WESTERN ZONES SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Three Molokai swimmers journeyed to Federal Way, Washington, the site of
the 1998 Western Zones Age Group Championships. Lenn Yonemura and
Mahinameli Reyes were making their first trip to the zone championships
while Leoho`onani Reyes was the veteran of the group as she participated
in her third zone meet.
The trio returned to Maui after the Hawaii Long Course Championships on
Maui and were back in the pool for four days of training before heading
back to Maui to join 14 other swimmers from the Valley Isle. That group
met the rest of Team Hawaii in Honolulu and season-long competitors became
teammates for a week of tough competition.
Mahina turned in a sterling performance at the meet as she was the first
alternate in the 100 M Breastsroke. She missed making the cut for the
finals (top eight swimmers) by less that three-fourths of a second and
finished in the ninth position overall, the highest finish of any Team
Hawaii swimmer. Mahina also swam the 50 M Breaststroke and was 12th of
over 30 qualifiers.
Leo swam in both the 50 M and 100 M Breaststroke events and handled both
breaststroke legs of the 200 M and 400 M Medley relay teams. Leo placed
12th in a group of nearly 40 swimmers in the 100 M Breaststroke and had
the fastest time of all the Team Hawaii swimmers in the 50 M Breaststroke
where she placed 14th among 38 qualifiers.
Team Hawaii took fifth place in the 200 M Medley Relay with Marlene Yafuso
(Hawaii Swimming Club-Hilo) leading off with the backstroke. She was
followed by Leo and Maui Swim Club's Chelsea Nagata swam the butterfly
leg. Tamar DeMattos of Punahou Aquatics swam the anchor leg (freestyle).
Leo teamed with Noelle Heise (Rainbow Aquatics), Kelly Wilkings
(Kamehameha Aquatics Team), and Krislen Arakai (Punahou Aquatics) in the
400 M Medley Relay.
Lenn swam in the 1500 M Freestyle, 100 M and 200 M Breaststroke, and four
relay events. He swam to a personal best in the 1500 M Free dropping 16
seconds from his previous time. Lenn also swam on the 200 M and 400 M
Freestyle and Medley Relay teams.
The Zone format included a new age group for this meet. The new divison,
18 & under, had no record times. As such, Team Hawaii's quartet
consisting of Kimo Yamashiro (Aulea Swim Club), Nicholas Borreca (Rainbow
Aquatics), John Chock (Punahou Aquatics), and Lenn won their heat and held
the event record for the 400 M Medley relay for all of about five minutes.
Their time was surpassed in the next heat and their claim to fame quickly
vanished. The foursome teamed for all of the relays in the new division.
Several of Hawaii's top swimmers bypassed the Zone meet in favor of a trip
to Japan for an international goodwill meet. The Hawaii Swimming Club
hosted a team from Japan earlier this summer and the favor was returned
immediately following the conclusion of the state long course
championships on August 4 .
Many of HSC's swimmers boarded a flight to Japan on August 5 and a ten-day
trip to the orient was filled with long flights, lots of fun and
sightseeing, and an interesting swim meet. The trip was filled with new
experiences for the group and offered an extremely rare opportunity to
compete internationally. The group returned on August 16 and eight days
later, they were here on the Friendly Isle to compete in the Molokai Fun
Meet (see accompanying article).
As quickly as the long course season closed, the short course season
kicked into gear as the transition to a new schedule forced all of the
teams to move up their training schedules. The Molokai Swim Team extends
its deepest appreciation to all who have supported age group swimming on
Molokai. Most notable are the Parks and Recreation staff headed by
Zachary Helm and the Lifeguard staff led by Kalani Johnston, Lani
Caparida, and Clare Pereira. That staff includes summer guards Nona, Neil
Gonzalez, and Carlton Helm.
The team also thanks the parents and families of the swimmers who have
worked through early morning practices, two-a-day practices, and long
drives from both ends of the island. Mahalo to those friends of swimming
who have designated donations to the team through the Friendly Isle United
Fund and mahalo to all of Molokai for supporting the team year after year.
Congratulations to our zone swimmers and their families and good luck in
the upcoming season!
Lloyd M. Yonemura
==Molokai Flash==