King Auto/KIF athletes honored

LIHU‘E — Almost every high school on the island was represented, as King Auto Center named its KIF athletes of the month for both February and March.

Kapa‘a’s Amniesty Ragsac and Island School’s Ben Baldwin were the recipients for February and Kaua‘i’s Futi Tavana and Kapa‘a’s Jennifer Lindsey earned the honors for March.

All four athletes are just as good in the classroom as they are in sports. They showcase extremely high GPA’s and some are even valedictorians for their respective classes.

Ragsac carries a hefty 4.0 GPA and is a multi-sport star for the Warriors in track and field, volleyball, basketball, and soccer. The junior grabbed the award for soccer and will be in the running for more awards during her senior year. Despite suffering from a knee injury in the state tournament for the KIF champion Warrior squad, Ragsac still managed to come away from the season with nothing but smiles.

“It was a roller coaster ride for me this season and it was too bad that it had to end on an injury, but my coaches and fellow players were awesome,” Ragsac said.

As a defender, Ragsac was a tough cookie to crumble. She was the key to the Warrior defensive attack and playing soccer from a young age helped her develop into a fine player today.

Kapa‘a came into the season with one thing on its mind and they conquered the rest of the league, thanks to being able to gel as a team.

“I think we did so well this season because we just got along so well and worked together from the start and we were also on the same page the whole season,” Ragsac said.

The KIF player of the year also credits her parents, Amy and Orlando, for always being there for her.

Island School’s Ben Baldwin, who has a 3.6 GPA, came into the season with a buzz. The freshman, who hails from California, got off to a hot start, but his greatest accomplishment this season was setting the mark for one of the contests.

“Breaking the record in the 200 IM was definitely the highlight of my season,” Baldwin said.

He also stresses that Mokihana Aquatics and head coach Orlando Anaya are big reasons for his success so far in his young KIF career.

Baldwin earned a seventh-place showing at this year’s state meet in the 200 IM. He also placed 15th in his favorite event, the 100 breast.

“Going to states, I really wasn’t sure that I’d place, because the times from the other swimmers were really fast,” Baldwin said.

Kapa‘a’s Jennifer Lindsey was surprised with her season in swimming, but it turned out to be a pleasant one because of her huge success during her very first KIF swimming campaign.

The senior decided to get into swimming this year because it was the only sport she could enjoy with her really good friends.

“We used to play tag at the pier and I think that surfing and going to beach has helped me a lot with swimming,” Lindsey said.

The defending state high jump champion will attend the University of Hawai‘i, with the hopes of making the volleyball and track squads.

“I’ve had really good coaches and teammates, which make playing sports really fun,” Lindsey said.

She also jumped her personal best this year with a mark of 5’2″ and hopes to break the state record as well.

Kaua‘i senior Futi Tavana wasn’t able to make it to Kaua‘i’s only five-star dealership yesterday to receive his second award of the season, the first-time for any KIF athlete.

The KIF’s player of the year in volleyball and basketball just made it back from Japan, after participating in a volleyball tournament.

Red Raider head coach Brandon Fujita was there to receive the award and has said that Futi is very close to choosing a college.

“He’s been a very busy guy, because just before his trip to Japan, he was in Utah, on a recruiting visit at BYU, and I haven’t even talked to him yet about how it went,” Fujita said.

The athletes were chosen by the athletic directors of the five high schools on Kaua‘i.