KIHEI — Aika Swanson didn’t feel great when she arrived at the K. Mark Takai/HHSAA state swimming and diving championship finals on Saturday at Kihei Aquatic Center.

After the girls 200-yard freestyle, she felt much better.

Swanson, a Maui High School sophomore, won the first state swim title in four years for the Maui Interscholastic League, finishing the 200 free in 1 minute, 52.30 seconds, nearly two seconds in front of second-place Leila Nasrallah, a Punahou senior.

“It’s nice to hear, I was really proud of my 2-free,” said Swanson, who was also fourth in the 500 free. “It hurt, a lot, but I was glad I won it. I took it out, but I wasn’t feeling the greatest physically and mentally today, but I tried my best coming back on that second 100. It definitely hurt and it showed, but, I mean, I got it done.”

A few minutes later, Maui Prep junior Noah Caiserman won the boys 200 individual medley in 1:54.39, 1.9 seconds in front of second-place Brandon Lin, a Kauai High sophomore.

“It’s awesome — when I went into it, I was nervous,” said Caiserman, who was also second in the 100 butterfly (49.66). “The guy who was seeded first, Brandon Lin, he’s a great swimmer. He’s a way better breaststroker than I am. So, I knew I had to beat him in the (butter)fly and beat him in the back(stroke) — I just strategized that race so that he had to catch up to me in breast. And if he tried to catch up then he wouldn’t be able hold on in free and that’s exactly what happened.”

The last time the MIL won any state swim or dive crowns came in 2020 when King Kekaulike’s Aniston Eyre won three gold medals, one of them in a relay.

“It’s really cool, I’m honored to be one of those people,” Swanson said. “This gives me confidence, especially because next year there’s not going to be as much competitors because a lot of the competitors are seniors. So, I’m looking forward to next year and what it’ll be like.”

The day started with a state title for the MIL in the morning when King Kekaulike diver Lily Barrett, a senior headed to the U.S. Naval Academy, won the girls 1-meter diving title.

“It’s awesome, I’m super stoked and I’m so glad to finish my year with all these divers,” Barrett said after racking up 469.05 points, easily outdistancing Punahou senior Kat Taylor (422.85). “I’ve gotten to dive with most of them since my sophomore year and they’re such fun competition and it’s so healthy. They’re all so awesome and just having my coaches here with me is so incredible.”

Her coaches, Dr. Dennis Rowe and Naomi Mark, will miss Barrett. Rowe has been coaching MIL divers since 1989 and he said Barrett will be the first NCAA Division I diver from the MIL in his time on the job. Rowe said Barrett is the fourth state champion girl he has coached and sixth overall.

“I’ve never had anybody who worked as hard as Lily,” Rowe said. “I mean, she’s a mad woman. She is just working all the time, blazing new trails and incredibly strong and worked on every aspect of her diving, not just performing dives well, but getting herself so she could perform well in competition, which was the real challenge for her.

“And, man, she worked at it for the last three years and what a difference it’s made. Being a Midshipman and Division I diver, I think she’s going to love it. She wants to be that busy.”

Lahainaluna junior Jake McGill finished second in the boys 50 free in 21.31 seconds to go along with his eighth-place finish in the 100 butterfly (53.97). McGill is the only Lahainaluna boy swimmer this season after several swimmers for the West Maui school were displaced after the deadly Aug. 8 fire in Lahaina.

“It’s amazing, glad that it finally pays off that we can race and just be a part of this community,” said McGill, who lives in Kahana and wasn’t displaced by the fire. “I tried to represent Lahaina the best I could. It’s an honor to be able to race against such fast kids and have everyone perform as well as they did.”

King Kekaulike sophomore Xander Hurst was second in the boys 500 free in 4:41.87, just 0.56 seconds behind Iolani senior Evan Wong. Hurst’s time in the event is one of the fastest ever recorded by an MIL swimmer — he trimmed eight seconds off his previous lifetime best.

“That was right around my goal time, I think part of the reason that happened was having Evan Wong right next to me,” said Hurst, who was also fourth in the 200 free (1:44.89). “He’s tough, just having him right there definitely helped me drop that time, just to have someone to compete with.”

Other MIL state finals finishers Saturday included: Baldwin’s Kieran Harper was sixth in boys diving (326.50); Maui Prep’s girls 200 medley relay finished seventh (1:56.16); Maui Prep’s boys 200 medley relay finished fifth (1:38.96); Maui Prep’s Sacha Salem finished third in the 200 IM (2:07.58) and third in the 500 free (5:04.20); Maui Prep’s Legend Storer was third in the 50 free (21.41) and third in the 100 breast (58.27); Seabury Hall’s Tulip Hori finished eighth in the 100 butterfly (1:00.47); Maui Prep’s Carter Bozich finished seventh in the 100 free (48.57); Maui Prep’s Halia Caiserman was seventh in the 100 breaststroke (1:12.14); the Maui Prep girls 400 free relay finished seventh (3:48.45); and the Maui Prep boys 400 free relay finished third (3:12.50).

Punahou rolled to the girls team title with 73 points, more than double second-place Iolani (36). Maui High was the top MIL girls team with eight points, all scored by Swanson, to finish seventh. King Kekaulike and Maui Prep tied for 10th with six points each.

In the boys team chase, Iolani won with 65 points while Hawaii Prep was second with 36. Maui Prep tied for fourth with 24 points. King Kekaulike tied for ninth with six points and Lahainaluna was 12th with four points.

* Robert Collias is at rcollias@mauinews.com

K. mark Takai/HHSAA Swimming and Diving State Championships

Saturday’s Results

At Kihei Aquatic Center

Girls

Team–1. Punahou 73, 2. Iolani 36, 3. Kamehameha Kapalama 35.5, 4. Mililani 24, 5. Hawaii Prep 15, 6. Kalani 10.5, t7. Kaiser 8, t7. Maui High 8, 9. Island 7, t10. Maui Prep 6, t10. King Kekaulike. 6, 12. Le Jardin 5, 13. Kealakehe 4, 14. Campbell 2.

1-meter diving–1. Lily Barrett, King Kekaulike, 469.05; 2. Kat Taylor, Punahou, 422.85; 3. Hailey Takai, Kalani, 409.10; 4. Molly Batol, Hawaii Prep, 394.80; 5. Anna Sophia Dao, Punahou, 366.70; 6. Felicity Nagel, Punahou, 349.90; 7. Aliya Hamdani, Iolani , 328.40; 8. Noelle Bratincsak-Valla, Punahou, 324.25.

200-yard medley relay–1. Iolani 1:46.39, 2. Kamehameha Kapalama 1:48.59, 3. Punahou 1:49.38, 4. Hawaii Prep 1:52.16, 5. Kalani 1:53.73, 6. Mililani 1:53.74, 7. Maui Prep1:56.16, 8. Mid-Pacific 1:56.58.

200 freestyle–1. Aika Swanson, Maui High, 1:52.30; 2. Leila Nasrallah, Punahou, 1:54.13; 3. Melia Lee, Kamehameha Kapalama, 1:55.25; 4. Sophia Hurd, Punahou, 1:55.46; 5. Olivia Wong, Iolani, 1:57.30; 6. Synnove Robinson, Punahou, 1:57.45; 7. Aiko Burgos, Mililani, 1:59.64; 8. Kei Nishikawa, Aiea, 2:00.89.

200 IM–1. Belise Swartwood, Mililani, 2:05.76; 2. Sala Yasumi, Kaiser, 2:06.22; 3. Sacha Salem, Maui Prep, 2:07.58; 4. Kona Flanagan, Punahou, 2:13.28; 5. Emma Lee, Kamehameha Kapalama, 2:14.15; 6. Johanna Zeebe, Punahou, 2:16.18; 7. Oakley Sare, Mililani, 2:17.78; 8. Reina Lileikis, Punahou, 2:17.94.

50 freestyle–1. Sage Miller, Iolani, 23.27; 2. Kokona Watanabe, Kalani, 23.89; 2. Leinaala Wong, Kamehameha Kapalama, 23.89; 4. Deanna Wen, Punahou, 24.03; 5. Chloe Inouye, Island, 24.65; 6. Morgan Kearney, Hawaii Prep, 24.70; 6. Alyssa Clark, Punahou, 24.70; 8. Kiani Morikami, Punahou, 25.10.

100 butterfly–1. Sage Miller, Iolani, 54.24; 2. Deanna Wen, Punahou, 57.18; 3. Aina Sjoblom, Punahou, 58.79; 4. Ciera Fujiwara, Punahou, 59.48; 5. Tea Brandon, Kamehameha Kapalama, 59.62; 6. Bella Shurley, Kealakehe, 59.85; 7. Juliana Fliss, Kapolei, 1:00.46; 8. Tulip Hori, Seabury Hall, 1:00.47.

100 freestyle–1. Journei Webster, Punahou, 51.195; 2. Melia Lee, Kamehameha Kapalama, 52.09; 3. Leinaala Wong, Kamehameha Kapalama, 52.15; 4. Kokona Watanabe, Kalani, 52.29; 5. Sophia Hurd, Punahou, 53.03; 6. Alyssa Clark, Punahou, 54.32; 7. Kiani Morikami, Punahou, 54.40; 8. Malia Lauret, Roosevelt, 55.48.

500 freestyle–1. Belise Swartwood, Mililani, 4:59.62; 2. Leila Nasrallah, Punahou, 5:03.35; 3. Sacha Salem, Maui Prep, 5:04.20; 4. Aika Swanson, Maui High, 5:06.25; 5. Synnove Robinson, Punahou, 5:13.84; 6. Kona Flanagan, Punahou, 5:16.18; 7. Olivia Wong, Iolani, 5:19.83; 8. Kei Nishikawa, Aiea, 5:25.59.

200 freestyle relay–1. Punahou 1:37.79, 2. Iolani 1:38.14, 3. Kamehameha Kapalama 1:38.98, 4. Mililani 1:39.54, 5. Hawaii Prep 1:41.64, 6. Moanalua 1:44.36, 7. Mid-Pacific 1:44.44, 8. Le Jardin 1:44.63.

100 backstroke–1. Journei Webster, Punahou, 57.37; 2. Bella Shurley, Kealakehe, 57.95; 3. Eden Waqainabete, Le Jardin, 58.71; 4. Emma Lee, Kamehameha Kapalama, 58.81; 5. Aina Sjoblom, Punahou, 59.04; 6. Sophia Owen, Iolani, 1:00.27; 7. Maya DeGuzman, Mid-Pacific, 1:01.49; 8. Ava Andaya, Iolani, 1:02.40.

100 breaststoke–1. Chloe Inouye, Island, 1:04.23; 2. Sala Yasumi, Kaiser, 1:04.24; 3. Aily Miyake, Iolani, 1:06.26; 4. Chloe Garcia, Campbell, 1:08.25; 5. Pemma Norbu, Hawaii Prep, 1:08.83; 6. Sydney Yamamoto, Mililani, 1:10.58; 7. Halia Caiserman, Maui Prep, 1:12.14; 8. Oliliu Wise, Kamehameha Schools Hawaii, 1:12.15.

400 freestyle relay–1. Punahou 3:28.93, 2. Mililani 3:37.72, 3. Hawaii Prep 3:42.24, 4. Kamehameha Kapalama 3:42.47, 5. Le Jardin 3:45.70, 6. Mid-Pacific 3:46.63, 7. Maui Prep 3:48.45, 8. Kalani 3:52.77.

Boys

Team–1. Iolani 65, 2. Hawaii Prep 36, 3. Punahou 32, t4. Maui Prep 24, t4. Kamehameha Kapalama 24, 6. Le Jardin 11, t7. Kalaheo 9, t7. Kauai 9, t9. Hawaii Baptist 6, t9. King Kekaulike 6, t9. Mid-Pacific 6, t12. Pearl City 4, t12. Lahainaluna 4, 14. Maryknoll 3, 15. Saint Louis 1.

1-meter diving–1. Logan Mansfield, Punahou, 394.55; 2. Holden Lahey, Hawaii Prep, 351.40; 3. Chance Beppu, Iolani, 334.40; 4. Aiden Kim, Iolani, 330.05; 5. Vance Maeshiro, Iolani, 329.45; 6. Kieran Harper, Baldwin, 326.50; 7. Kaimana Spear, Punahou, 325.00; 8. Jayce Labuguen, Iolani, 299.75.

200-yard medley relay–1. Iolani 1:33.33, 2. Punahou 1:35.47, 3. Kamehameha Kapalama 1:36.90, 4. Hawaii Prep 1:37.96, 5. Maui Prep 1:38.96, 6. Mid-Pacific 1:41.37, 7. Kauai 1:43.49, 8. Hilo 1:43.97.

200 freestyle–1. Evan Wong, Iolani, 1:37.90; 2. Lucas Duba, Hawaii Prep, 1:42.94; 3. Quintin Cummings, Hawaii Baptist, 1:44.29; 4. Xander Hurst, King Kekaulike, 1:44.89; 5. Jihoon Sung, Iolani, 1:44.99; 6. Jordan Clifford, Mid-Pacific, 1:46.34; 7. Walker Slay, Le Jardin, 1:46.80; 8. Raihau Sunaoka, Punahou, 1:47.83.

200 IM–1. Noah Caiserman, Maui Prep, 1:54.39; 2. Brandon Lin, Kauai, 1:56.29; 3. Parker Muench, Punahou, 1:56.43; 4. L.T. Stancil, Iolani, 1:57.61; 5. Finn Wirum, Hawaii Prep, 2:00.10; 6. Nathaniel Wilson, Moanalua, 2:00.57; 7. Jeffrey Ferrer, Punahou, 2:01.90; 8. Aaron Zhao, Iolani, 2:02.69.

50 freestyle–1. Finn Arrillaga, Iolani, 20.82; 2. Jake McGill, Lahainaluna, 21.31; 3. Legend Storer, Maui Prep, 21.41; 4. Zion Waqainabete, Le Jardin, 21.624; 5. Kaiea Hudgins, Hawaii Prep, 21.67; 6. Makoa Cox, Punahou, 21.75; 7. Beaudin Schad, Parker, 21.80; 8. Dakota Domingo, Hilo, 21.96.

100 butterfly–1. Connor Seminavage, Kamehameha Kapalama, 49.03; 2. Noah Caiserman, Maui Prep, 49.66; 3. Quintin Cummings, Hawaii Baptist, 50.39; 4. Gabriel Canevari, Punahou, 51.25; 5. Parker Muench, Punahou, 51.28; 6. Kai Aus, Maryknoll, 52.33; 7. Cade Kidani, Punahou, 52.45; 8. Jake McGill, Lahainaluna, 53.9.

100 freestyle–1. Lucas Duba, Hawaii Prep, 46.14; 2. Kaito James, Punahou, 46.46; 3. Tristan Regula, Kalaheo, 47.98; 4. Zion Waqainabete, Le Jardin, 48.06; 5. Jihoon Sung, Iolani, 48.26; 6. Makoa Cox, Punahou, 48.32; 7. Carter Bozich, Maui Prep, 48.57; 8. Raiden Yoza, Pearl City, 49.18.

500 freestyle–1. Evan Wong, Iolani, 4:41.31; 2. Xander Hurst, King Kekaulike, 4:41.87; 3. Walker Slay, Le Jardin, 4:48.21; 4. Derek Hunsaker, Mid-Pacific, 4:50.78; 5. Caeden Mclntyre, Saint Louis, 4:51.87; 6. Otoyu Homma, Kalani, 4:53.08; 7. Kelan Kennedy, Hawaii Prep, 4:55.35; 8. Raihau Sunaoka, Punahou, 4:55.95.

200 freestyle relay–1. Iolani 1:26.00, 2. Punahou 1:26.58, 3. Hawaii Prep 1:27.03, 4. Kamehameha Kapalama 1:29.26, 5. Le Jardin 1:31.18, 6. Hilo 1:32.14, 7. Roosevelt 1:33.43, 8. Kaiser 1:33.87.

100 backstroke–1. Connor Seminavage, Kamehameha Kapalama, 50.04; 2. Raiden Yoza, Pearl City, 52.80; 3. Kai Aus, Maryknoll, 53.46; 4. Finn Wirum, Hawaii Prep, 53.59; 5. Talen Koerte, Kauai, 53.95; 6. Jason Leung, Punahou, 54.14; 7. Nathaniel Wilson, Moanalua, 54.72; 8. Ethan Ng, Kealakehe, 55.56.

100 breaststoke–1. Tristan Regula, Kalaheo, 57.38; 2. Brandon Lin, Kauai, 57.905; 3. Legend Storer, Maui Prep, 58.27; 4. David Wong, Kamehameha Kapalama, 58.40; 5. L.T Stancil, Iolani, 58.45; 6. Coleson Pouoa, Hawaii Prep, 58.79; 7. Cade Kidani, Punahou, 59.09; 8. Aaron Zhao, Iolani, 1:00.19.

400 freestyle relay–1. Iolani 3:07.51, 2. Hawaii Prep 3:12.38, 3. Maui Prep 3:12.50, 4. Mid-Pacific 3:19.10, 5. Le Jardin 3:19.89, 6. Kalani 3:22.78, 7. Kaiser 3:26.44.