Lahaina Swim Club racked up 1,071 points to win the 44th annual Sakamoto Invitational Meet at the Sakamoto Pool in Wailuku.

LAHAINA – The rising Red Tide of Lahaina Swim Club reached a high-water mark two weeks ago at the 44th annual Sakamoto Invitational Meet – perhaps the most prestigious youth event for Maui – at the Sakamoto Pool in Wailuku, as the West Siders racked up 1,071 points to easily outdistance runner-up Hawaii Swimming Club Maui with 996.

Along with LSC and HSCM, the field of participating clubs included some of the state’s top programs: Maui Swim Club, Island Aquatics, Maui Dolphins, Punahou Swim Club, Pearl City Aquatics, Iolani Swim Club, Splash Aquatics Makiki, and Manoa Aquatics.

Thus, the competitive lanes at Sakamoto Pool were filled with Hawaii’s top youth swimmers, and the Lahaina club rose to the occasion with record-setting results and award-winning age group efforts.

Leading the charge to 13 first place and 27 second place efforts in the individual races, as well as five gold medals in relay events, were LSC team members recognized for individual point totals in the meet, including Noah Caiserman (Boys 10 and Under, second place), Danna Hernandez-Herrera (Girls 11-12, second place), L.T. Stancil (Boys 11-12, second place), Jaden Yip (Boys 13-14, first place), Lexi Anderson (Women’s 15-16, first place), Hailey Bogar (Women’s Open first place) and Nolan Brown (Men’s Open, second place).

These outstanding performances included Sakamoto Meet records by Anderson in the Women’s 15-16 100-meter backstroke and the 100-meter butterfly race, as well as Yip’s standard-setting win in the Men’s 13-14 200-meter individual medley.

Lahaina Swim Club’s relay teams also shone brightly in the meet, winning five gold medals to score valuable points that added to the championship effort.

Leading the way in the relay events was the Women’s 15-16 lineup in the 200-meter freestyle race made up of Anderson, Bogar, Olivia Bozich and Ryli Cherry, and the Women’s Open 200 Medley Relay team of Yuna Lee, Bozich, Bogar and Anderson.

Other relay first place finishes were turned in by the Boy’s 10 and Under 200 Medley Relay lineup of Caiserman, Zolten Poulsen, Dylan Riley and Noah Richard; the Women’s 15-16 Medley Relay team made up of Bozich, Bogar, Anderson and Cherry; and the Boy’s 13-14 Medley Relay gold medalists: Yip, Mathew Iverson, Maison Alexander and Maxx Cherry.

Once again, the veteran LSC coaching staff of Tom Popdan, Jen Wiseman and Ericka Gaastra has developed another generation of elite aqua athletes to compete at the highest levels of youth swimming competition here in the islands.

Their effort is complemented by a dedicated board of directors led by co-presidents Gina Iverson and Paula Pope, Directors J.D. Sheveland and Kari Alexander, as well as LSC Maui Age Group Swim Association Representative Bob Dezotell and Team Administrator Dave Wintermeyer.

The organization expressed its gratitude to the parents, families and boosters of LSC in saying, “We are appreciative of the extraordinary support of the parents and volunteers that make the club the success that it is. We also recognize the effort of the Lahaina Aquatic Center lifeguard staff that has held up the high standard of the facility throughout the years.”

LSC will now dive into its summer season program led by coaches Jen Wiseman, Mike “Tex” Ritter, Kerri Hehn and Kirsten Byers. Contact Gina Iverson at (808) 757-5176 for more information regarding the program.