LIHU‘E — This past week featured prime performances from some of Kaua‘i’s top track and field athletes, competing at a pair of invitational meets on O‘ahu. Island School’s Pierce Murphy took two first-place finishes, along with a photo-finish second at
LIHU‘E — This past week featured prime performances from some of Kaua‘i’s top track and field athletes, competing at a pair of invitational meets on O‘ahu.
Island School’s Pierce Murphy took two first-place finishes, along with a photo-finish second at the Henry Lee Invitational, hosted Saturday by Kamehameha Schools Kapalama in Honolulu.
In his first event of the day, and the eighth of the meet, Murphy took second place in the Boys 1500 Meter Run by 0.01 seconds, as he was just nosed out by Kamehameha’s Jordan Thibodeau. The hometown runner finished with an official time of 4 minutes, 4.31 seconds, while Murphy’s lunge for the finish line clocked at 4:04.32.
A photo from Shawn Murphy, Pierce’s dad, shows both runners in their final strides before stopping the clock, Pierce with the inside lane but just barely beaten by Thibodeau.
After that close battle, Pierce responded with a first place in the Boys 800 Meter Run, crossing the line in a time of 2:03.49, almost a second and a half clear of Mid-Pac’s Ryan Hobson in second (2:04.94).
With one more race to run, Pierce added to his haul in another matchup with Thibodeau during the Boys 3000 Meter Run. This time, Pierce was the clear winner with a time of 8:59.28, while Thibodeau took second (9:06.60).
One day earlier, six Kapa‘a Warriors were competing at the Velasco Invitational Track Meet, Friday in Mililani.
Among the competitors were a pair of football standouts in Kevin Marshall Adkisson and Darren Taylor.
Adkisson had a dominant showing in the Boys Discus Throw, gaining a first-place finish by a wide margin with his throw of 153 feet, 3 inches. That turned out to be more than 30 feet clear of any other thrower as Waianae’s Haoa Lono took second place (122-03).
Kapa‘a’s Jacob Rapozo took 17th place (92-09).
Adkisson also took seventh place in the Boys Shot Put (38-08.00), while Rapozo was 18th (34-06.50).
Taylor had himself a busy day, entering four events and coming away with high marks. He finished second in the Boys 100 Meter Dash with a time of 11.2 seconds, behind only Farrington’s Scotland Smith (11.0).
He was also second in the Boys Triple Jump with a distance of 39 feet, 10.00 inches, 22 inches behind Kahuku’s Punga Vea’s effort (41-08.00).
In the Boys Long Jump, Taylor ended up in third place with a leap of 19 feet, 4.00 inches. There was a tie for first in that event between Waianae’s Jaylen Mitchell and Radford’s Tony Reid (20-02.50).
In the Boys 200 Meter Dash, Taylor finished in sixth with a 24.67-second sprint.
He came in just ahead of teammate Zachary Rodriguez, who was ninth (25.18).
Rodriguez took eighth place in the Boys 300 Meter Hurdles, with a time of 47.1 seconds. He was also 15th in the Boys 100 Meter Dash, crossing the line in 12.3 seconds.
Through their combined efforts, the Kapa‘a boys finished in sixth place in the Male Team standings, garnering 33 points as a unit. Radford, Waipahu and Waianae took the top three spots, respectively.
Lady Warrior soccer standout Rachael Hinkel competed in four events, her best finish a second place in the Girls 300 Meter Hurdles with a time of 51.9 seconds.
She added a third in the Girls 100 Meter Hurdles, finishing in 17.5 seconds, then took sixth in the Girls 100 Meter Dash (13.8 seconds) and seventh in the Girls 200 Meter Dash (29.0 seconds), giving her four top-seven finishes in her four events.
Natasha Machado also represented the Lady Warriors in three events, taking 11th in the Girls 400 Meter Dash (1 minute, 31.0 seconds), 21st in the Girls 200 Meter Dash (35.0 seconds) and 24th in the Girls Discus Throw (47 feet, 3 inches).
Their combined point totals added up to 15, good for eighth place in the Female Team standings.
The Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation will hold a Qualifying Meet today at 4:30 p.m. at Vidinha Stadium.
