Tribune-Herald
Tribune-Herald
Hawaii Prep senior Anu Nihipali was among eight swimmers who represented Hawaii and the United States at the Oceania Swimming Championships, May 28-June 2 in New Caledonia.
The rest of the contingent consisted of swimmers Kale Ai, Jacob Urbano, Kevin Frifeldt, Austin Hirstein, Lena Hayakawa, Aja Grande and Yasmine Ware along with coaches Jen Buffin, Billy Brown, manager Brandon Drawz and Dr. Randy Gerber.
The biennial event, which Hawaii has been competing in since 2000, included almost 200 swimmers from American Samoa, Australia, Federated States of Micronesia, Cook Islands, Fiji, Guam, Hawaii, Marshall Islands, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, and Tonga and Tahiti.
The Hawaii girls swimmers brought home one silver medal an eight bronze. Hayakawa won four medals and Ware claimed two. The girls relays teams placed in the top three in all of it events, including runner-up in the 400-meter relay as Grande finished with a personal best of 59.11 seconds in the 100 freestyle.
Urbano took fourth in the 10-kilometer open-water event, and the boys relays teams finished fourth in each event.
In synchronized swimming, Hawaii’s team finished second.