BIIF All League Girl’s for Track & Field

BIIF All-League Girls Track and Field 2009                      

Athlete of the Year: Ku’uipo Nakoa JR Hawaii Prep

Coach of the Year: Kamehameha Coaches

Event	1st Team	2nd Team
110 Hurdles	Aubrey Lea Shaw SR Kamehameha	Cheray Brzezowski SR Kamehameha
100m	Corie Schattauer SR Hilo	Ku’uipo Nakoa JR Hawaii Prep
1500m	Noelani Vargas SR Hawaii Prep	Tialana Greenwell SO Honoka’a
400m	Randi Estrada FR Keaau	Bronte Kaneakua JR Kamehameha
300m Hurdles	Kini Shuping SR Hawaii Prep	Aubrey Lea Shaw SR Kamehameha
800m	Noelani Vargas SR Hawaii Prep	Kaitlyn Chock JR Waiakea
200m	Ku’uipo Nakoa JR Hawaii Prep	Corie Schattuaer SR Hilo
3000m	Athena Oldfather JR Honoka’a	Tialana Greenwell SO Honokaa
High Jump	Cassie Morigaki SR Waiakea	(Tie) Mindy Campbell JR Hawaii PrepErika Cushnie JR Hawaii Prep
Pole Vault	Chung FR Hilo	Sydney Budde FR Hawaii Prep
Long Jump	Ku’uipo Nakoa  JR Hawaii Prep	Cheray Brzezowski SR Kamehameha
Triple Jump	Ku’uipo Nakoa JR Hawaii Prep	Cheray Brzezowski SR Kamehameha
Discus Throw	Kaopuanani Sutton JR Kamehameha	Ariel Moniz SR Hilo
Shot Put	Brianna Vargas-Hafoka  JR Kamehameha	Julia Naumes SR Kohala

Honorable MentionChristian Liberty:

Hawaii Prep: Tatiana Marti, Lana Queen, Kela Vargas, Hana Scully

Hilo: Linda Sunia, Alyssa Hoshide, Shalila De Bourmont

Honoka’a: Kim Kishimoto

Kea’au: Ariana Graham, Amy Eriksson, Azmera Hammouri, Kathleen Van Cleave

Kealakehe: Rachael Bianchi, Kaila Voss

Kohala: Mary Josephine Osorio

Konawaena: Anuhea Wall, Anjelica Sanderson, Kaua Wall

Kamehameha: Lilinoe Heaukulani, Lyan Apilado, Jessica Marote, Victoria Evans-Bautista, Natasha Ah Chong, Kaitlyn Yamamoto, Kekelaokalaui Bennett, Corin Kim

Ku O Ka La: Lorena Shire

Waiakea: Alyssa Buyuan, Kelsie Kobayashi,

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Edwards is King of the Hurdles

     The Big Island Interscholastic Federation was well represented at the Hawaii High School Athletic Association Track & Field Championships held Saturday in Keaau.

     BIIF runners, jumpers and throwers made their way into the finals to compete on equal footing with the state’s best.

    Kau’s Jacob Edwards had a banner day pocketing two gold medals in his signature events, the 110 and 300 meter hurdles.

    Edwards, just a junior, posted the best times in the state throughout the year and proved his mettle by displaying picture perfect form in traversing the hurdles.  Last year Edwards came away with two silver medals in both hurdle events, but the Trojan, through hard work and determination, has placed himself as the hurdle King in Hawaii prep sports.

    “I thought I could have done better,” Edwards said after winning his second gold medal  “My starts need some work as I’m getting out too slow in the 110 and then I have to play catch up.”

   Edwards looked to be in trouble during the 110 with two hurdles to go Hilo’s Jacob Delacruz had a body length in front of the Trojan, but he managed to pull out the race with 20 meters to go clocking 14.93 to second place Delacruz at 15.26.

   The 300 hurdles turned into near BIIF finals with four of the eight qualifiers coming for the Big Island.  Hilo’s TJ Dela Cruz and Cameron Calistro were joined by Keaau’s Broc Bangloy with the best four times in the top five contestants.

   Edwards and Dela Cruz went one-two with Banloy and Calistro taking fourth and fifth respectively.  “I’ve been racing against these guys all season and we all work hard to make each other faster,” Edwards said.

   Edwards went on to take fifth place in the triple jump and scored a total of 22 points, the highest number of points ever scored by a boy’s team from Kau, according to Trojan coach, Bob Martin.

   Not to be outdone, Hawaii Preparatory Academy’s Ku’uipo Nakoa captured her gold in the long jump, outdistancing runner-up Zhane Santiago of Kahuku by more than one foot with her leap of 17-11.50.

   Nakoa, who had a total of one medal last year for her teams fourth place relay finish, turned entered and was instrumental in helping the Ka Makani advance in the 400 and 1600 meter relays.

   Kamehameha-Hawaii Victoria Hiilani joined Nakoa on the long jump medal platform capturing fifth place in just her sophomore season.

   Ka Makani Mindy Campbell won the girl’s high jump with a leap of 5-04 with Waiakea’s Cassie Morigaki taking fifth and HPA’s Erika Cushnie in sixth.

   Nakoa also captured third place in the triple jump with Kamehameha-Hawaii’s Cheray Brzezowski taking fifth.

   During the 100 meter dash it Hilo’s Corie Schattuaer, the BIIF champion, going head to head against Punahou’s Ashley Satterwhite.  Satterwhite won the event with Schattuaer taking fourth.

1. “I hurt my leg during the 100 and my coach (Pat Lau) told me to scratch the 200 and 1600 relay, but I couldn’t do that and let me teammates down,” Nakoa said.

   Nakoa went on to run in the 200 but reinjured her leg and was not to return for the final relay event.

   Schattuaer was back at it again later in the evening in the 200 dash with a fast time of 26.59 seconds and a third place finish.

   Keaau freshman Randi Estrada made a name for herself by making it into the finals of the girls 400 meter dash and maintained her composure to claim a third place medal.

   “I was shaking and nervous before the race, but once the starter said “set” I was over it,” Estrada said.

    “I was seeded fifth, but I was hoping to get third.  My coach (Vicky Chai-Guerpo) told me before the race that I had to start my kick early in order to get a better time,” Estrada said.

    Estrada was in seventh place going into the final 150 meters when she began her kick to the finish.  The strategy worked well as the Cougar freshman passed four runners in her final kick.

    Another surprise came from Honokaa’s Tialana Greenwell who ran her fastest 3000 clocking in at 10:48.36 to finish second overall.

    “I wasn’t expecting that time at all,” Greenwell said.  “I was hoping I could run 11 minutes flat and finish in the top three, but I surprised myself.”

    Greenwell used the 1500 meter run as a warm up during the trails to get rid of pre-race jitters and prior to the finals put her headphones on and listened to music in order to avoid the “big race nerves.”  “My coach knows that I always get nervous before a state meet and he wanted me to relax as much as possible,” she said.

   Another Dragon, Jake Shiraki, pulled out a fourth place finish in the boys 3000, while Hilo’s Mark Turner placed sixth.

    The girls 100 hurdles saw Kamehameha’s Aubrey Lea Shaw and HPA’s Kini Shuping make the medal stand by placing fifth and sixth respectively.  Shaw and Shuping was back on the track later in the evening for the 300 hurdles it was the Warrior redeeming herself for letting the BIIF championships slip through by taking a second place medal and edging out the BIIF champ, Kini Shuping of HPA who finished sixth.

    Kamehameha-Hawaii’s Jordan Lerma had the fastest 800 qualifying time going into the finals and managed to break the 2 minute barrier in the finals to claim third with Keaau’s Daniel Brooks taking fifth.

   In pole vault Hilo seniors Scott Hunter (2^nd) and David King (5) took home two state medals for the Big Island contingent.

  Viking sprinters Charles Clay and Chan Spikes represented the BIIF well with both making the 100 finals, with Clay (4^th) advancing into the 200 with Waiakea’s Ka’imi Scott (6^th).

     HHSAA host Keaau had both their boys 1600 relay team in the finals. The Cougars went with Mtume Msizkizi-Jackson, Jelani Young, Edward Dalton and Jelani Alcott as the foursome blazed to a person best time of 3:27.92 good enough for fifth place.

    BIIF athletes were only shut out of three of the 32 contested events (16 boys and 16 girl’s events) in which no one made it to the finals.  In girls pole vault a pair of freshmen ended in a tie for 13^th place, while boys high jump and discus saw the Big Island’s best in ties for 10^th place.

BIIF Runners Set to Leave Mark at HHSAA Championships

Kau’s Jacob Edwards leads the state in 110 & 300 hurdles

      Runners, jumpers and throwers from around the state are flocking to the Big Island for the Hawaii High School Athletic Association track & field championships to be held at Keaau on Friday and Saturday.

    The Punahou boys and Kamehameha-Oahu girls are the defending state champions and are loaded with talent in what should be a well contested meet in Keaau.

   Several Big Island Interscholastic Federation athletes will be in the mix to compete for individual state titles.

    Leading the way is Hawaii Preparatory Academy’s Ku’uipo Nakoa who is the BIIF Female Track and Field Athlete of the Year.

    Nakoa is ranked No.1 in the state long jump with a leap of 17 feet 9 inches, more than seven inches further than any other girl in the state has jumped.

   The Ka Makani junior is also ranked third in the triple jump, 36’ 10.25”, third in the 400 meter dash, 59.57 seconds, third in the 200 dash, 26.03 seconds and third in the 100 dash with a hand time of 12.5 seconds.

   “I think my best chance of winning a gold medal would be in the long jump, but who knows,” Nakoa said.  “We’ll all be pushing each other and we’ll all have our adrenaline pumping, so anything can happen.”

   “I’d really, really like to win the 100 and I’d like to do my best in that event as well,” Nakoa said.

   Hilo’s Cory Schattuaer, the BIIF champion in the 100 dash, is ranked second in that event, 12.70, behind state leader Punahou’s Ashley Satterwhite of Punahou who has clocked 12.53.

   A pair of BIIF girls is ranked in the 300 hurdles, with Kamehameha-Hawaii’s Aubrey Lea Shaw listed as third, 47.61, and HPA’s Kini Shuping, who won the BIIF title, fourth at 47.48.  Shuping is also fourth in the state in the triple jump with a leap of 35-05.5.

   The BIIF champions, Kamehameha girls, 4×100 team of Heidi Hall, Lilinoe Heaukulani, Bronte Kaneakua and Jessica Marote ranks fourth in the state at 51.08 seconds while the HPA girls 4×400 team of Nakoa, Shuping, Hana Scully and Noelani Vargas is ranked fifth at 4:13.61.

   Adding to the list of top BIIF girls are HPA’s Mindy Campbell and Waiakea’s Cassie Morigaki who are in a four way tie for high jump clearing five feet two inches early in the season.  Radford’s Kaeli Patton sits in first place at 5-4.

  “We are hobbling through some injuries, as Mindy, who jumped 5-2 in the first three meets sat out the last three weeks prior to the BIIF championships because of a foot injury,” HPA coach, Pat Lau said.

   “Ku’uipo (Nakoa) has been experiencing some pain somewhere, but she won’t tell me, it might be in her thigh or hip, but that won’t stop her from running at states,” Lau said. 

   HPA is taking ten girls to Keaau for the state championships and they are listed in 19 events and the two relays, which has Lau hopeful that his girls can advance into 14 events and two relays in the finals, on Saturday.

     “Our goal is to be in the top five.  If the gods are on our side and the planets are lined up right we could score 85 points, but realistically 48 to 55 points is a more real number,” Lau said. 

    “The way the different girl teams look 65 points will win it.  There are no dominating teams.  Punahou and Radford have the sprinters, Maui has a great middle and distance running, and Kahuku is good in field events,” Lau said.

    For the boys it is the BIIF’s most outstanding male athlete, Kau’s Jacob Edwards, has the best chance at bringing home two or three state individual titles.

1. The Trojan is also ranked fourth in the triple jump with his hop-skip-and jump of 45-06.5.

   “I like my chances in the 300 hurdles as there is more room for adjustment during the race,” Edwards said.  “I need to keep my head up, but I don’t want to put the cart before the horse and I must remain humble.”

    Edwards placed second in the state last year in both the 110 and 300 hurdles and was sixth in the triple jump.

   Close behind Edwards is a talented Thomas Delacruz of Hilo who ranks third in the state for the 110 at 14.97 and second in the 300 at 40.05.

   Hilo also brings to the track some of the best sprinters in the state with Charles Clay, No. 3, in the 100 dash at 11.09 and No. 3 in the 200 at 22.51.

   Teammate Bronson Kahaleua follows Clay in the 200 with the fourth fastest time in the state, 22.53, with Waiakea’s Ka’imi Scott fifth at 22.66.

   The Viking boys 4×100 relay team of Chan Spikes, Kahaleua, Clay and Karl Ancheta is ranked fourth in the state at 43.17 seconds.

   Konawaena’s Dakota Smith holds down the No. 2 state position in the 800 meter run, 1:59.81, with Kamehameha-Hawaii’s Jordan Lerma at No. 3, 2:00.15.  King Kekaulike’s Reid Hunter brings the fastest time in the 800 clocking 1:58.61 earlier in the season.

   In pole vault it is Hilo’s David King bringing his early season clearance of 15 feet as the No. 1 height in the state.  King has been hampered with some nagging injuries and was only able to clear 13 feet during the BIIF championships.  Teammate and defending BIIF champion in the pole vault, Scott Hunter, cleared 13-6 to win the event.

   Kamehameha’s Caleb Friel is ranked No. 3 in pole vault with his early season height of 14 feet.

   The Vikings should also score points in the shot with Jordan Loeffler ranked No. 5 at 52-05.5 toss.

   “Our boys and girls are just hoping to make second day appearances in all events,” Kamehameha-Hawaii coach, Troy Souza said.  “Our girls have a better shot at getting points and whatever points we get will be greatly welcomed.”

   The Warrior girls won the BIIF team title last week at Keaau and are hoping to carry their success into this week’s championship.  “The girls are really motivated and trying to carry any momentum into this week state track meet,” Souza said.

   The HHSAA track and field state championship begins this Friday at Keaau with the qualifying heats for each event.  On Saturday the championships conclude with event finals.

   General admission tickets are $7, students in grades K-12 are $5; students, and Senior Citizens are $5.  No outside food will be allowed within the stadium, no coolers, no tenting anywhere in the stands and parking will not be permitted at Keaau’s upper gym parking lot, that area is reserved for officials and workers, according to Keaau athletic director, Iris McGuire.

Kam girls, Hilo boys win BIIF Track Championships

   The Kamehameha girls and Hilo boys scored big to win the Big Island Interscholastic Federation track & field team championships held in Keaau on Saturday.

     Kamehameha upset defending girl’s champion, Hawaii Preparatory Academy, to win the girls team title by four points, 142 to 138, in what was a nail biting battle all the way to the final event.

    The Warriors managed to score points in all 16 events in a well balanced attack with senior Aubrey Lea Shaw, Cheray Brzezowski, Jessica Marote and Heidi Hall leading the charge.

   “It’s all good,” Kamehameha coach, Troy Souza said of his team’s victory.  “Nothing was going to stop these girls.  They threw everything out and held nothing back.  We were strong in the throws, the hurdles, and the horizontal jumps.”

    Souza’s Warriors came out running hard from the very first event, the 100 meter hurdles, with Shaw and Brzezowski going one-two respectively.

     Later it was the Warrior 4×100 relay team upsetting a good HPA team and setting a new stadium record in a blistering time of 51.08 seconds.

     “My team gave me a great lead,” Warrior anchor Jessica Marote said.  “I was nervous when I took the baton and I just wanted to run as hard as I could and not let my teammates down.”

     “Everybody did what they were supposed to do and they all stepped up today.  I ran the numbers last night and on paper I had us beating HPA.  I wasn’t able to sleep last night as I kept thinking about what we needed to do to pull this out,” Coach Souza said.

    It was an evening of upsets on the track as the girls 1500 saw the favorite, Honokaa’s Tialana Greenwell, outkicked in the final 120 meters by HPA’s Noelani Vargas.

    Greenwell and teammate Athena Oldfather went out quickly and separated themselves from the pack during the first 300 meters of the race.  Vargas, an experienced senior waited until the bell lap to make her move.

    “I was put into that race to get a third place finish and score some points for our team,” Vargas said.  “I knew the Honokaa girls were fast starters so I was okay with staying in the second pack.”

    But with just 300 meters to go Vargas decided to start her kick and began to make up the distance between the leaders.  “When I got to the final turn I just decided to go for it.  I don’t know where that came from,” she said.

   Vargas moment of inspiration was the deciding factor as Ka Makani motored down the straightaway to victory.

    Later Vargas stepped back onto the track for the 800 meters and won in the same fashion, passing Waiakea’s Kaitlyn Chock in the final 100 meters to win the event.

    HPA’s Ku’uipo Nakoa led the way for the Ka Makani by winning the 200 meter dash and the long and triple jumps, while taking second in the 100 to be selected as the meet MVP.

   Nakoa also helped the Ka Makani to a second place finish in the 400 relay and first place finish in the 1600 meter relay.

    “I had a solid long jump and my 200 was pretty good,” Nakoa said.  “In the triple jump I hurt my knee after my first jump and I wasn’t able to get any farther, but I was satisfied,”

   Nakoa, who had the fastest time in the BIIF in the 400 meter dash and is the third fastest in the state at 59.74 seconds going into the weekend, dropped out of that event in order to stay within the track and field rules which allow an athlete to compete in a maximum six events on the day.

HPA's Ku'uipo Nakoa was selected BIIF Track Athlete of the Year

   The Warrior girls had an impressive showing from their throwers, Kaopuanani Sutton and Brianna Vargas-Hafoka made headway in the discus and shot by scoring big for Kamehameha.

   For the boys it was Hilo winning yet another team title.  The Vikings got great balance and a team effort from sprinters Charles Clay, Chan Spikes and Bronson Kahaleau while hurdler Thomas Delacruz challenged Kau’s Jacob Edwards in both the 110 and 300 meter events.

   Veteran Viking coach, Bill McMahon, is the most prolific active BIIF track and field coach and by clinching another title brings his total team count, for both boys and girls titles, to 18.

   McMahon has been coaching at Hilo for the past 19 years and was quick to hand out praise to his team for the Viking success.

     “We had a very strong effort from our sprinters, distance runners, throwers and pole vaulters,” McMahon said

     “I think our 4×100 relay team overachieved and they set a stadium record and should be ranked second in the state,” he said.

    The relay team made up of Spikes, Clay, Kahaleua and Karl Ancheta won in 43.17 seconds and was just the tip of the Viking success as the team rolled up a 64 point victory over number two Keaau.

   Spikes and Clay had earlier in the day led Hilo to a one-two winning punch in the 100 meter dash and finished two and three respectively in the 200 dash later in the evening.

    “We were hoping to go 1,2,3 in the 100 and 200 with Bronson (Kahaleua) being in there with us,” Spikes said.  “We all worked hard together during practice and we always try to push each other to get faster.”

     “I joined track last year to get faster and condition for football and this year I asked Chan (Spikes) to join too,” Clay said.  Spikes plays quarterback and Clay wider receiver for the Vikings

    “I’m excited, but more nervous for our team,” McMahon said.  “It seems that the older I get the more nervous I feel for each of these kids.  This is a wonderful, fantastic group of kids and I’m very proud of their effort.”

   Kau’s Jacob Edwards was selected as the meets MVP with his wins in the 110 and 300 meter hurdles and the triple jump, while finishing second in the long jump.