By Austin Yack
“I don’t care who made it first. I’m just glad my brother and I made our marks at the same high school,” said Lolani Faapito (SR). On Thursday, April 24th 2012, Faapito sprinted past Palm Desert High School’s entire swim lineup in the 50 freestyle event to break the La Quinta High School record with a time of 22.3 seconds. The record that was held before April 24th was 22.5 seconds and was swam by Kobe Salstrom, who earned the record in 2008.
Lolani Faapito’s brother, Nuuvali Faapito, earned a full ride scholarship to Colorado State University for football in 2011. Nuuvali is on the Wall of Fame in the La Quinta High School weight room, while Lolani is on the record board near the swimming pool. “It’s really a cool thing knowing that both of us were able to make it big in our sports. When it came down to breaking the record against Palm Desert, I wasn’t even worried about the other guys. I just figured I’d sprint my heart out and keep going,” said Faapito.
Faapito has rarely lost this season, and when he has, it has mostly been to his own teammate John Claridge. Faapito has been the only swimmer to break a record this season at La Quinta High School, which shows how hard it is to earn a spot on the record board. By the end of this season, he hopes to break another record with the 200 freestyle relay team. “I have played rugby and swam in high school, but I really like to sprint because I get to show how fast I really am in the water, said Faapito. Both of the Faapito brothers excelled in high school sports, and both hope to excel in college in the near future.