Congratulations to Lahaina Swim Club for winning the Soichi Sakamoto Invitational meet on May 27-28 in Wailuku.

LAHAINA — Lahaina Swim Club burst out of the blocks to the top of the podium at the prestigious Soichi Sakamoto Invitational meet held in Wailuku at the facility named after the esteemed swimming coach over the May 27-28 weekend.

The event serves to honor Coach Sakamoto’s profound contributions to competitive swimming in Hawaii that established highly successful programs in Maui County and across the state, and produced numerous achievements for national and Olympic recognition.

Led by Head Coach Tom Popdan, along with veteran assistants Jen Wiseman, Ericka Gaastra, Gabby Lindblad and Jack Pope, LSC captured the coveted First Place Team Trophy, as the West Siders raced to rack up 1,343.5 total points to outdistance second place Splash Aquatics with 910.5 points.

Lahaina competitors earned high point awards in multiple divisions, led by Kealani Aly in the Girls 10 and Under Division, who was honored as the Most Outstanding Athlete.

Other strong performances were achieved by Emily Gorokhovsky in the Girls 13-14 Division; Sacha Salem in the Girls Open Division; Noah Heimer in the Boys 11-12 Division; Eli Hazlet in the Boys 13-14 Division; Noah Caiserman in the Boys 15-18 Division; and Noah Richard in the Men’s Open age group.

In sum, LSC competitors won gold medals in seven of ten age groups, and 16 swimmers finished in the top five in their age divisions.

It was more of the same in the relay events, as Lahaina Swim Club dominated across the ten age groups of the meet.

This is where Coach Popdan excels in organizing the team to optimum efforts. There were 20 relay events on tap over the two-day event, and LSC entered 16 of them. The West Siders won gold medals in 14 of them while adding one silver and one bronze to their final medal count.

Congratulations to the entire club, including the team members, coaches, volunteers — including David Wintermeyer, Amy McGill, Kari Alexander, Bob Dezotell and Jane Gorokhovsky — as well as the many parent and family volunteers for their support throughout the season. And special recognition to the Sophie DeLoria Foundation for its support throughout the years for Lahaina Swim Club.