Swimming:

Maranatha swim coach Martin Choy has a message for the student body and teachers at MHS.

And that’s to come out Tuesday afternoon for the final home meet of the 2024 season.

The Minutemen take on Flintridge Prep at 3:45.

Moreover, Choy believes those on hand could very well witness school history.

Elijah Redson, an MHS sophomore, has nearly broken records in three different events.

The 200-yard IM is an individual event that Redson has to swim two lengths of butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle.

His personal best is 1:59.57.

The school record is 1:57:91, which means that he’s been less than two seconds from breaking the record.

He’s actually done it in practice, but not in an official meet.

The second event is the 100-yard backstroke, which is four lengths of a 25-yard pool.

Redson’s best is 53.55, and the school record is 53.17.

He is .38 of a second from breaking that record.

Choy described it this way: “In terms of close, it’s a fingernail length of touching the wall sooner.”

Redson has also been very close to breaking the record for the 100-yard freestyle, however, he will only be swimming the first two events at Wednesday’s swim meet, because the competitors are only allowed to swim two individual events per meet.

The (1:57.91) school record for the 200 IM has been held by Jon Masehi-Lano, which was set over 10 years ago.

The 100-yard backstroke record (53.17) is held by Ephraim Choi four years ago.

Lastly, I asked Coach Choy to describe the kind of athlete and competitor that Redson has become, and why he thinks you all should come out and support the program on Tuesday afternoon.

Said Martin Choy: “I have known Elijah since he was in grade school as a chiropractic patient of mine, and now as his head swim coach. I have seen him develop into a polite, hardworking and family-oriented young man. He swims at Maranatha and for the local swim club, and he finishes what he starts. He doesn’t want to disappoint anyone, and I think that is why he works so hard and is so diligent in everything he does. He is also one of the team captains for the program, and Elijah is always looking out for his teammates. He is respected by his team, peers, and even the opponents that swim against him. We couldn’t be prouder of Elijah. Not only is this our final home meet of the season, It’s also the last meet for the seniors in our pool. We will be honoring them with presentations from their friends, and refreshments at the end of the meet. Flintridge Prep is a major rival for Maranatha, and I would like to see as many students come to support their classmates, and hopefully to celebrate Elijah Redson’s potential accomplishments. I think students will see the energy of our team, and we want to set a new tradition of excellence that Maranatha can be proud of.”