Hilo Pole Vaulter is #1 in State

Hilo High’s David King soared into a new time zone with his successful clearing of 15 feet during pole vault competition at a regular season track & field meet at Keaau on Saturday.

King, whose previous best height was 13’ 6”, was challenged by teammate Scott Hunter and Kamehameha’s Caleb Friel as the trio cleared 13’ 6” to raise the bar on competition.

David King is the King of the Pole Vault

During last year’s Big Island Interscholastic Federation championships it was Hunter leaping his way to victory by clearing the 13’ 6” barrier.

By clearing 13’ 6” all three boys vaulted their way into the top four states ranking. Both Friel and King then cleared 14 feet before King began his epoch run at vaulting fame.

King then cleared 14’ 6” then had the bar raised to 15 feet to set him atop the rest of the state.

“In my 17 years of coaching I’ve never seen anyone clear 15 feet,” Hilo coach, Bill McMahon said. “This is an incredible accomplishment.”

King next tried to clear 15’ 4” before exiting. “I didn’t feel any pressure today as it’s all about having fun,” he said after his state leading height.

“I never came in with any goals or expectations. I just feel that I’m going to do what I’m going to do. Relaxing and having fun is the most important thing in pole vaulting,” King said.

The Viking senior gave a lot of credit to teammate Scott Hunter by saying, “Scott will probably beat me next week, but that’s all good as this is about doing it for the team.”

Hilo pole vault coach, Sherman Viernes, was equally excited for his athlete. “I knew he had the talent and the speed to do it,” Viernes said. “I think he’ll be able to clear 15’ 6” before the season is over.”

Defending BIIF pole vault champion, Scott Hunter, had just returned to vaulting after suffering a broken shoulder in an unrelated accident.

“Scott was just coming off an injury so we had him on a small, 150 pound, pole and when he’s fully recovered from that injury we’ll move him up to a 175 pole.”

Hunter is currently ranked fourth in the state with Friel at number three and King is rated number one. Billy Pacheco from St. Anthony on Maui is ranked #2 with his clearing of 14’ 6”.

“These boys are good vaulters because of their running and approach to the pit and their knowing where their standard placement should be,” Coach Viernes said. “All three Big Island boys have a lot of commitment to vault.”

In the jumps it was Kamehameha’s Manta Dircks making long strides to win the long and triple jumps and placed third in the high jump.

“This is my third year doing the jumps,” Dircks said. “The long jump is my favorite as it gives me the feeling of flying through the air.”

Dircks cleared 20’ 4.5” in the long, outdistancing Keaau’s Mtume Msizkizi-Jackson by two inches.

Both boys went against each other in the triple with nearly the same result as Dircks leaped 42’ 11.25” to win by .25” over Msizkizi-Jackson.

“I want to make states in all three jumps and I need to place a higher emphasis on polymeric drills,” Dircks said. “I need to increase my speed in running up to the board and to keep my focus on the jump.”

Dircks is currently sixth in the state for the triple jump and tied for seventh in the long jump.

In the girls 300 hurdles watch for Kamehameha’s Aubrey Lea Shaw to challenge for top honors in the state.

The Warrior senior is currently ranked third in the state and has gone under 50 seconds for that event.

“I like that there is an obstacle in front of me,” Shaw said. “The 300 hurdles are unpredictable and require a lot of hard work. I’ve really improved this year with my new coach, Kimo Weaver. He knows how to push me and he knows what to say to make me want it.”

Shaw won the 300 hurdles by a second over Keaau freshman Azmera Hammouri and placed second to teammate Cheray Brzezowski in the 100 hurdles.

“I want to win the BIIF championships and hopefully medal at states in both the 100 and 300 hurdles,” Shaw said.

“I still need to learn not to be so hard on myself and to look at the positives in each race,” she said. “In the 300 I need to work on running the curves better.”

Other top rated BIIF boys and their state rankings: Kau’s Jacob Edwards and Hilo’s Thomas Delacruz, ranked one and two respectively in the state for the 110 and 300 hurdles; Hilo’s Jordon Loeffler, shot, #2; Hawaii Prep’s Elliot Kastner, discus, #4; Hilo’s Charles Clay, #3, and Chan Spikes, #4, 100 dash; Hilo’s Bronson Kahaleua, #3, 400 and #7 for 200; Kona’s Dakota Smith, 800, #2, Hilo’s Mark Turner, #2, for both 1500 and 3000 and Keaau’s Daniel Brooks, 1500, #3.

For the girls the top rated state competitors are: HPA’s Ku’uipo Nakoa ranked #1 in both 100 dash and triple jump and #2 for both long and 200 dash; Honokaa’s Tialana Greenwell, 3000 run, #4; Kohala’s Julia Naumes, shot, #4 and discus, #7; while Waiakea’s Cassie Morigaki and HPA’s Mindy Campbell are in a three way tie for first in the high jump.

The BIIF track & field season continues on Saturday with an all-schools meet at Kamehameha starting at 9 am for field events and 10 am for running.

For complete state rankings and BIIF results go to http://kautech.com/results.

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