It’s more fun to start things off with a question: Who didn’t win for Hawaii Preparatory Academy?
Ka Makani, the team with strength in numbers and talent all over the place, swept the BIIF swimming and diving championships on Saturday at Kamehameha’s Naeole Pool, where a league of United Nations dressed in red kept walking up to the medal podium all day.
The HPA girls threepeated with 205 points while Hilo was second with 82.50 points and Waiakea third with 75 points. The HPA boys repeated with 195 points while Waiakea was second with 98 points and Kealakehe third with 70 points.
There are 24 events. HPA went 19 of 24, a .791 batting average. Even Babe Ruth would have been envious of that batting average.
There actually some swimmers from other schools who won gold:
• Keaau senior Kason Kapono, boys 1 meter diving, 320.65 points.
• Kealakehe senior Hoyt Thomas, boys 200-yard individual medley, 2:08.27 seconds.
• Kealakehe junior Joshua Bandt, boys 50 freestyle, 22:03.
• Kealakehe junior Nolan Grossman, boys 500 free, 5:05.92.
• Waiakea senior Teddy Uekawa, boys 100 breaststroke, 1:04.74.
The HPA girls 200 free relay (Karly Noetzel, Taylor Doherty, Katie Jefferson, Kira Parker) set a BIIF league and championship record in 1:39.19.
Ka Makani freshman Maile Lawson established a BIIF championship record in the 100 breast in 1:05.99. The league mark of 1:05.65 by Kealakehe’s Cara Jernigan in 2014 still stands and serves as motivation for Lawson, who had a good day.
She won four gold: 100 breast, 200 individual medley, and 200 medley relay, and 400 free relay.
Parker went home with four gold: 100 backstroke, 100 free, 200 free relay, and 200 medley relay.
Frida Berglund also picked up four gold: 200 free, 500 free, 200 free relay, and 400 free relay.
Lawson, Parker and Berglund were the most decorated of the day. And here’s the bottom line about winning gold — to do so you need to beat the best and 79 percent of the time that means a teammate.
Last year, Taylor Doherty repeated her title in the 100 back and edged Parker. That was then. Parker came back a year later and seized gold in 1:00.42 to Doherty’s 1:00.43.
When the long and exhausting day was over, HPA coach Mark Noetzel shined a spotlight on all his swimmers from all over the world.
“I’m happy for the team, especially the seniors in the program. We have swimmers from 11 different countries,” he said. “It’ s not just the upper end kids, but kids from across the board have improved. The kids who grew up in our academy and the kids from halfway around the world they blended and won together.
“The strength of the girls is that they can swim in different races. They’re very versatile and the same can be said of the boys. We’ve had some swimmers who had a personal record. That’ll be a key when we head into states.”
The HHSAA state championships will be held Friday and Saturday at Naeole Pool.
Noetzel’s Ka Makani boys team won state titles in 1998 and 2011. His HPA girls have not won a state crown.