ISLAND PACIFIC ACADEMY varsity athlete Corbin Lofton ’20 competed in the K. Mark Takai Swimming and Diving State Championship on Saturday, February 9, 2019. The championship, held at the Veteran’s Memorial Aquatic Center, had swimmers from public and private schools from all islands competing against each other.
Lofton was a Hawaiʻi High School Athletics Association (HHSAA) state qualifier in six events, including the Boys’ 50 Freestyle, 100 Freestyle, 200 Freestyle, 500 Freestyle, 200 Individual Medley, and 100 Butterfly. For the state championship meet, Lofton had to choose two individual events, out of the six for which he qualified, to compete in per HHSAA rules. He chose the Boys’ 200 Freestyle and 100 Butterfly, his strongest events.
A large IPA fan contingent braved the blustery day to support Lofton and cheer him on, including his teammates, classmates, Director of Athletics, and his family.
In the 200 Freestyle event, Lofton entered the competition as the eighth seed out of 19 qualifying entrants. He advanced to the finals for his first time in this event, where he finished sixth overall and set a new personal best of 1:45.88, shaving 0.89 seconds off his entry time. In the 100 Butterfly, Lofton was seeded second out of 23 state qualifiers in the event. He advanced, for his second time, to become a state finalist in the event. He finished second overall as the state runner-up in the event, while achieving a new personal best of 50:99 by improving his time by 0.5 seconds.
“Each year I’m more proud of him. He’s more focused each year on the things he needs to work on to be better for the next event, the next season,” Head Coach, Alyssa Kuffel, said of Lofton. “I’m looking forward to next season, his senior year, and seeing how he continues to improve.”
Congratulations, Corbin, on a successful season and excellent championship performances!
