Kealakehe Girls Upset Waiakea in BIIF Championship Swimming

Waiakea's DQ in 200 Relay give 'Riders team victory

   Five league records fell this past weekend and the Waiakea boys and the Kealakehe girls won team titles in the Big Island Interscholastic Federation Swimming Championships from the Kona Community Aquatics Center.

   Waiakea came into the finals as the heavy favorites to win the girls crown for the second year in a row, but was upset by a determined Kealakehe squad when the Warriors suffered a disqualification in the 200 freestyle relay. 

   “It was a huge surprise for us to win the team title,” Waverider coach Steve Borowski said.  “Our girls did a great job and they performed better than expected. I believe they peaked and tapered perfectly.  The whole team did great.”

Alyssa Foo

Kealakehe was led by Alyssa Foo who came up with big wins in the 100 butterfly and the 100 backstroke (new league record 59.84 seconds), along with teammate Madison Hauanio who won the 200 Individual Medley and finished second in the 500 free.

   Foo broke the 100 back record that was set by fellow Waverider, Ashley Rose in 2001.

   “I was in a really good mood,” Foo said of her record breaking event.  “We didn’t really taper totally for the BIIF’s, so I think I can go even faster at the state championships if I continue to train hard.”

   Foo was also happy that Kealakehe regained the BIIF team title.

   “We won the team title in my freshmen and sophomore years, before losing it to Waiakea last year,” she said.  “I was happy that we could do it again in my senior year with only nine girls.”

    The public school Warrior boys pulled out a team victory over defending champions Hawaii Prep by a score of 148 to 116.

   “Our boys came through,” Waiakea coach Bill Sakovich said.  “Frank (Chi) was outstanding as usual and we got great relay races from David Sumada, Ryan Kawano, Grant Uekawa and Campbell Causey.”

   Sakovich had high praise for many of his swimmers including Causey who won the 500 freestyle and finished second in the 200 free.

   “All our kids did great and I am especially grateful to our coaches who helped us in getting these kids prepared for the finals,” Sakovich said.

   “I’m a little disappointed that we didn’t repeat for the girl’s title, but it’s a meet and anything can happen at meets,” Sakovich said.  “The Kealakehe girls did exactly what they were supposed to do and they did an excellent job.”

Logan Borowski

   In a much anticipated showdown between the best two swimmers in the 100 butterfly, Kealakehe’s Nicholas Garrett squared off against Hawaii Prep’s Logan Borowski showcasing the fastest fly stroke swimmers in the pool.

   Garrett came into the event as the two time BIIF butterfly champion and BIIF record holder, as Ka Makani junior Logan Borowski began to close in on Garrett’s record during the later part of the season.

  Borowski who had earlier in the day came away with the 50 freestyle title in a personal best time of 21.45 seconds and Garrett, the eventual winner of the 200 free, 1:46.22, met for the BIIF 100 butterfly title.

   Borowski’s winning time of 51.59 seconds eclipsed Garrett’s previous record of 52.02 set last year.

   “Nick is a really good swimmer and I knew I had to go out fast in the first 50, then try to hold him off,” Borowski said.  “I wasn’t thinking about the record as I was just trying to win the event.”

Frank Chi

Waiakea’s Frank Chi came into the finals wanting to break his own record in the  100 breaststroke for the fourth time this season. 

   Chi lowered the BIIF record to 58.7 seconds on Friday night and was determined to go even faster during the championship finals.  On Saturday the senior again rewrote the league record books by clocking in at 58.61 seconds.

    “I knew I could go hard and faster,” Chi said of his record breaking swim.  “I just pushed myself both in practice and during the meets.”

   Chi, who finished third in the state for the past two seasons in the breaststroke believes he can challenge for top honors this year.

   “I can still go faster and I believe that if I work hard I can get my time under 58 seconds,” he said.

    Ka Makani 200 boys freestyle relay team was back in the water, setting a new league record for the second time this season.  Using all juniors in Kyle Katase, Kaikea Nakachi, Ryan Ross and Logan Borowski as the anchor the HPA foursome clocked in at 1:29.35 to break their previous record of 1:29.80.

Kaikea Nakachi

“All four of us are going to swim the three relays as the state championship and we are only going to swim one individual race each,” Borowski said.  “I plan on focusing on the 50 free at states.”

   Nakachi defended his BIIF 100 backstroke title and claimed top honors in the 200 Individual Medley events.

   Waiakea’s David Sumada, the defending BIIF champion in the 200 freestyle, was upset by Garrett but later rebounded with a victory in the 100 free.

   “I’m really excited about my 100 free time,” Sumada said.  “It was my fastest time this season, 48.6 seconds, and I know this might sound silly, but before the event I thought of my coaches smile (Justin Pierce) and that helped me to swim my best.”

   Waiakea freshmen, Madisyn Uekawa became a BIIF champion in both the 100 free and 100 breaststroke.

   “I was a little nervous going into the championships, but I think I swam well and I tried my best,” Uekawa said.  “It felt good, but I think I should have gone out harder in both my races. I’m hoping I can do better at states.

   The HHSAA swim championships finals will be held at Kamehameha-Hawaii on February 13.

Freshmen make Big Impact at BIIF Swim Meet

Desiree Ashley (P), Emma Kimata (H), Nicole Paulachak (Waik), Madisyn Uekawa ( Waik), Shea Pitoy (H),Katie Torigoe (WAIK), Kirsten Nakamura ( WAIK), Ariana Nussbaum (LAU) photo by Kyle Chock

The freshmen class in the Big Island Interscholastic Federation made a big splash at the start of the swim season this past Saturday.

   Hilo High’s Edward Kawachika Pool played host to an all-schools swim meet that saw seven boys and three girls reach state qualifying times in individual events in addition to Hawaii Prep and Waiakea relay teams making state.

  In the girls 400 yard freestyle relay it was three freshmen and one sophomore for the powerful Waiakea swim team making state qualifying by clocking 3:55.31.  Freshmen Akemi King, Jayna Jobes and Madisyn Uekawa teamed with sophomore Rachael Shimizu to out distance the runner up team by more than 26 seconds.

   Uekawa earlier in the day had qualified for state in both the 50 freestyle and 100 breaststroke, while Shimizu logged state times in the distance races of the 200 and 500 freestyle events.

   “We had a good meet,” Waiakea coach Bill Sakovich said.  “Unfortunately Kealakehe was not present and we know they have some great swimmers, how many, we don’t know.”

   The only other girl to break the state time barrier in an individual event was Hilo’s Sharae Ichinose in the 100 backstroke.  Ichinose swam away from the rest of the field winning by more than five seconds with her time of 1:03.94.

   “I am happy with the team’s results after the first meet, but we have to work harder and get the whole team involved,” Coach Sakovich said.  “We need to work on the technical aspects of swimming, finishes, turns and relay starts.”

   HPA freshman, Bhillie Luciani looked good in her high school swim debut.  Luciani won the 200 Individual Medley event and her coach, Mark Noetzel, had high praise for his youngster.

   “We were impressed with our freshman, Bhillie Luciani, and senior Bridgett Walker,” Noetzel said.

200 IM Chris Hu and Patrick Peng

On the boys side Noetzel had a solid effort put in by his 200 IM relay team which made a state time of 1:43.05.

   “HPA’s strengths came from our boys, Logan Borowski, Kaikea Nakachi, Ryan Ross, Kyle Katase and Sonny Hapgood,” Noetzel said.  “Many of our other team members had personal bests which helped our team overall.”

   HPA’ Borowski also won the 50 yard freestyle event (22.71) by out swimming a pair of talented Waiakea sprinters in Peter Chi (22.93) and Grant Uekawa (23.02) as all three made state qualifying time.

   Borowski later returned to the pool to win the 100 yard butterfly (56.88) with teammate Ryan Ross following in second (57.55) as both reached qualifying time.

   Another Ka Makani, Kaikea Nakachi, lost to Waiakea’s Ryan Rimando in the 200 IM by .11 seconds as both qualified for state.

  Despite the good showing by Ka Makani swimmers Coach Noetzel gave a lot of credit to other schools.

   “I was really impressed with both Hilo High and Waiakea,” Noetzel said. “They have fine teams in both divisions.”

   Waiakea’s Peter Chi has finished third in the state for the past two years in the 100 yard breaststroke and this past weekend Chi dominated the event by winning in 1:00.94 over teammate Ryan Rimando (1:04.14) as both made state time.

   Another Warrior, David Sumada, won the 100 yard freestyle (49.49) to also make state.

   In the final event of the day, the 400 yard freestyle relay, it was the combination of Waiakea’s Uekawa, Chi, Sumada and Ryan Kawano that swam away from their competition winning by more than 20 seconds over a talented HPA squad.

   “Our non-club swimmers did extremely well,” Sakovich said.  “Come through swims were pulled off by Dustin Soriano, Owen Cooper, Kaimi Scott, Patrick Peng and Kristen Nakamura.”

   Meet host, Coach Jon Hayashida of Hilo, felt that the Vikings did a good job in the season opener.

   “Our kids did pretty good and our relays, on both the boys and girl’s side looks strong,” Hayashida said.  “Hopefully we will qualify both relay teams for state.  We have a few kids injured and they should return to competition in a week or two and will make a difference.”

   Hayashida also had high praise for one of his freshmen, Beth Tsuha who finished second in the 50 yard freestyle (26.54) and made a state consideration time.

   “I think Beth will make state time as she is very close,” Hayashida said.  “She is a good swimmer and will help us during the season, along with Sharae Ichinose.  I’m looking forward to our next meet in Kona.”

   Coming up this Saturday is an all league meet at the Kona Community Aquatic Center starting at 10 a.m., hosted by Steve Borowski and his Kealakehe Wave Rider team. 

   “We’re really looking forward to this upcoming meet as we should have our full squad back and ready to go,” Borowski said.

Best BIIF Swimmers Take to the Pool

Waiakea's Peter Chi favorite event the 100 breaststroke

Looking to see some of the best of prep swimmers in the state of Hawaii?  Then grab a seat in the bleachers at the Edward H. Kawachika Swimming Pool at Hilo High School this Saturday for the Big Island Interscholastic Federation season opener.

Leading a group of top notch competitive swimmers is Kealakehe’s Nicholas Garrett who returns for his senior season.

Garrett broke the BIIF record in the 100 butterfly last season with a time of 52.75 seconds.  The previous record was set by Waiakea’s Jonathan Pauole in 1987 when he was coached by the late Ed Kawachika and stood for 22 years before Garrett etched his name into the record books.

 At the Hawaii High School Athletic Association championships a peaked Garrett took a full second off his BIIF butterfly record by clocking 51.74 while placing second in the state.

‘Rider teammate Alyssa Foo is back as she looks to defend her BIIF title in the 200 individual medley and improve upon her second place state finish from last season.  Foo also won the BIIF 100 yard butterfly event and placed fifth in the state in the 500 freestyle as she leads an extremely talented ‘Rider squad.

Kealakehe coach, Steve Borowski, believes that the low numbers on his boys and girls teams will make it difficult to challenge for team titles, but the ‘Riders are strong in high quality talent with Garrett and Foo leading the way.

 “Our boy’s team is very lean, but a new freshman, Dane Uy, is good,” Borowski said.  “Our girl’s team is also a bit lean, but not too bad as we have a freshman standout in Madison Hauanio.”

Despite the low numbers Borowski always seems to find a way to compete well.  Last season the ‘Riders brought only five girls to the HHSAA championships and still scored enough points to place them in a tie for fifth place.

Borowski predicts that Waiakea and Hawaii Preparatory Academy will again compete for the BIIF team titles.

Last season Waiakea won the BIIF girls team title while HPA took the boys.  Ka Makani boys went on to place third in the state, the highest finish by any BIIF team.

Waiakea returns Peter Chi, the BIIF champion in the 100 breaststroke, for his final season.  Chi is a confident and experienced swimmer who continues to improve on his time.  At the state championships, for the past two seasons, Chi has placed third in his signature event, and has dropped his time down to 1:00.39.

The public school Warriors also return sophomore sensation Rachel Shimizu who is dominate in the 200 and 500 freestyle events, finishing third at states in both.

“We are shooting to repeat at winning the BIIF girls team title with Rachel Shimizu and freshman Madisyn Uekawa leading the way,” Waiakea Coach Bill Sakovich said.

Uekawa, a strong age group swimmer, will add firepower to an already potent Waiakea swim squad.  “Several other girls could step up and help out and several of them are freshmen,” Sakovich said.  “If everyone does their best we should repeat.”

The Waiakea boys also look to challenge HPA for the team title with Chi leading the way in the 100 breast and David Sumada looking strong in the 200 free.

Waiakea was the leagues runner-up to HPA last year for the boys and according to Sakovich his Warrior relay teams look to be stronger and more competitive this year.

“I think our toughest fight will be with HPA in the boys and Kealakehe in the girls, but that may change over the shortened swimming season,” Sakovich said.

Defending boys team champions, HPA, looks to be dependent on several younger swimmers to step up after losing three of their relay swimmers to graduation.

Ka Makani boys swept all the relay events at the BIIF championships last year to claim the team title, but will need to fill large gaps to get past Waiakea this season.

“The only person we have returning from our state relay team is Kaikea Nakachi,” HPA coach Mark Noetzel said.  At the HHSAA last season Ka Makani boys finished third in the 200 IM and 400 freestyle and second in the 200 free.

The number of swimmers looks good for HPA as they carry 15 boys and 11 girls on their roster and are expected to be competitive.

“On the boys side of things I think we’re in position to challenge Waiakea for the team title,” Noetzel said.  “We’ve got a lot of work to do if we want to be in the fight for the BIIF title.”

Ryan Ross, Sonny Hapgood, Logan Borowski and Kyle Katase, along with Nakachi, will lead a solid Ka Makani squad in defense of their title.

On the girls side HPA returns multi talented Bridgette Walker who Noetzel will heavily depend upon.  “Bridgette is a senior that we need to lead this team as she is committed to water sports,” Noetzel said.

State age group swimmer, Bhillie Luciani, will add strength for the girls.  “Bhillie is a strong all around swimmer,” Noetzel said.  “I see the fight for the girl’s team title to be between Waiakea and Kealakehe.”

Legendary Coach, Steve Borowski

Steve Borowski hitches a ride on a Whale Shark

“By learning you will teach, by teaching you will learn,” was one of the most applicable phrases used to describe legendary swim coach, Dr. James Counsilman.

    Counsilman is considered by many to be the most famous swim coach of the 20^th Century and one of his students, Steve Borowski, is a coaching legend in his own right here on the Big Island.

    Borowski grew up in Chicago and at the age of four began swimming in a 20 yard pool.  “I’ve been involved with swimming for most of my life and was coached by the most famous of all swim coaches at Indiana University,” Borowski said.

    In high school Borowski excelled in swimming, and was an All American water polo player. He received a full swimming scholarship from Indiana University.

    “Doc Counsilman coached on three Olympic teams and wrote several great books on swimming,” Borowski said.  “I started coaching while in college on an age group team and then after getting my masters degree, I was Doc’s assistant when we won the 1972 NCAA Championships, when Mark Spitz was a senior there.”

   Borowski was on Indiana’s first and second NCAA Championship teams as well as swimming on the winning American record 400 Medley Relay, swimming the butterfly leg.

   So during the late ‘60’s and early 70’s it was Kealakehe coach, Steve Borowski, swimming with the best athletes in the world, before making Hawaii his home.

   “I came to Oahu in 1972 because a teammate of mine lived here and told me of a small coaching position that had opened up,” Borowski said.

    That “small coaching position” turned out to be at Punahou School and Punahou Aquatics. The age group team grew from about 35 swimmers to well over 100 during Borowski’s tenure which saw the team win several age group State Championships.

    In his 13 years at Punahou Borowski lead his boys and girls teams to 13 consecutive Hawaii State High School Championships, a national record at the time.

   “Punahou’s success came as a result of a lot of stroke technique, consistency, and a strong belief in me and my program,” he said.

   During the 1976 high school season Borowski coached Chris Woo who went onto make the US Olympic Team and swam in the Montreal Olympics where he finished eighth in the 100 breaststroke and competed on the Medley relay that broke the World record.

   “Chris (Woo) has been the only swimmer from Hawaii to make the Olympics in over 50 years,” Borowski said.

    Borowski also coached the University of Hawaii swim team and led the team to an undefeated dual meet season and a second place finish in the National Independent Conference Championships.

    “While at UH, from 1978-1980, I worked intimately with the student athletes to ensure a strong academic performance in addition to a strong athletic performance,” he said.

     Borowski’s resume is impressive, having been a US National Team Coach from 1978 to 1986 where he participated in numerous international competitions while coaching in France, the Netherlands, Japan, Hong Kong, Israel and Monaco along with US meets in Boston and Milwaukee.

    After the 1986 swim season Borowski left Punahou and moved to Kona.  In 1998, when Kona finally got a swimming pool, Borowski started the Kealakehe High School swimming program and has been coaching the Waveriders for 10 years.

    “I grew up in the center of a big city and saw my father wanting to visit a small farm in Wisconsin that we owned, as he loved the country,” Borowski said.  “After 14 years in Honolulu I felt the city getting to overcrowded and visited Kona often, as I too loved the country feeling.”

    Borowski became the director of the Kona YMCA for several years and also was the race director of the Ironman World Triathlon.  

    The ‘Rider coach also works with a class for adults called Swimming 101 which is for abilities from the novice to professional swimmer as they primarily focus on stroke technique.  And in his free time Borowski will also coach another 60 adult master’s swimmers and triathletes. 

   Borowski continues to stay in shape by swimming in the ocean, bodysurfing, free diving, doing underwater photography and going to the gym on a regular basis.

   “I swim about a mile or more several times a week and on the days I don’t swim I do a varied strength and stretching session,” he said.

   As a master’s swimmer, Borowski has set several American and World records in the freestyle and butterfly strokes.

    Borowski’s eating habits are simple as he eats several small meals throughout the day. He also does not go to extremes with his nutrition, but eats healthy and smart. And his secret to health success may lie in his desire to maintain his flexibility and strength through regular aerobic and anaerobic exercise.  

   “To me swimming is simply the medium to help positively affect children and adults lives.  Unlike most sports we are together about ten plus months a year, both boys and girls, we are family,” Borowski said.