Kaiser High School’s very own swim team has come to a strong finish this season. Competing in the OIA division, the team showed teamwork, determination, and dedication both in and out of the pool. Swimmers showed up to early morning swim meets, practices everyday after school, as well as having to balance academics on the side. This year’s season has become one of the most memorable yet!
The swimming season started off with 53 people who were eager to start off or continue their high school swimming careers, but by the end of the season we ended up with only 23 swimmers who were dedicated enough to stick through the hard moments, and continue to persevere. The practice schedule consisted of practice 6 times a week, Monday through Friday, starting at 3:30 PM and finishing at 6:30 PM. Almost every week on Saturday, there would be a swim meet, leaving only Sunday free for school work, or other activities.
The team had many big moments and celebratory wins, one big accomplishment that stood out was Kaiser winning the OIA East Championship. The girls varsity team was also able to place second at the OIA championship, with many outstanding individual events. One standout performance was from Elliana Schiffner, who placed first in the 200 yard freestyle, just barely out touching the top seed in the event.
Alyssa Tongg is a Junior on the Kaiser High school swim team, and has been on the team since she was a freshman. She is currently one of the team captains on the team, and will be heading off to states on February 12th. “It feels rewarding to go to states because that means all my hard work paid off.” Alyssa performs exceptionally well at freestyle, with her main events being the 200 freestyle and the 500 freestyle, which she will be swimming at states. She shows lots of dedication to the sport and has been swimming for around 5 years, practicing 6 times a week, every single week. Her favorite part of swimming is the friends she’s made because she has become really close with all of them, and they are what help her make it through practice.
Tim Lorge is a Senior on the Kaiser High School swim team, and has been on the team since he was a freshman. He is a 4 year Letterman, meaning he has been on varsity for all 4 years of high school. You may have heard about him from when he swam the Kaiwi Channel (Moloka’i to Oahu), and became the youngest person to ever do it. “It feels great to go to states, I get to challenge myself and swim hard while also cheering on my teammates.” Tim has been swimming for 6 years of his life, and his best event is the 100 breaststroke. His favorite part about swimming is the feeling of getting a best time in his events.
The team is currently preparing for the final meet of the season, which is the state championship meet. The meet will be held in Hilo, at Kamehameha Schools Hawaii, from February 13th-14th. The meet consists of a preliminary session and a finals session, only the top 8 competitors in each event making it to the finals. The qualifying Kaiser team members this year are on the smaller side, and consists of the following swimmers: Tim Lorge, Liko Lambert, Willow Baysinger, Emily Gorokhovsky, Elliana Schiffner, and Alyssa Tongg, as well as Alexis Young, James Kunihiro, Ellis Roberts, and Torbjorn Lerand who are making their way to Hilo to swim relays. We wish them good luck as they prepare for their states meet!
