HIGH SCHOOL SWIMMING
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Punahou's Brittany Beauchan, Michelle Yoshida and Christel Simms celebrated as it was announded that their team won the state swimming title.
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Punahou rules the pool
A usual suspect reasserted itself in style at the Local Motion/HHSAA State Swimming and Diving Championships yesterday.
Historically dominant Punahou achieved a boys and girls title sweep behind several record-breaking performances from its girls, and its boys accomplished just enough to squeak by Iolani in team points, 61-59, at Central Oahu Regional Park's Veterans Memorial Aquatic Complex.
It was the first swimming sweep since the Raiders won both titles two years ago, and the first for Punahou since 2001.
Since record keeping began in 1958, the Buffanblu have won a staggering share of the trophies -- all but seven girls state championships (86 percent) and all but 10 boys titles (80 percent).
"We're so lucky to have this many good kids," said Punahou coach Jeff Meister, who has now led the Buffanblu to a combined 19 championships.
His team seemed to find an extra gear after already impressive performances in Friday's qualifying trials.
"I don't know how they found it because we tell them to swim fast in the trials," he said. "They don't swim fast (Friday), they don't get a chance to swim fast today. And they just had something left in the tank."
Punahou's core relay team of Brittany Beauchan, Michelle Yoshida, Rachel Cote and Christel Simms pushed themselves beyond reasonable expectations and combined to break five state records.
As a team, the Buffanblu girls scored 82 points, followed by Iolani in second place with 34. Kamehameha and Hawaii Prep tied for third with 25.
In the first swimming event of the day, the 200 medley relay, the four blew away the rest of the pool at a blistering 1 minute, 44.03 second mark. In the process, they destroyed Waiakea High's previous state record of 1:48.18 -- a gap of more than 4 seconds.
As it turned out, they were going for the national record of 1:43.51.
"I think we've come close enough (in the past) where it became an idea, and we researched that up and looked at it," said Yoshida, who went on to win the 50 freestyle. "We trained really hard in practice on our exchanges especially. So we got those down pretty well, I think."
They could do no wrong after that.
Simms, who set state-meet records in Friday's trials in the 200- and 100-yard freestyle (1:49.92 and 50.54 seconds, respectively), didn't waste any time replicating the feat using her strategy of "control, build, race."
She posted times of 1:49.25 in the 200 and 50.15 in the 100 while teammates as well as parents, coaches and other athletes from around the state watched in awe.
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Jack Pope of Lahainaluna won two freestyle events at Central Oahu Regional park yesterday.
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"The momentum of that first relay kind of showed everybody, 'All right, we're in good shape,' " said Meister. "Then Christel broke the record again in the 200 and Brittany won the 200 (individual medley), and it just started to roll and they started to believe and have more confidence."
It could be the start of another epic run of girls titles. Of the four, only Beauchan is a senior. Yoshida and Cote are juniors and Simms is just a sophomore.
The same team went on to set a new state mark in the 200 freestyle relay at 1:35.43, more than 1 second better than the Buffanblu record of last year. Cote capped things off by breaking Steph Lister's 1993 record in the 100 backstroke (57.97) with a time of 57.46, and claimed the 100 butterfly for good measure.
"Yeah it did (exceed her wildest expectations)," Cote said. "Because, I mean, I always say that we could do it, but it's always better when it happens (instead of) when you think about it."
The boys title seemed up for grabs after a wide-open trials on Friday, and yesterday's showdown between Iolani and Punahou lived up to the billing.
It was unclear who held the team points lead entering the final boys event. The Raiders and Buffanblu had each won three events entering the 400 freestyle relay to end the day, but Punahou had better representation in the second- through fifth-place ranks.
Iolani's team of Michael Li, Bruce Pfirrmann, Sean Campbell and Geramiah Simoes claimed first in the relay, and Punahou finished fourth to set up a nail-biter final announcement.
"We actually were hoping it would come down to the last event," said Iolani coach Brian Lee. "The crucial (one) was not winning the 200 free relay (in which Punahou's Mitchell Chong, Josh Cutts, Brandon Ching and Brett Gomes triumphed). That was too big of a swing. So, when it got down to the last relay we kind of knew it was going to be really tough."
After a few anxious moments poolside, the Buffanblu were announced to have held on and won by two points, and a cheer went up from the yellow-and-blue camp.
"We had a lot of tough competition and in our hearts we still think we won," said Iolani's Campbell, a senior who also won the 200 IM in 1:56.34. "I think we gave it all that we could, and that's all you can ask for. I saw a lot of great people swim, and saw a lot of good races."
Kamehameha placed third in the boys competition with 43 points.
Lahainaluna junior Jack Pope gave a strong effort, winning the 500 and 200 freestyles.
Maui High's Chelsea Machida placed first in girls 1-meter diving with 357.45, and James Keawe of Kamehameha claimed the boys 1-meter event with 368.60.
Local Motion State Swim & Dive Championships
Boys team scores
1. Punahou 61, 2. Iolani 59, 3. Kamehameha 43, 4. Kealakehe 22, 5. Lahainaluna 12, 6. Kamehameha-Maui 8, 7. Seabury Hall 6, T-8. Kalani 4, T-8. Saint Louis 4, T-8. Leilehua 4, T-11. Mililani 3, T-11. King Kekaulike 3, T-11. Baldwin 3, T-14. Maryknoll 2, T-14. Island Pacific Academy 2, T-14. Lutheran 2, T-17. Hawaii Prep 1, T-17. Kaiser 1.
Girls team scores
1. Punahou 82, 2. Iolani 34, T-3. Kamehameha 25, T-3. Hawaii Prep 25, 5. Kealakehe 17, 6. Pearl City 15, 7. Baldwin 10, 8. Seabury Hall 7, 9. Maui 6, 10. Hawaii Baptist 5, 11. King Kekaulike 4, T-12. Mid-Pacific 2, T-12. Lahainaluna 2, T-12. Mililani 2, T-12. Kamehameha-Maui 2, T-16. Kapolei 1, T-16. Kalaheo 1.
Girls 1 meter Diving
1. Chelsea Machida, Maui, 357.45.; 2. Emily Tanaka, King Kekaulike, 338.50.; 3. Chelaine Eliazar, Punahou, 333.40.; 4. Nicki Kumura, Punahou, 308.65.; 5. Missy Henry, Kalaheo, 301.70.
Boys 1 meter Diving
1. James Keawe, Kamehameha, 368.80.; 2. Dylan Jude, Punahou, 361.20.; 3. James Lentz, Baldwin, 359.55.; 4. Joshua Tavares, Kamehameha, 332.00.; 5. Kainoa Lopes, Kaiser, 289.95.
Girls 200 Yard Medley Relay
1. Punahou, 1:44.03; 2. HPA, 1:53.58; 3. Iolani, 1:54.51; 4. Kealakehe, 1:56.45; 5. HBA, 1:56.63.
Boys 200 Yard Medley Relay
1. Punahou, 1:37.21; 2. Iolani, 1:39.97; 3. Kealakehe, 1:40.87; 4. Leilehua, 1:44.06; 5. Kamehameha, 1:44.16.
Girls 200 Yard Freestyle
1. Christel Simms, Punahou, 1:49.25; 2. Jennifer Cahill, Baldwin, 1:55.35; 3. Krista Maier, Kealakehe, 1:55.49; 4. Angela Majkut, Mid-Pacific, 2:00.41; 5. Asia Ayabe, Iolani, 2:00.83.
Boys 200 Yard Freestyle
1. Jack Pope, Lahainaluna, 1:42.98; 2. Geramiah Simoes, Iolani, 1:44.53; 3. Bruce Pfirrmann, Iolani, 1:46.01; 4. Brett Johnson, Iolani, 1:47.54; 5. Zach Cutts, Punahou, 1:47.96.
Girls 200 Yard IM
1. Brittany Beauchan, Punahou, 2:08.38; 2. Libby Matthews, Seabury Hall, 2:10.15; 3. Kim Kopra, HPA, 2:12.15; 4. Sarah Billiamosa, Pearl City, 2:13.28; 5. Rachael Meisner, Kamehameha, 2:13.54.
Boys 200 Yard IM
1. Sean Campbell, Iolani, 1:56.34; 2. Kalani Rosell, Kamehameha-Maui, 1:57.41; 3. Kekoa Taparra, Kamehameha, 1:57.71; 4. Josh Cutts, Punahou, 1:58.46; 5. Thomas Yi, Kalani, 2:01.10.
Girls 50 Yard Freestyle
1. Michelle Yoshida, Punahou, 23.75; 2. Aja Kusao, Iolani, 24.35; 3. Shanelle Choi, Pearl City, 24.51; 4. Nanea Fujiyama, Kamehameha, 25.28; 5. Hanalei Crowell, Kamehameha, 25.37.
Boys 50 Yard Freestyle
1. Daniel Coakley, Kealakehe, 20.89; 2. Ilia Reyes, Kamehameha, 21.12; 3. Brett Gomes, Punahou, 21.31; 4. Kevin Brown, Seabury Hall, 21.84; 5. Beau Moody, Saint Louis, 21.87.
Girls 100 Yard Butterfly
1. Rachel Cote, Punahou, 57.90; 2. Shanelle Choi, Pearl City, 58.33; 3. Marissa Yamamoto, Punahou, 58.99; 4. Nikki Yamamoto, Iolani, 1:00.13; 5. Remy Hirai, Kamehameha, 1:00.55.
Boys 100 Yard Butterfly
1. Geramiah Simoes, Iolani, 50.63; 2. Mitchell Chong, Punahou, 51.54; 3. Jasmeet Jernaill, King Kekaulike, 53.09; 4. Haku Mokulehua, Lutheran, 53.65; 5. Brandon Ching, Punahou, 53.79.
Girls 100 Yard Freestyle
1. Christel Simms, Punahou, 50.15; 2. Michelle Yoshida, Punahou, 52.04; 3. Aja Kusao, Iolani, 53.78; 4. Megan Takakura, Kamehameha-Maui, 54.84; 5. Hanalei Crowell, Kamehameha, 55.14.
Boys 100 Yard Freestyle
1. Ilia Reyes, Kamehameha, 47.11; 2. Brett Gomes, Punahou, 47.83; 3. Bruce Pfirrmann, Iolani, 47.89; 4. Beau Moody, Saint Louis, 48.71; 5. Rayfe Gaspar-Asaoka, Iolani, 48.80.
Girls 500 Yard Freestyle
1. Jennifer Cahill, Baldwin, 5:04.89; 2. Krista Maier, Kealakehe, 5:14.16; 3. Rachael Meisner, Kamehameha, 5:16.68 4. Elise Baker, Punahou, 5:19.05; 5. Nicole Hagi, Kapolei, 5:22.84.
Boys 500 Yard Freestyle
1. Jack Pope, Lahainaluna, 4:39.12; 2. Sean Campbell, Iolani, 4:51.00; 3. Aaron Schmaltz, Punahou, 4:53.64; 4. Taylor Fife, Island Pacific Academy, 4:58.88; 5. Nick Penny, HPA, 4:59.24.
Girls 200 Yard Freestyle Relay
1. Punahou, 1:35.43; 2. Kamehameha, 1:40.98; 3. Iolani, 1:41.13; 4. Kealakehe, 1:43.35; 5. Lahainaluna, 1:44.74.
Boys 200 Yard Freestyle Relay
1. Punahou, 1:26.24; 2. Iolani, 1:26.76; 3. Kamehameha, 1:27.95; 4. Kealakehe, 1:29.04 5. Maryknoll, 1:31.16.
Girls 100 Yard Backstroke
1. Rachel Cote, Punahou, 57.46; 2. Noe Vargas, HPA, 1:01.37; 3. Catherine Nakamura, HBA, 1:01.44; 4. Sarah Billiamosa, Pearl City, 1:01.54; 5. Marissa Yamamoto, Punahou, 1:01.63.
Boys 100 Yard Backstroke
1. Mitchell Chong, Punahou, 52.29; 2. Kevin Brown, Seabury Hall, 53.62; 3. Thomas Yi, Kalani, 54.25; 4. Zach Cutts, Punahou, 54.78; 5. Devon Palermo, Saint Louis, 54.90.
Girls 100 Yard Breaststroke
1. Brittany Beauchan, Punahou, 1:04.09; 2. Kim Kopra, HPA, 1:04.80; 3. Libby Matthews, Seabury Hall, 1:07.76; 4. Kiana White, Mililani, 1:08.53; 5. Jenna Sheeley, Punahou, 1:08.89.
Boys 100 Yard Breaststroke
1. Kekoa Taparra, Kamehameha, 58.50; 2. Kalani Rosell, Kamehameha-Maui, 59.65; 3. Josh Cutts, Punahou, 1:00.55; 4. Brett Johnson, Iolani, 1:00.57; 5. Kent Yamada, Mililani, 1:01.13.
Girls 400 Yard Freestyle Relay
1. Iolani, 3:38.72; 2. Kamehameha, 3:39.86; 3. HPA, 3:45.15; 4. Pearl City, 3:45.27; 5. Kealakehe, 3:47.12.
Boys 400 Yard Freestyle Relay
1. Iolani, 3:11.80; 2. Kamehameha, 3:15.75; 3. Kealakehe, 3:16.26; 4. Punahou, 3:18.33; 5. Mililani, 3:21.35.