HONOLULU — The Swim Kaua‘i Aquatics team of 17 swimmers and its corps of coaches led by SKA Coach Curt Colby made a splash at the 2022 Hawai‘i Age Group Championship swim meet on O‘ahu by finishing the meet in fifth place overall with 1,388 points that included a dozen state-championship swims, a pair of high-point age group winners and a runner-up swimmer.
“A key statistic that highlighted how strong our team was (is) that we scored more points per swimmer than any other team,” Colby said. “Some teams have more than 40 swimmers, and for 17 swimmers from Swim Kaua‘i Aquatics to achieve fifth place out of 22 teams shows Kaua‘i island’s strength.”
“Leading the way was young and versatile Ryder Lin, 10, who won six events and was high point for the 10-and-under boys. Following him, his brother Brandon, 13, earned three victories with high point for the 13-14 boys division.”
One of Brandon Lin’s highlights in the meet was a come-from-behind victory in the 200-yard breaststroke by erasing a four-second deficit in half of the race.
“Both of these boys were chosen for Team Hawai‘i to participate in California on Aug. 3 to 6 at the prestigious Western Zone Championships,” Colby said. “Their younger brother Griffin, 7 and competing in the 10-and-under division, wanted some time in the spotlight. He finished fifth on the SKA team for points with 98 points, and scored in the top eight in seven events, with his best finish of third place in the 50 breaststroke.”
Tyler Tanaka, 17, finished with the third most points scored on the team, 121. That was enough to be runner-up for points in the 15-18 age division.
“He was within tenths of a second in the 100 and 200 breaststroke of the Junior National cuts with great time drops,” Colby said. “He also finished state champion in the 1,500 freestyle, and now is off to swim in college at the Pacific Lutheran University.”
The SKA contingent included families with multiple members swimming for the island.
“We have another family, the Mottley ‘ohana, with three swimmers in the championship meet,” Colby said.
“Max Mottley, 10, led his siblings with 111.5 points, with his highest placements coming in second in the 100 butterfly and the 100 freestyle. Kai Mottley, 18, finished with three third-place finishes in the 100 and 200 butterfly and the 200 freestyle. Addy Mottley, 11, scored points in all eight of her events, with a top finish of fourth place in the 100 backstroke. And with another year to return in the 11-12 division, watch out!” predicted Colby.
“Maiha Kjeldsen, 12, was one of our state champions, with a victory in the 200 butterfly,” Colby said. “She won going away from the field with a seven-second victory. She also placed top eight in all of the six events she swam. TaiMana Kjeldsen, 14, had her top finish being third in the 100 breaststroke. She is a very versatile swimmer, scoring in breaststroke, sprint free, distance free and individual medley, with significant time drops.”
Ka‘olu Ka‘eo, 12, follows in his sisters’ wakes, Haley and Pulama, scoring 73 point with top finishes of fifth place in the 50 breaststroke and sixth in the 60 6reaststroke.
Sadie Holt, 10, won the 50 freestyle for her first state-championship swim and her final swim for SKA before moving to Georgia.
Shealee Moises, 12, earned 68 points by scoring in every event she swam, with her top places being fifth in the 200 freestyle and the 200 butterfly.
“As you can see, she has good endurance and scored in the 400 freestyle as well,” Colby said.
“Talen Koerte, 16, has always been a strong butterfly, backstroke and sprint freestyler. He stepped up this season to be distance freestyler with the 400, 800, and 1,500 free that earned him a third-place finish,” Colby continued.
Kohlton Sanchez, 13, moved up to the 13-14 division, with his top places coming in fifth in the 200 breaststroke and 400 individual medley. Kamaira Silva, 17, a senior when school starts, demonstrated her versatility in the freestyle with a sixth-place finish in the 100 free and eighth in the 800 free.
Liam Juvan, 13, scored points in three events: 100 backstroke, 200 freestyle and 400 freestyle.
“He will surely be getting higher places when he is 14, but made a strong showing this year as well,” Colby said. “Moana Liddell, just making 11 years old, scored in two individual events. She was a key swimmer along is MaiHa, Addy and Shealee in our three 11-12 girls’ relay events. Each finished third, and were key to securing our team’s fifth-place finish overall.”
•••
Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
