PUHI — Garret Smith of Kapaa High School said Saturday’s state cross country meet was a lot more fun than last year. Smith, the consistent top boy finisher in the Kauai Interscholastic Federation season, finished the Honolulu Marathon Hawaii High
PUHI — Garret Smith of Kapaa High School said Saturday’s state cross country meet was a lot more fun than last year.
Smith, the consistent top boy finisher in the Kauai Interscholastic Federation season, finished the Honolulu Marathon Hawaii High School Athletic Association meet held at the Island School campus in fourth place, tripping the clocks at 16 minutes, 51.5 seconds for a three-way tie with Iolani’s Jason Wang of Iolani and Nicholas Arima.
Colby Otero of Kalaheo High School set the pace for the 200 boys by crossing first on a time of 16:21.9.
“This was really fun,” said Smith, a sophomore. “I passed two guys at the end, and congratulations to the winner. This was really so much more fun than last year when I didn’t do well.”
Dodger Middlebrook, a consistent challenger to Smith during the KIF season, finished as the second KIF finisher, crossing the line 28th overall on an 18:04.5 run, sandwiched between Hunter Shields (18:03.3) and Connor Kong (18:05.3), both from Maui High School.
“Garret had a goal of finishing in the top five,” Kapaa coach James Rogers said. “He did exactly that. Mid-race, he tried to move against the leaders. He could have finished No. 2, but he’s still a sophomore, and this is just the beginning of bigger things ahead for him.”
Henry Scherer, the leader of the Island School block runners, crossed at 108th on a 19:16.2 run.
Coach Marissa Purcel of Kauai High School was happy with the performance turned in by her Red Raider boys.
“We beat Island School as a team,” Purcel said. “One of the recording pads wasn’t working on the boys’ race so they had to go to the video backup and manually put in the results. But because we qualified six boys, we could run as a team, and we beat Island School, the KIF champions.”
Brayden Lumabao of Waimea crossed 89th on a 19:04.7 run.
“I am proud of Brayden,” said Dalton Matsushima, the Waimea coach. “He beat a lot of KIF runners who bettered him during the season. Brayden qualified for states last year, but he didn’t do so well. He wanted to prove himself.”
Kauai’s Kane Casillas, returning to the course following a season of nursing a foot injury, finished 132nd at 19:36.2.
“I made it,” Casillas said. “It’s definitely not my best, but I tried to keep my mind off the runners around me. About halfway through, my legs kind of started to flare up again, but I just kept my mind on finishing. I made it.”
Iolani High School topped the boys’ Division 1 team standings, collecting 39 points led by Wang and Arima and its top five runners crossing in the top 25 finishers. Hawaii Baptist Academy topped the Division 2 team standings with 42 points. Kauai finished fourth with 106 points and Island School ended fifth with 113 points.
“My goal was to win again,” said Veronica Winham of Seabury Hall.
She crossed the line top of the 200-runner girls field on a run of 19:16.1 to set the pace.
“This is my last race,” Winham said. “I’m a senior, and after winning states last year, I wanted to repeat before graduating. My plan was to run out with the lead and just stay ahead. The training for this race was different from the Maui Interscholastic League where there are a lot of hills. I’m OK with my time because my lows are in the 19s. My fastest time is in the 18s. This is my fifth year I’ve been training with coach Bobby Grossman, and I’m happy.”
KIF runner Mia Takekuma of Kauai High School was the first Kauai finisher, crossing 24th on a 21:12.9 run. She had completed the first half in 10th before slipping back.
“This was very tiring,” Takekuma said. “There was no water. I didn’t really have a plan because I was more nervous.”
Ella Beck of Island School suffered an injury which kept her out of the race, and Kapaa’s Victoria “Tori” Hennessy topped the Kapaa High School girls team in 31st, overall on a 21:23.1 run.
“I got to run this course twice before the race,” Hennessy said. “I kind of knew where the hard parts were and prepared for it. I just love running at states because the teams, the runners are so nice.”
Overall, Rogers was happy with his women runners.
“This was a great team effort,” Rogers said. “Tori had her fastest time this year, and our No. 3 runner Kahlil Shockley (No. 75 22:49.5) had her best race ever. The runners were all strong and they each had a plan and worked it. The good thing is everyone comes back next year. This is the end of the first year for Casey Chibirka and myself as coach for Kapaa, and the runners are seeing how things are different. They’re starting to trust the process.”
Seabury Hall girls earn top billing for the Division 2 teams, led by Winham and placing its top five runners in the top 20 for 23 points. Punahou led the Division 1 teams with 19 points.
Results
Boys (Top 20): Colby Otero (Kal) 16:21.9, Hudson Lockete (Castle) 16:44.7, Jason Wang (Iolani) 16:51.5, Garret Smith (Kap) 16:51.5, Nicholas Arima (Iolani) 16:51.5), Josiah Vallez (Kona) 16:58.2, Aaron Shiinoki (Pun) 17:06.2, Adam Harder (Hanalani) 17:06.2, Noah Roberts (Campbell) 17:12.0, Carlos Orona-Frias (Lei) 17:18.2, Eric Cabais-Fernande (Waiakea) 17:20.9, Bailey Koen (Iolani) 17:20.9, Steven Chung (Hilo) 17:21.4, Parker Mooney (Pun) 17:28.5, Reimon Wada (Roos) 17:30.7, Narayana Schneider (McK) 17:30.7, Adam Hakola (Maui) 17:33.0, Adrian Larkspur (Waiakea) 17:34.8, Joshua Lerner (Iolani) 17:35.9, Alec Ankrum (Kealakehe) 17:36.2.
Boys Team D1: Iolani (39), Maui (97), Punahou (105), Waiakea (112), Kalaheo (170), Mililani (194), Hilo (203), Kalani (205), Pearl City (207), Leilehua (218), King Kekaulike (238), Kamehameha-Kapalama (243), Roosevelt (258).
Boys Team D2: Hawaii Baptist Academy (42), Hawaii Prep (49), Seabury (63), Kauai (106), Island School (113), Kamehameha-Hawaii (118).
Girls (Top 20): Veronica Winham (Sea) 19:16.1, Johanna Seng (HBA) 19:47.4, Jordan Jones (St. Andrew’s) 20:02.2, Darby Mulligan (Sea) 20:06.2, Kallalei Ryden (Sea) 20:08.1, Sophia Cash (Honokaa) 20:08.5, Gianna Sbarbaro (Le Jardin) 20:10.3, Kacie Kwan (HBA) 20:13.3, Brooklyn Allen (Moanalua) 20:13.3, Maiya Fujiwara (Pun) 20:23.9, Mei Lum (Pun) 20:25.2, Brady Georgi (Pun) 20:28.3, Chloe Gangnath (Sea) 20:32.5, Leilani Tandy (Iolani) 20:33.4, Kayla Almeida (Pun) 20:33.9, Aya Margraf (Iolani) 20:34.2, Caitlin Kawaiaea (Nanakuli) 20:44.8, Kaci Stokes (KS-Kap) 20:54.7, Halle Nottage (Makua Lani) 20:56.7, Erika Preseault (Sea) 20:56.7.
Girls Team D1: Punahou (19), Iolani (51), Kamehameha-Kapalama (112), Hilo (136), Leilehua (152), Kealakehe (208), Kalaheo (249), Pearl City (253), Campbell (258), Waiakea (272), Kalani (285), Radford (305), Hawaii Prep (319), Maui (320), King Kekaulike (338), Mililani (348).
Girls Team D2: Seabury (23), Hawaii Baptist Academy (46), Le Jardin Academy (96), Kapaa (105), Hanalani (114), Kamehameha-Hawaii (154).
