PUHI — Waimea runner Kaimana Girod didn’t finish in the medals at the 2005 HHSAA Cross Country Championships. But that was before he learned how to run. “I didn’t really know what I was doing,” Girod said after winning the
PUHI — Waimea runner Kaimana Girod didn’t finish in the medals at the 2005 HHSAA Cross Country Championships.
But that was before he learned how to run.
“I didn’t really know what I was doing,” Girod said after winning the KIF cross country championships Saturday at Island School. “But my dad took me up to Koke‘e and I ran up there. That was in preparation for going to Australia.”
The summer spent Down Under taught Girod not only how to run but also how to race, and Saturday’s meet capped a season where he won every KIF meet he entered. Along the way last weekend, Girod paced the Menehune boys to a first-place finish with 30 team points.
The victory gave Waimea six KIF points to lock up the season crown with 12 total team points.
Girod stopped the clock at 18:15 to set the pace. Chris Marsh of Island School followed at 18:33, and Adam Kerlin of Kapa‘a crossed in third at 19:12.
Sean Magoun of Island School said the top 12 boys will represent KIF at the state tournament. The next three finishers will be the alternates.
Following Girod, Jared Coleman-Stark (19:49, 4th), John Pearson (20:01.5, 6th), Steven Rivera (20:12, 8th) and Stevenson Rivera (20:24, 11th) accounted for the Menehune boys’ scoring.
Kaua‘i High School broke a tie with Kapa‘a, getting 82 points over Kapa‘a’s 86 points. Island School finished fourth with 103 points. With the Saturday standings, Kaua‘i finished second in the KIF with nine total season points followed by Kapa‘a’s six. Island School finished with one point.
Kaua‘i pulled off its win as Darren Lapitan (20:01.2) crossed fifth overall followed by Christopher Barich (20:05) crossing seventh. The next four Raiders crossed the line in 16th through 19th places.
Following Kerlin, Kapa‘a’s Noah Randolf-Flagg (20:26) placed 12th, and the school’s third-, fourth- and fifth-place runners finished 26th, 31st and 32nd.
Girod, Marsh, Kerlin, Coleman-Stark, Lapitan, Pearson, Barich, Steven Rivera, Alex LaMadrid of Kapa‘a, Tim Hill of , Stevenson Rivera and Randolf-Flagg will represent the KIF at the state meet Nov. 11 on O‘ahu.
Peter Joyce, Christian Tangalin and Tobias Guenther, all of Waimea, are the boys alternates.
Chelsea Smith-Wishard and Tara McCoy set the pace as Kaua‘i girls came up with a four-point edge over Kapa‘a to sew up the KIF girls cross country championships with 42 race points and 13 total season points.
McCoy, who fell ill at the Kula race, returned to form and provided a strong second finish for the Raiders following Smith-Wishard’s 20:20 showing over the 3-mile course. McCoy stopped the clock at 22:16, third overall below Waimea’s Caralyn Broyles who stopped the clock at 21:56, second overall.
Following the top two Raiders, Elizabeth LaMadrid (24:47, 11th), Leeanna Carvalho (25:24, 13th) and Elizabeth Schiller (25:32, 14th) accounted for the Kaua‘i girls’ team scoring.
Kapa‘a, who held the standings lead going into Saturday’s race, got improvement from their top runner Whitney Rowe (22:52, 5th). In the Kula race that gave them the KIF lead, Kapa‘a girls finished seventh through 11th for first place. But following Rowe, Ella Arume crossed in the Kapa‘a No. 2 position at 23:11, seventh overall. Their next three runners crossed ninth, 10th and 15th, respectively. The Warriors finished with 46 race points and ended the season in second, a point back of Kaua‘i.
Gillian Pickett set the pace for Kula with a solid sixth overall finish, tripping the clock at 23:07. That consistency was bolstered by Amber Loughead (23:41, 8th) and Jesse Austin (24:48, 12th) pulling in strong performances at the finish. Kula finished with 79 race points and three total season points for third place.
Waimea, despite strong finishes by Broyles and Carolyn Hoekman-Percuval (22:40, 4th), was relegated to fourth place with 84 meet points and one season point.
KIF representatives for the state race will include 15 girls, five of whom will come from Kaua‘i High, the KIF champions.
The KIF girl runners include Smith-Wishard, Broyles, McCoy, Sara Faraola of Island School, Hoeckman-Percival, Rowe, Pickett, Arume, Loughead, Sonia Gordines of Island School, Keryn Nield, Rachel Ganir of Kapa‘a, LaMadrid, Carvalho and Schiller. Alternates are Austin, Kirsten McCracken and Lauren Esaki of Kapa‘a.
With the KIF races settled, Girod is already looking ahead to the state meet.
“I’m going to spend next week training hard,” Girod said. “This is not going to be like last year.”
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@kauaipubco.com.