Kohala’s Naumes leads league in Shot & Discus

Jacob Edwards leads state in hurdles

Kohala Senior, Julia Naumes, hits new heights

The defending Big Island Interscholastic Federation champion in the shot put, Kohala’s Julia Naumes, is leading the league in shot and discus this year.
Naumes, who moved to Kohala from Idaho three years ago, has made a name for herself through being on the Cowboy track & field team.
“My family moved here at the beginning of my sophomore year and track has helped me make the adjustment as I’ve made a lot of friends through sports,” Naumes said.
For the past four years Naumes has participated in the “Iron Wood Throwers Development Camp” in Spokane, Washington, which is a five day camp for some of the best track throwers in the nation.
“I’ve been coached by former Olympian, Wolfgang Schmidt, and the camp has taught me a lot about throwing the shot and discus,” she said. “At the camp they divide the shot/discus throwers into one group and the javelin/hammer throwers into another. It has provided me with a lot of knowledge about my sport.”
(Schmidt won the silver medal in the discus for East Germany during the 1976 Olympics and is a former World Record holder.)
Naumes currently ranks in the top ten in the state for both the shot and discus throws and she believes that she will be able to contend for the state title in May.
“The shot has always been my favorite event because it’s what I’ve been best at,” she said. “But I’m getting better at the discus and I’m hoping to win the BIIF championships in both events.”
Naumes has set her sights on being able to throw the shot 40 feet and the discus 120 feet by the end of the season in order to possibly win the state crown.
“I finished fourth in the state for shot my sophomore year and was sixth last year and I’m hoping to do better than that now that I’m in my senior year.”
Naumes has been recruited by several universities but has not signed a letter of intent. “I’m looking at where I can get the best financial package and right now I’m leaning towards Pacific University,” she said.
Another senior, Hilo’s Charles Clay, has his sights on breaking the 11 second barrier for the 100 meter dash.
Clay already has the third fastest time in the state for the 100, clocking 11.2 seconds in an earlier meet this season and has been focusing on developing more flexibility in order to lengthen his strides.
“I know I need more work in flexibility and that I need to work harder at practice,” Clay said. “My coach has put me in the 200 to help me work on my strides and hopefully that will make me faster.”
Clay also runs on the Viking 4×100 relay team at the anchor position and this past Saturday at Kamehameha he was placed on the 4×400 relay team and ran the third leg.
“I won the BIIF last year in the 100 and made it to states in both the 100 and 200,” he said. “But my primary focus is on doing a good job at the 100 as I need to get under 11 seconds.”
Clay has also been helpful to teammate Chance Spikes as the two works out during practice and have pushed each other during the meets. As a result Spikes ranks seventh in the state with a personal best, 11.22 seconds.
Kau’s Jacob Edwards comes into BIIF action as the number one hurdler in the state for both the 110 and 300 meter events.
This past Saturday Edwards served notice on the rest of the state that he will be a force in the triple jump as well as the Trojan junior hop-skipped-jumped his way to an impressive 45 feet 2 inch leap.
Kau coach, Bob Martin, believes that Edwards can excel in anything he tries. “Jacob is one of those kids that can do well in all of the six events that he runs,” Martin said. “By the end of this season he’ll be doing the triple jump beyond 46 feet and by next year he’ll be hitting 48 to 50 feet.”
Edwards agrees with his coach, saying that 46 feet in the triple is within his reach for this season. “I like doing the triple jump and the 110 hurdles, but there is still room for improvement in both,” he said.
“I need to the most work in my sprinting events as I need to get quicker in the starts and, of course, I need more conditioning. I can always use more conditioning,” Edwards said.
Edwards’ sister, Larissa, was a state champion in the hurdles and received a scholarship to run for the University of Wyoming where she is now rated in the top ten in her conference as a freshman.
Edwards is the defending BIIF champion in the 300 hurdles and the long jump and this year hopes to add the 110 hurdles and triple jump to his glowing championship resume.