, 13, touched the wall at 2:38.19 in the 200 backstroke, an 18.90 improvement and first place. The longtimer also took 5.38 off her 200 freestyle (2:31.81).
Katharine Hoesel, 11, was consistent through two days, finishing second in all of her events while posting six personal bests, the strongest showing come in the 100 butterfly (2:08.87) where she chopped 8.04.
Chloe Inouye, 9, finished with five HI A time standards and four HI AA time standards, posting three personal bests, the strongest coming in the 200 IM (3:22.86) where she finish with a HI A swim and a 6.06 improvement.
Ian Raquel, 10, also found four HI A times and a pair of HI AA times while showing improvements in the 200 IM (3:28.84) and the 200 freestyle (3:04.84) for gains of 6.29 and 5.10, respectively.
Kaedyn Santiago, 8, finished with three HI A time standards over five events — 50 freestyle (37.43), 25 breaststroke (26.34), and 25 freestyle (17.59).
Kaeleb Santiago, 6, finished with five personal bests and five first place finishes over 10 swims, his best showing coming in the 200 freestyle (4:35.43) for a 10.85 improvement.
Kamaira Silva, 10, posted four personal best swims, and three HI AAA times, two HI AA times, and five HI A swims, her best event coming in the 100 backstroke where she finished first at 1:29.37 for a 6.25 improvement in the HI AA swim. Her HI AAA swims, state qualifying time standards, came in the 100 Free (1:13.28), 50 freestyle (32.09), and the 200 freestyle (2:39.41).
Samantha Stokes, 12, finished with four personal bests while posting seven HI A times and a HI AA time her best swim coming in the 200 freestyle (2:35.34) for a 5.78 improvement.
Tyler Tanaka, 11, rounded out the field with eight personal bests, nine HI A time standards and a HI AA time with 10 first finishes, his best showing coming in the 200 freestyle (2:34.69) for a 6.36 improvement.
The meet served as a qualifier for the Ken Suenaga swim meet scheduled for Nov. 28 and 29, hosted by the Pearl City Aquatics at the Veterans Memorial Aquatic Center on Oahu.
