Seniors Keala Kama and Janessa Cordeiro are not only a couple of the oldest members on the Kamehameha Schools Maui swim team, but they are also a couple of the oldest friends.
“We’ve been swimming together since the second grade,” Kama said, who, along with Cordeiro, started his journey with the Hawaiian Swim Club.
The two agreed that their relationship with each other has always been supportive. “It’s not really competitive between the two of us, we encourage each other,” Cordeiro said.
Neither has plans to continue swimming competitively after high school.
Cordeiro said that the end of the school year will be “pretty sad because we won’t be seeing each other on a daily basis any more.”
She joined the KSM swim team during her sophomore year in high school, and has since been to the state swim competition twice. While she most enjoys competing in the backstroke, Kama spends most of his time swimming the 50- and 500- yard freestyle.
Kama began swimming for the school in his freshman year and has competed in the state competition every year.
“I’m pretty sure we [the mens relay team] got into the finals a couple years ago,” Kama said.
The relays proved to be a strong point for the KSM swim team at Saturday’s MIL Meet #5, which was held at the KSM pool. The mens teams placed either second or third in the 200-yard medley relay and in the 200- and 400-yard freestyle relay.
“They did really well, everybody improved times and did what they needed to do, but most of all they had fun,” Coach Leighton Hao said.
Seabury Hall junior Renny Richmond tied the all-Maui record previously set by Randall Tom in 2004 in the mens 50-yard freestyle with a time of 00:26.03.
The MIL Championships will be held next weekend, Friday, Jan.27, at 5:00 pm, and Saturday, Jan. 28, at 1:00 pm at the Kihei Aquatic Center.
Kamehameha Maui swimmers placed in the following events in today’s final regular season meet:
Womens 200-yard Medley Relay:
3rd place (2:02.37)
Mia Czerwinski (’15)
Kela Killam (’14)
Sarina Kong (’13)
Riley Shiraishi (’13)
Mens 200-yard Medley Relay:
2nd place (1:49.99)
Mika Kane (’14)
Keala Kama (’12)
Makai Mann (’12)
Spencer Shiraishi (’15)
Womens 200-yard Freestyle:
3rd place (2:39.82)
Ashley Pulido (’14)
Womens 50-yard Freestyle:
2nd place (00:26.83)
Mia Czerwinski (’15)
Mens 50-yard Freestyle:
3rd place (00:23.69)
Spencer Shiraishi (’15)
Mens 500-yard Freestyle:
3rd place (5:20.14)
Keala Kama (’12)
Womens 200-yard Freestyle Relay:
2nd place (1:49.90)
Sarina Kong (’13)
Riley Shiraishi (’13)
Kela Killam (’14)
Mia Czerwinski (’15)
Mens 200-yard Freestyle Relay:
3rd place (1:36.03 – state qualifiers)
Makai Mann (’12)
Keala Kama (’12)
Mika Kane (’14)
Spencer Shiraishi (’15)
Womens 100-yard Breaststroke:
3rd place (1:22.19)
Leimana Hassett (’14)
Mens 100-yard Breaststroke:
3rd place (1:11.58)
Mika Kane (’14)
Womens 400-yard Freestyle Relay:
2nd place (4:12.25)
Mia Czerwinski (’15)
Kela Killam (’14)
Riley Shiraishi (’13)
Sarina Kong (’13)
Mens 400-yard Freestyle Relay:
2nd place (3:40.19)
Makai Mann (’12)
Mika Kane (’14)
Keala Kama (’12)
Spencer Shiraishi (’15)
