LIHU‘E — Four of the fastest males in Hawai‘i have joined forces to show the rest of the country that the Aloha State can compete with the best of the best at the United States Track and Field (USATF) National
LIHU‘E — Four of the fastest males in Hawai‘i have joined forces to show the rest of the country that the Aloha State can compete with the best of the best at the United States Track and Field (USATF) National Junior Olympic Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Indianapolis, Indiana, from July 26-31.
“This is the first time that four of the fastest sprinters in the state have gotten together for this event,” Waimea High School sprint coach Dave Walker said.
The longtime Menehune coach brought two of his sprinters, juniors Kenny Estes and Troy Yamase, Kapa‘a recent graduate Joe Locey, and Farrington graduate Josh Villoria to form possibly the fastest 4×100 relay team in the state.
“I feel like a kid in the candy store around these guys; it’s really rare to have three extremely fast guys all together at once for a competition,” Walker said.
On top of that, Walker also noted that Kapa‘a, Waimea, and Farrington, the three schools where the tracksters came from, have mediocre track surfaces.
The four speedsters aren’t strangers to one another as they saw what each other brought to the table earlier this year.
At the state championship meet at Mililani High School, the four young men met up and jousted for the 100 and 200 meter titles.
Locey managed to defend his state crown with the 200 win over Villoria and Estes, who took the silver and bronze medals, respectively.
Despite winning the preliminary 100 race, Yamase ended up with the bronze medal, behind Villoria, who took the gold and Estes, who grabbed the silver.
Both Estes and Yamase are also a part of the past two state champion 4×100 relay squads, with the 2005 team, along with Eric Oroc and Thomas Batis, holding the state meet record.
“Our main goal is to break 41 seconds, which is very possible for this group,” Walker said.
First up for the four public schoolers is the USATF Hawai‘i Association Junior Olympics Outdoor Track and Field Relay Trials on O‘ahu this Saturday, July 2.
“We’ll have to break 42 seconds to qualify, which should be a breeze for us,” Walker said.
Then it’s back to O‘ahu for the Hawai‘i Association Relay Championships on July 16.
After that, it’s Indianapolis bound for Locey, who’s headed for Sacramento City College in the fall, Estes, Villoria who’s off to Azusa Pacific University and Yamase.
“It’s a big adrenalin rush to be around these guys; I’ve never played catch up before and the slightest mistake could mess things up, but I’m expecting the gold and all of us will get faster from this experience,” Villoria said.
The four individuals have to come up with a chunk of the expenses for their trips to O‘ahu and Indiana.
Walker mentioned that he has opened up an account for individuals interested in donating to the Westside Track Club. The funds will be set directly aside for the participants and their travel expenses.
Call coach Walker for more details at 652-0616.
