It’s a good thing Waimea High School sophomores Markland Soliva and Steven Hahn-Morin aren’t big Paul McCartney fans. On Sunday, while most folks were in front of their televisions, Soliva and Hahn-Morin decided to go for a surf around half-time
It’s a good thing Waimea High School sophomores Markland Soliva and Steven Hahn-Morin aren’t big Paul McCartney fans.
On Sunday, while most folks were in front of their televisions, Soliva and Hahn-Morin decided to go for a surf around half-time and wound up saving Kipi Lanning’s life.
At about dusk Sunday, Soliva and Hahn-Morin, members of Boy Scout Troop 86 and the Waimea High School JROTC program, had just finished bodyboarding at Kekaha Beach Park. As they headed for the showers, they said, they heard a yell.
They thought at first that it was just someone playing around, the boys said, but they soon realized that it was a swimmer in distress. Lanning’s 13-year-old grandson, Darrin Mundo, also heard the calls, and the three of them rushed to the water.
Soliva and Hahn-Morin paddled out to her on their bodyboards and reached Lanning at the same time. Using their boards as a floatation device, the two kept Lanning afloat until she could control her panic and catch her breath.
Then, the boys assisted Lanning to the beach, where her family, including her daughter, Michelle Mundo, was waiting.
“I was out swimming for, it felt like an hour, and I got caught in a current,” Lanning said. “Even though I could feel the bottom with my feet, I was not able to get to shore.”
And her screams were un-heard on the beach, except by the students and her grandson.
“Every time a set of waves came, it took me further down the beach and no one could hear me calling,” Lanning continued. “I was yelling for my daughter but she could not hear me.”
“The lifeguards were already gone,” she added. “I was so scared and exhausted, I thought I was gone.”
But Hahn-Morin is a member of coach Aaron Habermann’s 2004 State Champion Kauai Junior Lifeguard team and a member of the Waimea High School swim team.
And the boys knew what to do.
After helping out, Darrin Mundo said he, too, will be signing up for the Jr. Lifeguard program this summer. The seventh-grader at Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School just became eligible for the program this year, his mother, Michelle Mundo, said.
“You only have one mom,” Michelle Mundo said to the Waimea boys. “Because of you guys, my mom is still here. I’d personally like to thank you.”
Lanning said, that while she’s grateful to the boys, she wished the regular lifeguards were on duty.
“I think the lifeguards should stay until sunset,” Lanning commented, “while people are still in the water. If they (Mark-land and Steven) weren’t there, I wouldn’t be here now. They saved my life.”
