PUHI — Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation member schools picked up nine state meet qualifying times on Saturday during the first KIF qualifying swim meet at the YMCA pool that is equipped with the necessary electronics to allow swimmers to clock official times for eligibility to the state meet.
Excitement brewed in the overnight chill when KIF swimmers made their first state cuts in the opening two events, the girls 200-yard medley relay, earned by Island School swimmers, who stopped the clocks at 2 minutes, 4.36 seconds, more than five seconds faster than the state standard.
The second event belonged to the Kaua‘i High boys, who marked a state swim in the 200 medley relay in 1:51.97, nearly seven seconds ahead of the state standard.
The Red Raider swim team also earned a state swim in the boys 400 freestyle relay to round out the team swims.
On the individual level, Kaua‘i High senior Jacob Rich, a member of both the 200 medley and 400 freestyle relay teams, earned his own mark in the 100 backstroke when he stopped the clocks in 58.27.
Island School junior Chloe Inouye shared the three-state-time stage with Rich after participating in the 200 medley relay. She went on to claim state qualifying times in the 200 individual medley in 2:20.57, and the 50 freestyle on a 25.73 swim. No. 2 finisher Kamaira Silva of Kaua‘i High also qualified for the state meet in that event, in 25.96.
Voyager Mahina Dameron, another participant in the girls 200 medley relay, earned her second state qualifying time in the 100 butterfly, in 1:04.12. She also earned a state meet qualifying time in the 100 butterfly, in 1:04.12.
Kaua‘i High junior Eli Adams, also a member of the 200 medley relay, earned his second state qualifying swim as part of the 400 freestyle relay, in 3:37.22. That effort was aided by freshman Liam Juvan, Brandon Lim and junior Talen Koerte.
Other qualifiers included Kapa‘a High’s Ian Raquel, who made his mark in the 500 freestyle on a 5:19.83 swim.
Waimea High School, fielding just three swimmers for six events at Saturday’s meet, had its best finish from Jayna Sams. She ended the day with a second-place finish in the 100 backstroke, and third-place finishes in the 200 individual medley and 100 freestyle.
The next KIF meet hits the YMCA pool on Saturday, Jan. 14, with the first events going at 7:30 a.m.
