The only Hawaii High School Athletic Association state championship held on Maui this year was a special couple of days for the Maui Interscholastic League.

Noah Caiserman, Aika Swanson and Lily Barrett all won state crowns, the first state swimming and diving titles for the MIL since 2020.

Caiserman, a Maui Preparatory Academy junior, won the boys 200-yard individual medley in 1 minute, 54.39 seconds, just moments after Swanson, a Maui High sophomore, won the girls 200 freestyle.

Caiserman, who also finished second in the state 100 butterfly, is the choice of the league’s coaches as the MIL Boy Swimmer of the Year.

“It’s awesome, all things considered I didn’t go into this season expecting too much,” Caiserman said. “Just under promise, over execute. I didn’t tell myself, I didn’t give myself super big goals and I just worked my butt off and I was happy to achieve the goals that I did.”

Swanson and Maui Prep sophomore Sacha Salem, who won state bronze medals in the girls 200 IM and 500 free, were voted by the league’s coaches as co-MIL Girls Swimmers of the Year.

Caiserman admitted that his times at the K. Mark Takai/HHSAA state meet Feb. 9-10 at Kihei Aquatic Center surprised him.

“Oh yeah, 1:54 in the 200 IM — I think at the beginning of the season I was at 2:01 or a 2:03, so over a 5-second drop,” Caiserman said. “I have pretty good butterfly, backstroke and freestyle, but my breast is arguably some of the worst breast on our team. So, to go sub-two minutes with a terrible breaststroke split is — it was fun, I enjoyed it. To win, too, on top of that, I was very happy.”

Caiserman is joined on the MIL boys first team by MPA teammates Legend Storer and Carter Bozich; Lahainaluna’s Jake McGill; King Kekaulike’s Xander Hurst and Reese Williams; Kihei Charter’s Eli Hazlet; Maui High’s Ryan Ong; and Baldwin’s Kieran Harper, the MIL diving champion.

Maui Prep’s Lindsey Masterson is the MIL Coach of the Year after Na Pueo successfully defended their boys and girls MIL team titles.

Swanson also finished fourth in the 500 free at the state meet.

“I’m grateful that I at least won part of that,” Swanson said of her half of the girls award. “It’s not exactly what I expected, but it is what it is.”

One thing that Swanson did not have to share was her state title — with its place on the docket, it was the first state crown in the pool for the MIL since Aniston Eyre of King Kekaulike won three state golds in 2020.

“It was a good experience, a lot of change definitely happened, and even though I didn’t swim as good as I may have wanted to I’m still proud of myself because of all the training and hard work and determination I put into it,” Swanson said. “So I’m glad things turned out the way they did in the end.

“This will just motivate me to do better and take it a little more seriously so I can win that title completely next year.”

Both co-MIL girls swimmers of the year say they make each other better.

“I think she’s definitely my biggest competitor on Maui,” Swanson said of Salem. “And, like, we’re friends. We’re friends out of the pool, but in the pool we are our biggest competitors at that moment. I think we push each other, especially because we specialize in different events.”

Swanson has qualified for the prestigious USA Swimming Futures meet this summer, the second straight year she has done so.

Salem is also a standout golfer for Maui Prep, an unusual sports double in high school.

“Honestly, I am so happy, I didn’t really expect it,” Salem said. “I wanted to be co-player of the year, player of the year, but, like, this is kind of crazy. I just want to thank all of the MIL coaches for voting us and Aika, too.

“She’s a really good swimmer and she’s a good friend. It’s just so great to have someone that I can battle it out with. And she definitely brings out this competitive side of me. I’m just so thankful.”

Swanson and Salem are joined on the MIL girls first team by Seabury Hall’s Tulip Hori; Maui Prep’s Halia Caiserman and Sadie Stafford; King Kekaulike’s Barrett, Olivia Colt and Nicole Riemenschneider; and Baldwin’s Ava Castillo.

Barrett, a senior at King Kekaulike who is headed to the U.S. Naval Academy, won the state girls 1-meter diving crown with 469.05 points, easily outdistancing Punahou senior Kat Taylor (422.85).

Salem said her rivalry with Swanson goes back several years. Swanson recently edged Salem in a head-to-head race at the state age group meet.

“For sure, especially in the 500 and stuff that we swim together,” Salem said. “Like, we’ve done this for years. Obviously, it’s like basically whoever wins is just whoever has more toughness in them. I think it’s a really good thing because it brings out a side of us that you wouldn’t really have if you were just swimming against someone else who doesn’t bring out that competitive side.”

* Robert Collias is at rcollias@mauinews.com.