LIHU‘E — One Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation record and two qualifying times for the state track meet went into Kawehi Louis-Diamond’s pocket following the first KIF qualifying track meet, Friday. Pierce Murphy, the long-distance running phenom from Island School, pocketed qualifying
LIHU‘E — One Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation record and two qualifying times for the state track meet went into Kawehi Louis-Diamond’s pocket following the first KIF qualifying track meet, Friday.
Pierce Murphy, the long-distance running phenom from Island School, pocketed qualifying times in each of his three distance races, as well.
“Kawehi and Pierce got good state qualifying times, and the Kaua‘i relay time came pretty close,” said Basil Scott, a key behind the electronic scorekeeping and timing system at the meet.
Louis-Diamond, a freshman at Kaua‘i High School, lost little time in making a statement on her ability, taking the Girls 100 High Hurdles in no uncertain terms while breaking the KIF record for the event set in 1986 by Melissa Pacheco of Waimea High School.
Louis-Diamond stopped the clock at 16.07, well under the 17.14 state 2009 standard, and breaking the 16.10 KIF record.
Running in the second of three heats in that event, Waimea’s Jayme Jacinto, alternating between the run and the Girls High Jump, finished with a 16.86 for second place.
“I was just coming in and she was already running,” said Marlo Louis-Medeiros, Kawehi’s mom. “I couldn’t even set up my video camera.”
Louis-Medeiros was a track star during her days at Waimea High School, getting her share of KIF records as well.
“I can just see the trophies getting pushed to the back,” Louis-Medeiros said following the meet.
In the 300 Meter Hurdles, Kawehi stopped the clock at 49.40, a mere .04 seconds better than the 2009 HHSAA qualifying standards, and in the 100 Meter Dash, the clock stopped at 12.97, just .03 seconds better than the state standard.
“She’s doing this without using the blocks,” Louis-Medeiros said. “I’m going to have to work with her.”
The Kaua‘i High School Girls ‘A’ 4×100 Relay team also pocketed a state time with a 52.17 effort, besting the 2009 standards of 52.74 despite a misjudging by its No. 2 runner, who left prematurely and had to adjust to take the baton.
Second place in that event went to Kapa‘a High School’s ‘A’ team, which stopped the clock at 55.85.
Murphy, who set the standard for boys cross country earlier in the year, finished the Friday meet with three events that surpassed the state standard times.
In the Boys 1500 Meter Run, Murphy stopped the clock at 4:18.92, well below the 4:24.14 state standard. He continued that blistering pace with a 9:21.43 run in the Boys 3000 Meter, bettering the state standard of 9:42.24 for that event. Murphy finished the night in the Mixed 3000 Run on a 9:21.43.
Waimea’s Torrey Santiago topped the Boys 100 Meter Dash on an 11.18 run, getting past the state standard of 11:24. Kapa‘a’s Darren Taylor finished second in that event with an 11.61 run, close to the state consideration standard of 11:44.
Kaua‘i’s Darren Acoba followed on Kawehi’s heels, stopping the clock at 15.42 in the Boys 110 Meter Hurdles, better than the state standard of 16.04.
Nelson Acosta of Waimea finished in second with a 16.79 run, within grasp of the state consideration standard of 16.44 for this event.
Waimea’s Boys 4×100 Relay Team also set the pace on a first finish of 44.99, bettering the state standard of 45.14. The Kaua‘i boys team finished second in the event on a 45.39 run, that performance earning a state consideration standard of 45.94.
Scott said the results do not reflect performance in the field events.
Based on eight events scored, Kaua‘i girls piled up 114 points to Waimea’s 76 points and Kapa‘a’s 48 points.
Waimea topped the boys performance with 73 points over nine scored events. Kapa‘a followed with 68 points, Kaua‘i with 57 points and Island School with 20 points.
The next track meet is the Mayor’s Invitational taking place Friday at Vidinha Stadium starting at 4:30 p.m.
Staff writer and photographer Dennis Fujimoto can be reached at 245-3681 ext. 253 or dfujimoto@kauaipubco.com.
