Kaden Parker’s white knuckle moment took on an entirely new meaning considering the circumstances.
With four top-three finishes and four personal-bests, Parker did everything but end the BIIF’s boys gold medal drought at the HHSAA swimming championships last weekend on Maui, and for the Hawaii Prep junior, there is always next year.
In fact, there is always next week, too. After being moved from its former home in December, the state age group short course swimming championships start Thursday on Oahu.
“Kaden performed very well and went out hard,” coach HPA coach Mark Noetzel said. “He still has something left in the tank and wants to see how much more he can accomplish.”
At a state championship swim meet that was dominated by the Oahu swimmers – Punahou swept the titles for the fifth year in a row – Parker’s exploits led a much smaller Ka Makani boys squad to a third-place finish.
And he nearly became the BIIF’s first boys gold medalist since 2011 when he was out-touched by Kamehameha-Kapalama’s Noa Copp in the 50-yard freestyle final. Parker settled for silver 18 one-hundredths of a second behind Copp, who finished in 21 seconds flat.
“He missed the finish,” Noetzel said. “He was right there. We’re talking about a race coming down to the knuckle on your index finger.”
Parker also took bronze in the 100 free and added silver and another bronze in the relays. Ryan Gamble, Jakob Honda, Kaimana Stewart and Parker were third in the 200 free, and in the last race of the day, Parker, Jack Jefferson, Tedy Neliba and Gamble took second in the 200 free.
In 2011, Noetzel’a Ka Makani claimed the state title, winning all three relays behind the quartet of Logan Borowski, Kaikea Nakachi, Kyle Katase and Ryan Ross and getting individual gold from Borowski (50 free), Nakachi (backstroke) and Katase (breaststroke).
Gold has been hard to come on the boys side since, and for first time since 2016, no Big Island female won an event Saturday.
“I don’t think (the drought) was on Kaden’s mind, but he knows all the guys he swimming against and he’s a strong competitor who is always looking to get better,” Noetzel said.
Also winning silver was Hilo High senior Sydney Patterson in diving. It was a strong showing for both of the BIIF’s record-setting champions as HPA’s Jon Kuyper was third in the boys competition.
Waiakea junior Korrie Tengan claimed bronze in the 100 breaststroke, adding that to the silver she took in 2019 in the individual medley. Tengan just missed bronze in the IM on Saturday, finishing fourth in a race that won by University sophomore Grace Monahan, who is halfway to winning four state titles in two individual events. Monahan also won the butterfly.
All 12 of HPA swimmers advanced to the finals, including Ryanne Doherty, who captured bronze in the 50 free and fifth in the 100.
The top five finishers scored points and the top eight took home medals.
Kealakehe’s Duke Becker and HPAs’ Kyle Weyrick tied for fourth in the breaststroke, and Hilo’s Tayden Kaapuni came in fourth in boys diving
Also medaling were:
• Ryan Gamble, Weyrick, Honda and Stewart were fourth in the medley relay;
• Gamble and Stewart were fifth and sixth, respectively, in the 50 free;
• Hilo’s Bodhi Whitmore was seventh in the 500 and seventh in the backstroke;
• Neliba was seventh in the IM, with Waiakea’s Nainoa Loo eighth;
• Hilo High’s Kai Hayashida took seventh in the butterfly;
• Hilo’s Taryn Oda was seventh in diving;
• Waiakea’s was Grace Rynkewicz was eighth in the 500;
• Kamehameha’s Justin Chow was eighth in the backstroke;
• HPA’s Malia McKendry, Chloe Hughes, Anna Sorensen and Doherty were seventh in the 200 free relay, with Hilo’s Raven Domingo, Phoebe Wyatt, Keona Matsui and Xochi Gervais eighth; in the 400 free, McKendry, Hughes, Sorensen and Doherty came in sixth, with Domingo, Matsui, Gervais and Wyatt eighth.
• Hilo’s Hunter Okumura, Hayashida, Julian Nelson Langacker and Whitmore were eighth in the 400 free.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with addtional information about Hawaii Prep’s 2011 state-title winning team.
