Albert and Thomas Santos lead Waimea to State Meet By JASON GALLIC TGI Sports Editor t is a writer’s dream when the pieces to a story fall into place as well as do these. Not only are Albert and Thomas
Albert and Thomas Santos lead Waimea to State Meet
By JASON GALLIC
TGI
Sports Editor
t is a writer’s dream when the pieces to a story fall
into place as well as do these.
Not only are Albert and Thomas Santos the
best shooters on the island, but they’re also twins. What’s more, the pair has
a chance November 3 to deliver the island of Kaua’i a state championship in air
riflery.
Not bad as story subjects go.
“They are a really competitive
pair,” Waimea coach Major Victor Aguilar said. “But they manage to keep in
friendly.”
First things first. The Santos’ are nearly the same height; “I’m
about 1/2 an inch taller,” Albert says; they share eye and hair color; and they
have a great respect for one another.
Friday the two will be at St. Louis
School on Oahu, attempting to take the shooting state title away from the
favored host school. Their objective, along with the five other boys from
Kaua’i going to shoot, will be to, collectively, outscore the Crusaders.
Shooters have a chance to score a total of 300 points, shooting in prone,
kneeling and standing positions. The state champion shoots at about a 270 clip
or above.
Albert has fired a 260 this KIF season; Thomas’ high is a
255.
“I shot a 266 before the KIF season this year,” Albert said. “And in a
NRA (National Rifle Association) match at St. Louis I shot a 262 and
266.
“My goal is to come out first in the state.”
On the day Thomas
shot a 255, Albert matched him. On September 21, Thomas fired a 248 to his
brother’s 239. It was the only time this season that Thomas emerged
victorious.
“Neither of them is all that animated, though Thomas is more
sarcastic, more happy-go-lucky,” Aguilar said. “But he showed some emotion on
that day. You could tell he was happy to beat Albert.”
But defeating each
other is not the primary concern of these brothers. Rather, the two seem
content to be friends who push each other to higher levels of
success.
Though they claim not to be identical, the two mirror each other
often in their lives. Together, they are E3’s in the Army ROTC, getting paid
for their service on the weekends.
Together, they plan to go to advanced
training at Ft. Banning in Georgia upon graduation from Waimea. From there,
they hope to return for study at Kaua’i Community College, on the government’s
dime.
“I want to go for electrical engineering,” Albert says, then tries to
put a little distance between himself and his brother. “Thomas is going to do
the same things as me, but he’s going to study something else.”
When their
time at KCC is finished, who knows?
“Whatever the boys do, they’re probably
going to be successful,” Aguilar said. “They are good shooters and good kids
who have moved up the ranks here.”
Though, the coach admitted, each Santos
showed promise from his early days on the Waimea shooting team.
“They came
in as freshman looking to make it out of a group of about 40,” the coach
explained. “They did that, and were able to stay in the top eight. Now, each
has fired above a level ever achieved in the KIF before.”
Keep in mind that
air riflery has been a KIF sport for just three years. Even so, the Santos’
progression has, according to their coach, been something to watch.
“These
guys are special,” Aguilar said. “Not only with shooting, but they keep good
grades, are involved in other programs and know what they want.
“How many
kids their age know what they’re going to do with themselves.”
