Wednesday, February 20, 2002
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Middle-distance KRISTIN Simunovich loves her identity crisis.
master
Punahou swimmer thrives
in the 'other' racesBy Jason Kaneshiro
jkaneshiro@starbulletin.comThe Punahou senior began her high school swimming career in distance events and eventually started competing in sprints. Although she has experienced success in both disciplines, her niche with the Buffanblu lies somewhere between.
"I wouldn't say I'm a sprinter, but I'm definitely not a distance swimmer either," she said. "I've found the middle ground, I guess."
The Punahou girls hope Simunovich's versatility will help them defend their state team title this week at the Local Motion State Swimming and Diving Championships on the Big Island.
Championships in 24 boys and girls events will be awarded at the meet. Trials are Friday and finals Saturday at the Kailua-Kona Aquatic Complex.
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Simunovich is a favorite in two freestyle events. She swam the best qualifying time in the state in the 100-yard freestyle Feb. 9 at the Interscholastic League of Honolulu championships, finishing in 53.59 seconds. Punahou coaches were still trying yesterday to verify that the time is an ILH record.Simunovich also posted the state's third-best time in the 200 freestyle at 1 minute, 58.05 seconds. She is also a member of the 200 and 400 freestyle relay teams. The Buffanblu are the favorites in both events.
Simunovich's favorite events are the middle distances.
"They're very satisfying to swim," Simunovich said. "They're hard, but they're fun. When you're done you feel like you've accomplished something."
"A lot of people hate those, because they don't know what they should do," Punahou coach Kenny Chew said. "You don't know if you put yourself in a sprinter's shoes or you put yourself in a distance person's shoes. You just have to go at it with the mindset that it's its own unique race."
Simunovich grew up in Kailua, with Lanikai Beach as her backyard. She suffered from asthma as a child and started swimming when she was 5 to strengthen her lungs.
She swam with Aulea Swim Club before joining Punahou Aquatics when she enrolled in the school as a seventh grader.
As a freshman, she helped the 200 freestyle relay team set a meet record at the 1999 state championships.
Last year she won the 100 freestyle and was a member of Punahou's winning 200 and 400 freestyle relay teams. The 400 relay team set the state record of 3:37.83. She also finished third in the 50 freestyle.
"She's talented enough to do anything," Chew said. "She started out a distance freestyler and she's progressively come down to swim in the 200 and 100. It shows that she's got a great range."
Punahou has won the state team title in all of Simunovich's three previous years in the program and 41 of the 44 championships awarded since 1958.
The task of maintaining Punahou's swimming tradition helps Simunovich get up at 5 a.m. three times a week for the team's dawn workouts. The Buffanblu also practice for two hours every day after school and three hours on Saturdays.
"At the beginning of the year, we go up to the athletic department and we just look at the plaque that has the listing of all the state and ILH championships we've won," Simunovich said. "To be a part of that, you have to know it's a responsibility to try to uphold it and do your best."
The tradition also acts as a giant target for teams around the state to shoot for as they prepare for the state championships.
"It's motivation for them to try to beat us, and it's motivation for us to stay on top," Simunovich said.
Simunovich was voted team captain by her peers and is part of a strong Punahou senior class along with Annie Richardson, Katie Flanagan, Robin Cornuelle, Daya Mau, Mari Chang and Jessica Dent.
"That's a lot of points we'll lose when they leave," Chew said.
Simunovich plans to continue her swimming career at Dartmouth University in the fall. She said getting her acceptance letter to the Ivy League school rivaled the euphoria of winning a championship race.
"Getting into a school like that (reflects) the amount of effort I put into school and everything that I do," she said.
"And it's the same with swimming. When you win, you know it's because you worked hard."
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