Kalaniʻs Swimming and Diving team won the Oahu Interscholastic Association (OIA) championship and went on to place third in the Hawai’i High School Athletic Association tournament Feb. 8 and 9 to conclude the 2019 season.

In the OIA tournament, senior Christopher “Kaiko” Decker came in first place for the 50 and 100 freestyle along with the 200 and 400 free relays. In the state tournament, he swam the 50-meter freestyle in 21.13 seconds which earned him a gold medal.

“It’s either give it my all or leave everything I had worked 12 years for at that pool,” he said about his thinking before the race. Decker believes you have to be competitive and push yourself to work hard, and uses his team as motivation.

“If you’re just swimming for your own sake then you’re not going to go as far,” he said.

He is proud of his teammates and hopes for the best next season.

“It’s kind of sad to leave but this means that the younger swimmers are going to need to step up and lead the team,” he said.

Decker plans to pursue his swimming career at the University of Hawai’i and major in civil engineering.

“My goals for college are to swim fast, graduate with flying colors, and build connections,” Decker said.