The Hawaii Swimming Club (HSC) captured the overall team championship of
the 51st Keo Nakama Invitational Swimming Meet over the July 4th weekend.
It was the third invitational championship of the season for HSC (Manoa
and Sakamoto Invitationals) and follows the team's championship in the
long course championships in Hilo last month.
The meet honors the legendary swimmer who trained in the irrigation
ditches of Puunene and attained international acclaim with national,
collegiate, and olympic medals. Coach Nakama was the first person to swim
the Molokai Channel, doing so at 41 years of age. Although more noted for
his swimming accomplishments, Coach Nakama was also an All-American
baseball player at the Ohio State University, and he captained both the
swimming and baseball teams to championship seasons.
The meet was closely contested throughout the three days of competition as
HSC, the Kiwi West All-Stars from New Zealand, and the Kamehameha Aquatics
Team battled for the overall championship. Most of the clubs from Hawaii
are not swimming at full strength since the completion of the long course
season last month.
The majority of the swimmers are taking some time off before resuming
training for the short course season which kicks off in September.
Despite the fact that Molokai swimmers Ilia, Leoho`onani, and Mahinameli
Reyes and Lenn and Loni Yonemura are also on light training schedules, the
swimmers made significant contributions to the overall scoring and
attained individual best times in some events.
Ilia improved on three of his nine events and scored team points in the 50
M Free (4th place), 200 M Free (8th), and 100 M Free (8th). He led the
Molokai swimmers in individual scoring.
Leo swam nine individual events and Loni swam in eight individual events.
The pair combined with Sara Spidell and Jodi Kalawe of HSC-Hilo for four
relay events. The results were team points in all four events with sixth
place finishes in the 200 M Free Relay and the 200 M Medley Relay. The
quartet also placed seventh in the 400 M Free Relay and the 400 M Medley
relays.
Mahina was the busiest swimmer. She had ten individual events and a pair
of relays. Mahina's times improved in half of her individual events.
Teaming with Emalia Suehiro and Nikoya Collier of HSC-Kahului and Alicia
Gerber of HSC-Hilo for relays, the foursome added team points with second
place finishes and silver medals in both the 200 M Free and 200 M Medley
relays.
Lenn made his biggest contributions in the relays and totaled to most
overall team points of the Molokai swimmers. Besides the two seventh
places in the 100 M and 200 M Breaststroke events, Lenn teamed with Cheyne
Bloch and Reece Kaya of HSC-Kahului and Devin Maher of HSC-Oahu for a pair
of silver medals in the 200 M Free and 400 M Medley relays and a pair of
gold medals in the 200 M Medley and 400 M Free relays.
After the conclusion of the meet, Molokai Coach Lloyd Yonemura and his
daughter, Loni, had an opportunity to chat with Coach Nakama. Sporting an
excellent memory, Coach Nakama reminisced about his short time on Molokai
prior to his swim across the Molokai Channel.
Coach Nakama recalls visiting the Tamura Store to purchase a small
notebook and several people inquiring about a one-way ticket to Molokai.
He remembers talking with Mrs. Tamura and she had asked him when he was
returning to Honolulu. He replied that he was going back that night. He
laughed when he realized that it had not occurred to her that planes
weren't scheduled to fly at night.
As he described part of the swim across the channel, he recalls wondering
what he had gotten himself into by taking on the challenge! There were
paddlers towing a shark cage in front of him throughout the entire
journey. While the paddlers changed every now and then, Coach Nakama swam
into the records books and into history that night.
The few moments with Coach Nakama was a fitting conclusion to an exciting
weekend. Congratulations to the Hawaii Swim Club!