KEAAU – Nolan Morton couldn’t say his three favorite words enough: “This means everything.”
For each and every Waverider.
The junior took home three gold medals Saturday at the BIIF swimming and diving championships as the Waveriders grinded out a title to dethrone six-time boys champion Hawaii Prep and outdistance gold-heavy Hilo High at Naeole Pool. What made it all the sweeter was that it was clean championship sweep for Kealakehe, which doesn’t always collect as many league titles in various sports as other schools with comparable enrollments.
This time, the party by the pool was reserved exclusively for Waveriders.
“We’ve waited three years, and we’ve been disappointed time after time,” Morton said. “This is everything we’ve worked for.
“We just wanted to bring respect back to the school, respect back to our coaches, respect to our athletic director, and I wanted my respect, too.”
He had it long before his title in the 100-yard backstroke just about clinched things for the Kealakehe. Coach Randy Willis said the list of contributors on this day was too long to list, but it included two individual silvers apiece from Finneran Morton and Connor Aparicio-Bill, and one each from Levi Childers and Elijah Ng.
Morton did the heavy lifting, teaming with Finneran Morton, Aparicio-Bill and Ng to bring home the 200 medley relay, reached a personal best of 49.18 seconds to capture the 100 free and added relay silver.
It was Kealakehe first boys crown since 2008. The girls cruised to their first title in nine years.
“This means everything.”
“We finally beat HPA, it’s been years,” Morton said. “It’s been a (14-year title drought), which is longer than I’ve been competing.
“This has been a dream ever since high school swimming became a factor in our minds. To bring a championship home.”
Kealakehe left itself room for error in the final race, the 400 free relay. That was a good thing, because there was no stopping the Vikings’ Kai Hayashida and Maluhia Kaye, who each went 4-for-4 in winning gold.
The highlight came a day earlier in the preliminaries when Hayashida, a junior, broke the BIIF record in the 200 free, finishing in 1:43.12. Kaden Parker of HPA got the previous mark (1:43.95) two years ago in a final in which Hayashida was third.
“It kind of funny. I walked myself through the race in warmup and told myself how important the first 25 yards were,” Hayashida said, “but I ended up having a really bad first 25. Panic did set in a little bit, and I just sprinted from there.
“I felt I was getting close, because every time I took a breath I saw everybody jumping up and down. I told myself I must be right there, so I went for it.”
Hayashida also defended his title in the butterfly, and when he wasn’t winning he was cheering on teammates, especially Kaye, a senior who won the 50 free and breaststroke. Those two teamed with Dakota Domingo to win two relay races.
With just six swimmers, the Vikings reached Hayashida’s goal of winning six of 11 events.
“My teammates really helped make the swims possible, and the memories I made with them this season is something I’ll hold onto for the rest of my life,” Hayashida said.
HPA didn’t display its typical dominance. For the first time since 2014, Ka Makani didn’t win a team title. The boys finished second Saturday, getting golds from Nereo Loreto (500 free), Kouske Soler (200 individual medley) and diver Trevor Kaufman, who was the only competitor to score in his event.
The girls diving event was more competitive, with Waiakea’s Rylee Au edging out her twin sister, Isabelle, for gold.
