LIHU‘E — The Island School girls 400-yard freestyle relay team was the sole team to achieve a state-qualifying swim Saturday during the Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation swim meet at the YMCA Pool.
Comprised of Chloe Inouye, Kiani Ortiz, Mahina Dameron and Taimana Kjeldsen, the relay team not only qualified, they improved on their performance with a touch that stopped the clocks at 3 minutes, 56.05 seconds, a nearly 27-second improvement over their seeded time of 4:00.95.
The team’s swim was one of 11 qualifying swims, and the sole team event to qualify. The team’s members went on to qualify, or improve on their qualifying times, through the day.
Inouye went on to post a big individual gain in the girls 500 freestyle, where she touched at 5:14.90, a nearly four-second improvement on her seeded 5:18.59. Additionally, by finishing first in the event, she set the pace for Kamaira Silva of Kaua‘i High School to qualify for the event with Silva’s second-place finish at 5:35.28.
Kai Mottley, a senior at Kaua‘i High, entered the boys 200 individual medley with a seeded time of 2:07:56, and slashed nearly seven seconds in his first finish time of 2:00.93. He chopped nearly two seconds off his 100 butterfly swim with a 53:81 swim, and the 100 backstroke, where he touched first at 56.14. Second place in the event belonged to Kaua‘i High junior Jacob Rich, who qualified at 58.49.
Other swimmers making marks Saturday included Kapa‘a High senior, Tyler Tanaka who qualified in the 100 breaststroke on a 1:04.31 swim, and the 100 freestyle, where he bettered his 51.71 seeded time with a first finish 50.98.
The Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation swim championships take place on Saturday, with the first swims hitting the water starting at 8 a.m. at the YMCA pool.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
