BIIF track and field season gets a running start on Saturday

     It’s never easy to dethrone a champion and this track & field season won’t be any different as the Big Island Interscholastic Federation defending girls and boys champions look for a repeat.

The Hawaii Preparatory Academy’s girls and Waiakea boys look to defend their team titles when the BIIF gets a running start with dual season openers at Kamehameha and Konawaena on Saturday.

“We return a young, but experienced girls team,” Veteran Ka Makani Coach Pat Lau said.

“Our strength will be with our distance girls in events of 400 meters and above.”

Lau has the luxury of having the entire 2011 girl’s state champion cross country team on the track.

Zoe Sims, last year’s 1500 meter state champion along with Kristiana Van Pernis who placed in both the 1500 and 800 meter events at states, will headline the talented Ka Makani distance squad.

“Besides our distance girls we have two strong finishers in pole vault, Sydney Budde and Taylor Esaki,” Lau said.

Experience is the name of the game with HPA having two hurdlers in Emily Evans and Katie Case which give firepower and depth to Ka Makani track squad.

“In the rest of the events we have a lot of new girls and they should do well,” Lau said.

Lau also has a host of talent to choose from with another large turnout on the track.

“This year we have another big  team with 47 girls and 32 boys, most are still learning,” Lau said.  “Pole vault alone will have 11 athletes with only 4 having experience.”

Lau points to his coaches which are working hard at finding the right events for each of his athletes.

“Our coaches will spend time with each and every one of them to find how they can best contribute to the team,” Lau said.

The HPA boys return state shot put and discus champion Shane Brostek and Lau feels that he will have another great year.

“Our senior leader is Kayden Haleakala in the pole vault and sprints,” Lau said.  “We expect a few surprises in the hurdles and jumps with our young boys.”

Defending boy’s team champions, Waiakea, return most of their squad from last season which have coaches Mary Jane and Lance Tominaga looking for a repeat.

“We’re expecting our returnees to contribute in their events,” MJ Tominaga said.

The Tominaga’s have high expectations for Mauna Palama-Danielson, throws, Jackson Halford, Ian McQuate and Keoni Rice in the mid to long distance races, Michael Morikawa and Kevin Nicolas in the hurdles and jumps and Colton Austria in sprints.

“We have about 40 athletes on the boy’s side and we expect some of our new additions to be key contributors to this year’s team,” Coach Tominaga said.  “We feel the team will be competitive as we have the depth to field athlete in every event except for pole vault.”

Waiakea has a small girl’s team with 15 and the Tominaga’s agree that they lack the depth of the boy’s squad.

Key individuals for the Warrior girls will come from Kelsie Kobayashi in distance, Haley Rasse, mid distance and Teisha Nacis in sprints.

Around the rest of the league:

KEAAU will field a large squad of 77 athletes, but according to Coach Vicky Chai-Guerpo most are young and have raw talent.

“We have a close knit group of kids who are focused on doing their best,” Chai-Guerpo said.  “Our goal is to be a ‘brotherhood’ caring about each other and if we accomplish this, then a win may follow.”

The Cougars will rely on the experience of a sprint core made up of Jesse Huihui, Damien Packer, and Alexander Engdahl. Teammates Cliff Ericksson, jumps and hurdles; Nelson Enos, pole vault; Talon Ota, jumps and 400; Joey Aquino, high jump; Randi Estrada, sprints; and Deann Nishimura-Thornton at distance events.

HILO with veteran coach Bill McMahon has a good turnout of mostly young girls and he is trying to see how they will develop.

“Our girls will bring back Carmen Garson-Shumway at distance, along with Shina Chung at Pole Vault,” McMahon said.

The Viking boys will see Zack Atagi in the discus and shot.

“Our boys had a good turnout but almost all are new guys so we don’t know what we have yet,” McMahon said.  “We are going to try to be competitive.”

HONOKAA – One of the league’s best distance coaches, Josh Abner, brings with him one of the strongest 1500 and 3K runners on the track in Chase Moniz along with brothers Robert and Tony Conners handling the mid distance. 

“I also have high expectations for our 4×400 meter relay team and sprints with the addition of Dylan Oanadasan, Brooks McVey, and Koa Phenice returning,” Abner said.

Abner also noted that Josh Tobias will join the team, after a fantastic soccer season.

For the Dragon girls Abner has high hopes for Hildhang Adona and Kelly Greenwell in the distance races along with Nahe Lau and Yvonne Daniels in the sprint events.

KAU – has a new coach, but a familiar face on campus, Kapua Lapera returns to her alma mater after graduating and running cross country for the University of Hawaii at Hilo.

The Trojans return one of the islands fastest sprinter and jumper in junior Christina Padrigo. 

Marley Stand-Nicolaisen, triple jump and hurdles along with teammate Alika Kaopua, the BIIF triple jump champion will also be a highlight for Kau.

KAMEHAMEHA – Under head coach Kimo Weaver always produces outstanding hurdlers who have gone on to win state titles.  Weaver is a master coach in the hurdles as that is his area of expertise.

The Warriors will carry between 20 and 30 boys and another 20 to 30 girls, according to Weaver.

Outstanding returnees include Kaenen Aukai Akau in the long jump and sprints along with Chelsea Poe in sprints and relays and Alyssa Lehua McGuire in the hurdles, pole vault and relays.

“Our strengths are in the jumps, but we are a young and inexperienced team,” Weaver said. “Our main goal is to simple get better every week and having fun doing it.”

KONAWAENA –  Wildcat coaches Kuulei Saole and Kuulika Taveras return some super star power in Ua Ruedy, the defending state champion in the 300 hurdles and Lita Taomoefalau who placed third in the BIIF throws.

The big question was whether or not basketball great Lia Galderia will compete as she was questionable going into the preseason while she was still working on preparing for college, according to a school source.

Galderia, a muli talented athlete will appear in action on the BIIF track scene, as her presence will add a boost to the Wildcat program according to sources within the BIIF.

The BIIF regular track and field season gets a leaping start this Saturday as West side schools head to Kona with East side running on the Kamehameha Keaau track.

Both venues start with field events at 9 am and running events commencing at 10 am.

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BIIF X-C girls qualifying as individuals to HHSAA championships on Maui

Click any photo to enlarge

Busek	Jessica	11	Waiakea
Hughes	Jillian	11	Waiakea
Kobayashi	Kelsie	12	Waiakea
Ombac	Skye	10	Waiakea
Adona	Hildhang	10	Honokaa
Aguilar	Katie	12	Honokaa
Aguirre	Elizabeth	10	Honokaa
Greenwell	Kelly	11	Honokaa
Cabel	Mikela	10	Kamehameha
Carvalho	Erin	12	Kamehameha
Iwata	Tiana	10	Kamehameha
Kim	Corin	12	Kamehameha
Hagemann	Natalie	11	Kea’au
Nishimura-Thorton	Deann	12	Kea’au
Bettencourt	Mika	10	Kealakehe
Kirkhill	Sydney	9	Kealakehe
Van Mols	Kari	11	Kealakehe
Nakamoto	Shayli	9	Konawaena
Choe	Grace	12	Makua Lani
Choe	Joy	10	Makua Lani
Dorn	Keili	9	Makua Lani
Nakamura	Tiffany	11	Makua Lani
Jones	Tehani	11	Kamehameha

HPA Cross Country, Girls Results – top 60 – from 9.30.11

click to enlarge

2011 B.I.I.F. CROSS COUNTRY                           
 
                       September 30th @ Hawaii Prep Course                       
 
                          Event 2  Girls 3 Mile Run CC   
 1 Evans, Emily              11 Hawaii Prep           21:58.50    1             
 2 Sims, Zoe                 11 Hawaii Prep           22:15.71    2             
  3 Van Pernis, Kristiana     10 Hawaii Prep           22:19.44    3             
 4 Haight, Mariah            10 Hawaii Prep           22:21.27    4             
  5 Kobayashi, Kelsie         12 Waiakea               22:25.27    5             
 6 Peck, Gracie              10 Seabury Hall          22:27.05                  
  7 Van Mols, Kari            11 Kealakehe             22:28.50    6             
 8 Garson-Shumway, Carmen    10 Hilo                  22:59.32    7             
9 Ulrich, Kelly             10 Hawaii Prep           23:05.71    8             
 10 Choe, Joy                 10 Makua Lani            23:06.00    9             
 11 Dorn, Keili                9 Makua Lani            23:41.29   10             
 12 Kim, Corin                12 Kamehameha            23:41.56   11             
 13 Ray, Satya                 9 Hilo                  23:51.89   12             
 14 Bradley, Cat              11 Hawaii Prep           24:18.41   13             
 15 Bettencourt, Mika         10 Kealakehe             24:18.69   14             
 16 Nakamoto, Shayli           9 Konawaena             24:23.03                  
 17 Carvalho, Erin            12 Kamehameha            24:36.80   15             
 18 Nakamura, Tiffany         11 Makua Lani            24:38.98   16             
 19 Rapoza, Kaylee            11 Hilo                  24:42.40   17             
 20 Bean, Nina                 9 Hilo                  24:42.70   18             
 21 Adona, Hildhang           10 Honokaa               24:49.70   19             
 22 Grenwell, Kelly           11 Honokaa               24:53.60   20             
 23 Ladwig, Veronica          10 Hawaii Prep           24:57.02   21             
 24 Akai, Tsukasa             12 Hawaii Prep           25:22.19                  
 25 Breitbarth, Jordyn        10 Hilo                  25:26.13   22             
 26 Hughes, Jillian           11 Waiakea               25:29.87   23             
 27 Busek, Jessica            11 Waiakea               25:32.11   24             
 28 Hemalon, Mahina           12 Kea'au                25:32.40   25             
 29 Shiraki, Allie            10 Honokaa               25:47.10   26             
 30 Olinaka, Vandey           11 Waiakea               25:53.62   27             
 31 Hagemann, Natalie         11 Kea'au                26:00.10   28             
 32 Ombac, Skye               10 Waiakea               26:19.22   29             
 33 Aguirre, Elizabeth        10 Honokaa               26:31.82   30             
 34 Ignacio, Vanessa          10 Waiakea               26:38.10   31             
 35 Cosma, Shani              11 Kea'au                26:40.11   32             
 36 Cabel, Mikela             10 Kamehameha            26:43.13   33             
 37 Iwata, Shayla              9 Kamehameha            26:45.13   34             
 38 Alterman, Allison         12 Kealakehe             26:45.53   35             
 39 Jones, Tehani             11 Kamehameha            26:48.96   36             
 40 Lerma, Amanda             12 Kamehameha            26:58.92   37             
 41 Jobes, Marie              10 Parker School         27:03.53                  
 42 Langevin, Mariko          11 Parker School         27:03.77                  
 43 Boyette, Taylyn           11 Parker School         27:11.10                  
 44 Manuia, Alana              9 Kamehameha            27:17.01   38             
 45 Ayoso-Purdy, Jah'nae      11 Hawaii Prep           27:22.49                  
 46 Pautz, Whitney            12 Hualalai Academy      27:27.47                  
 47 Roddie, Candice           11 Waiakea               27:29.73   39             
 48 DeCarli, Mercedes         11 Makua Lani            27:34.14   40             
 49 Kim, Sara                 10 Kamehameha            27:46.06                  
 50 Bannister, Kaley          10 Kamehameha            27:46.32                  
 51 Paulachak, Kara           12 Waiakea               27:48.67                  
 52 Bader, Alexa               9 Kamehameha            27:54.33                  
 53 Jarvis, Avery Rose        11 Kea'au                27:55.37   41             
 54 Swain, Karley             12 Waiakea               27:57.68                  
 55 Nakahara, Meimei          12 Hawaii Prep           28:00.56                  
 56 Morrison, Leila            9 Hawaii Prep           28:06.76               
  57 Carlos, Monica            11 Honokaa               28:07.98   42             
58 Aguilar, Katie            12 Honokaa               28:10.28   43             
59 Napihaa, Britni           12 Kamehameha            28:20.81         
60 Cavedoni, Melia           10 Hawaii Prep           28:22.53                  
 

 

 

Barnett wins Peace Festival 5K Race – Complete Results from Honokaa

1.  

   First Annual Peace Festival 5km Run Results

   1. Billy Barnett (20-29)17:22
   2. Jason Braswell (30-39)                   17:53
   3. Lyman Perry (40-49                         18:50
   4. Tony Connors (15-19)                     19:34
   5. Jason Thorpe (40-49)                      19:45
   6. Zackary Waian (20-29)                    20:10
   7. Steve Pavao (50-59)                        20:28
   8. Patrick Leatherman (20-29)         21:43
   9. Gavin Laird (15-19)                          22:14
   10. Riston Matias (15-19)                     22:26
   11. Anthony Aguirre (15-19)               22:38
   12. David Robinson (15-19)                 22:41
   13. Isaac Angelo (15-19)                       23:08
   14. Jhumar Coboson (15-19)               23:31
   15. Devin Hays (15-19)                          24:02
   16. Seanry Agbayani (15-19)               24:07
   17. John Hines (50-59)                           24:21
   18. Andrew Langtry (40-49)                                24:34
   19. Chayce Moniz (15-19)                    24:43
   20. Jordan Kube (30-39)                       24:55
   21. Allie Shiraki (15-19)                          25:43
   22. Kelly Greenwell (15-19)                 25:51
   23. Josh Abner (20-29)                          26:08
   24. Heidi Schmidgall (20-29)                26:15 (#1 woman)           
   25. Elizabeth Aguirre (15-19)              31:27
   26. Abigail Andrade (under 15)          31:28
   27. Archie Hapai (60-69)                       32:44
   28. Steve Hanks (40-49)                        32:47
   29. Hoolaea Andrade (30-39)             33:04
   30. Jay Boughanem (30-39)                 33:37
   31. Jorgen Nelson (30-39)                    35:03
   32. Cullen Andrade (under 15)          39:03
   33. Kristina Dumova (20-29)                46:21

      34.     Jo Kim (50-59)                                    54:37

Canefire Conditioner Opens with a Fast Start

Eventual duo winners, Hilo's Karina Lawrence and Nadia Ramirez

KEEAU-It was a breathless, fantastic finish for a pair of Hilo runners, each girl running glued together until one leaned ahead of the other at the end.

 The Big Island Interscholastic Federation opened its cross-country season with a pair of running events that zigzagged its way around the Christian Liberty Academy Campus this past Saturday.

Using a format introduced by CLA coach Frank Grotenhuis the Canefire Conditioner required each BIIF school to pair their runners with each harrier doing three alternating one-mile legs.

Kelsie Kobayashi

In the opening girl’s race it was Waiakea’s Kelsie Kobayashi jumping out to an early lead with the rest of the field in hot pursuit.

“I wanted to run my own race right from the start,” Kobayashi said after the race.  “I was mentally ready to take the lead and it felt very smooth and comfortable.”

Kobayashi ran her first mile in 6 minutes and 10 seconds with Hilo’s Shalila de Bourmont and Karina Lawrence following in at 6:21.

During the exchange Kobayashi handed off the baton to partner Kara Paulachak while Lawrence was teamed with Nadia Ramirez and de Bourmont was paired with Carmen Garson-Shumway.

The Hilo pairs chipped away at Waiakea’s initial lead and soon found themselves in command of the race.  “My goal was to run my opening mile in the 6:20 range,” de Bourmont said.  “I knew that we each had to run 3-miles, so I wasn’t worried when I fell 10 seconds behind Kelsie in the first mile.”

The Vikings lead pairs stayed composed during the race and by the third mile found their top two teams running side by side in the lead.  “We wanted to keep the leaders in sight during the first mile and then run all three of our miles consistently,” Lawrence said. 

“It surprised me when I caught up to Shalila and it helped because we started pushing each other as it was fun to run together,” Lawrence said.

During the final leg Vikings, Ramirez and Garson-Shumway ran shoulder to shoulder as it appeared that neither wanted to outdo the other.  Ramirez, a senior who transferred into Hilo after last year’s cross country season, leaned at the finish line to nip freshman teammate Garson-Shumway by a hair with both clocking in at 38 minutes 29 seconds.

“I was very nervous throughout this race,” the young Garson-Shumway said.  “I ran in middle school but I didn’t know what to expect at the high school level.”

Hilo swept the top three pairs with Kaylee Rapoza and Raycee Cooke helping the Vikings to win the overall team scoring.  Honokaa’s Kelly Greenwell and Allie Shiraki took fourth with the duo of Kobayashi and Paulachak slipping to fifth.

click to enlarge

In the boys race it was the Honokaa duo of Joshua Robinson and Chayce Moniz leading from start to finish.

Dragon star and BIIF individual champion, Chris Mosch, was still sidelined nursing a stress fracture that he received at the end of the track & field season in May.  “I’m sitting this one out to give my leg a better chance to heal,” Mosch said.

Last year at CLA Mosch teamed with Robinson to win the Canefire Conditioner, but this year Robinson needed to rely on Moniz if the Dragons were to repeat as duo champs.

“In my opening mile I was just hoping to hang with the lead pack as I didn’t want to go out to fast then die,” Robinson said.  “It was easier to hang back and let others do all the work as long as I could give my partner a chance at taking the lead.”

His strategy paid off as Moniz took the handoff from Robinson and then claimed the lead in his opening mile.  “I was nervous before I ran as I felt a lot of pressure to do well today,” Moniz said.  “I didn’t want to let anyone down, especially my partner.

Moniz opened the gap and by the time Robinson took the second leg handoff the Dragons held a 100 yard advantage.

The Dragon duo widened their lead with each ensuing handoff and left little doubt as to who would win the race clocking in at 31 minutes 46 seconds, more than one minute ahead of their closest rivals.

Ray & Kaneshiro

The battle for second went to the Hilo pair of seniors in Tyde Kaneshiro and Billy Ray.  “My plan was to just stay with the leaders in the first mile,” Kaneshiro said.  “Keaau and Waiakea went out quickly and I just paced off them.”

During the second mile Ray put the Vikings in second place and held that margin the rest of the way.  “I felt tired at the start of the race and the running actually woke me up,” Ray said.  “I knew I needed to maintain my position and the lead group were too far ahead for us to catch.”

The Keaau pair of Wayne Pavao and Kevin Olsen made a final attempt to move into second place, but fell short by one second as the Cougars settled for a third place finish.

Hilo finished in 32:51 with Keaau coming in at 32:52.  In the team standings it was Honokaa taking first with Waiakea second and Hilo third.

On Saturday the BIIF moves to an East/West format with Waiakea and Kealakehe playing host.  Girls will begin at 10 am followed by the boys with each running the traditional 3-mile cross-country race.

Related links:  

https://waynejoseph.wordpress.com/2010/08/29/honokaas-robinson-moniz-run-away-with-canefire-duo-title/

https://waynejoseph.wordpress.com/2010/08/28/hilo-girls-dominate-canefire-conditioner/