King Kekaulike Higher College junior Reese Williams and — The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo
Maui Higher College senior Karissa Ginoza and King Kekaulike junior Reese Williams have discovered a lot via swimming, each in and out of the pool.
These lessons have translated into results in the type of Maui Interscholastic League crowns and the title of Maui Interscholastic League Swimmers of the Year, as determined by the league’s coaches.
As she closes the door on her swim profession and appears forward to college, Ginoza reflected on how her time as a student-athlete has ready her for the future.
“I believe the two greatest issues had been absolutely grit and balance,” Ginoza mentioned. “The quantity that you train and to drop a hundredth of a second is insane, but I absolutely would say that mentally, I’m a lot stronger than most of my peers and just mastering how to balance the college aspect with the swimming aspect. … Discovering that balance and just staying on prime of every thing else has absolutely been a challenge, but I’ve grown and it will enable me as a college student and even when I enter the true globe in the workforce.”
For Williams, who initial began swimming at just five years old for the Maui Dolphins, the sport showed him what it requires to attain his ambitions.
Maui Higher senior Karissa Ginoza (bottom photo) are this year’s MIL Swimmers of the Year. — The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo
“You can be great at something you want to be great at, you just have to attempt actually tough,” he mentioned. “It absolutely tends to make me additional competitive with, like, every thing I do — not even sports connected. Something I do, I want to be the very best I can be at it. I believe that comes from swimming.”
Ginoza capped her final higher college meet as the state runner-up in the girls one hundred-yard backstroke and completed fourth in the one hundred butterfly at the K. Mark Takai / HHSAA Swimming and Diving State Championships final month. She also anchored the Sabers’ 400 freestyle relay to third spot.
At the MIL championships ten days prior, she left the Kihei Aquatic Center with 4 gold medals, winning the one hundred fly and one hundred back as effectively as top her group to victories in the 200 medley relay and 400 totally free relay.
“I absolutely couldn’t have asked for a improved way to have ended my season,” she mentioned. “It was absolutely fairly bittersweet for the reason that it was a excellent finish, you know, I ultimately got that Futures time I’ve been operating for the previous 3 years, Maui Higher College did incredible, like, each swimmer dropped time and our relays did actually effectively, but also it type of created me appear back at from a diverse point of view and recognize what I’m leaving behind because I’m not swimming in college, so it absolutely was amazing just to practical experience that with my group — just the smiles on everyone’s faces, but it also created me a tiny sad on the inside.”
Williams was the MIL champion in the boys one hundred totally free and one hundred back and was component of Na Alii’s winning 200 medley relay group. At states, he was a bronze medalist in the one hundred totally free and fourth-spot finisher in the one hundred back.
The Maui News 2022-23 MIL Swimming & Diving All-Stars
“I’m quite content with it, there’s often space for improvement and I want to get improved subsequent year and strengthen a lot,” Williams mentioned. “The progress is almost certainly attributed to my coaches providing me great workouts, and my teammates and mates pushing me each day to function tougher and tougher, and coming to each practice.”
Following the state championship, Williams mentioned he didn’t take any rest days and was suitable back in the pool preparing for his senior season.
“I want to get initial in states in as a great deal events as I can and I want to break the MIL record in the one hundred freestyle — I’m a couple seconds off of it now,” he mentioned. “It’s the very best time of the year for the reason that it is not just swimming with the club swimmers, but everyone that desires to swim, so it is super entertaining. Your classmates, your peers — everyone is there possessing entertaining swimming. Right after swim meets we all go to the beach and it is super entertaining.”
Williams is joined on the MIL boys initial-group All-Stars list by Maui Prep’s Noah Caiserman, Legend Storer, and Carter Bozich Kamehameha Maui’s Ryan Smart Lahainaluna’s Jake McGill and Maison Alexander and Maui High’s Niji Wada.
Ginoza is joined on the MIL girls initial group by Maui Higher teammates Aika Swanson and Charie Salacup Maui Prep’s Sacha Salem and Yuna Lee Seabury’s Kalla Pellettieri, Helena Colletta, and Tulip Hori and King Kekaulike diver Lily Barrett.
Maui Prep’s Michael “Tex” Ritter, who guided Na Pueo to their initial-ever sweep of the league group titles, was chosen the MIL Coach of the Year.
Becoming named MIL girl swimmer of the year “means so a great deal, I’ve been swimming for the previous 12 or 13 years, so to ultimately get this paramount moment of MIL, it suggests a lot,” Ginoza mentioned.
In college, the Sabers senior mentioned she will be studying mechanical engineering and medicine on the West Coast. She plans to come back household in the course of college breaks to take a look at her old group and enable coach.
“As grueling as the sport was, it was often the persons that created it so enjoyable,” she mentioned. “Some of my very best memories had been from education trips or just swim meets exactly where we just traveled to Oahu. … I know that when we’re all going via the exact same grueling set, you have the exact same mindset and connection that I believe I’ll miss when I move on.”
* Dakota Grossman is at dgrossman@mauinews.com
The Maui News 2022-23 MIL Swimming & Diving All-Stars
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