Boys 200 medley relay takes gold; 18 qualify for states
Photo by Maile Sur
Senior Mikaele Kane swims the breast stroke during the mens 200-yard medley relay at the MIL competition, Feb. 1, 2014, at Kīhei Aquatic Center. The Maui Warriors came in first place for this event.
Out of 21 swimmers for KS Maui, 18 qualified for the state championships before or during the Maui Interscholastic League Championships on February 1, 2014, at the Kīhei Aquatic Center.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better result,” first-year KSM Coach Ashley Miller said. “Eighteen out of twenty-one kids, that’s a huge ratio.”
In one of the first events of the day, the boys 200-yard medley relay took first. The team was made up of seniors Mikaele Kane and Kyle Mauri and juniors Taylor Lee and Spencer Shiraishi. The team had previously qualified in Meet 3, with a time of 1:46.76, just a stroke behind Baldwin High School, but their first place performance on Saturday gave them the gold medal in that event.
“It felt great that we finally won as a team,” Kane said. “We pushed through, we charged, and we beat Baldwin.”
The girls 200-yard medley team placed third with a time of 2:01.48, just a second under state qualifying. The team consistently placed in the top three during the season earning consideration times, but no qualifying times.
Other medals for the Warrior men included Kane’s second-place win in the 200-yard individual medley and Shiraishi’s second-place win in the 50-yard freestyle. Both qualified for the state championship.
Along with them, Mauri placed third in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of :50.34, and in the 100-yard backstroke, Kane placed second and Mauri placed third.
Junior Mia Czerwinski had qualified previous to the MIL competition in the 50-yard freestyle, so this time, she wanted to go for gold. Up against Baldwin’s Dana Leonard (:25.61) , Czerwinski just missed the first-place position with a time of 26.21. Quinn Shiraishi placed third.
For the Warrior women, Czerwinski also placed third in the 100-yard freestyle and the 200-yard freestyle relay. In addition to Czerwinski, the relay team was also composed of freshman Quinn Shiraishi and sophomores Erin Lim and Lia Ikeda.
Besides being the MIL Championships, it was also senior night for all schools.
This year, there were five seniors on the Warrior team; Mauri, Kane, Leimana Hassett, Kela Killam, and Tevin Tam.
The coaches of each school made speeches for their seniors and friends and family handed out lei and other gifts during an intermission after event 10.
“Throughout the whole season [the team] has been super close. It’s awesome to have them supporting all the seniors,” Hassett said.
Overall, KS Maui girls placed fourth and the boys placed third.
The qualified Warriors will be competing at the Hawaiʻi High School Athletics Association OC16 Swimming and Diving State Championships at Kamehameha Schools Kea’au next weekend, February 14-15.
