I wanted to think up what I thought would be the top 10 sports stories of the year, but as I was doing so, I realized that the majority of them, save the University of Hawai‘i football team story, were
I wanted to think up what I thought would be the top 10 sports stories of the year, but as I was doing so, I realized that the majority of them, save the University of Hawai‘i football team story, were controversies.
We had the gambling story of National Basketball League official Tim Donaghy. Donaghy bet on games he officiated over. Then there was the whole Michael Vick animal cruelty case. Numerous doping and human growth hormone charges were tossed around. Barry Bonds broke Major League Baseball home run record, but should history be marked with an asterisk or not?
New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick got caught videotaping other teams and stealing their signals. O.J. Simpson is accused of armed robbery over sports memorabilia. The list goes on and on.
Luckily, for us on Kaua‘i, we have more positive news. From high school football coaches, to football greats in the making, to a young surfer who retired from the professional circuit, I’ve compiled a list of our own top 10 sports stories and recap them here in random order.
• To coach or not to coach: Former Kaua‘i High School head football coach Keli‘i Morgado could arguably have made this list twice.
The first for the dispute over his coaching contract at Kaua‘i and the school’s decision to not renew his contract, and the second by accepting the head football coaching position at Kapa‘a High School. But he makes the list with the latter.
While the initial situation made several headlines, also in newspapers outside Kaua‘i, his switch to wearing Warrior green just takes the cake. After all that’s happened between him and Kaua‘i, he goes and accepts a position at a rival school and will still be teaching at Kaua‘i during the day.
I have a feeling we’ll be talking about the high school football season in next year’s roundup.
• Diesel Dizon: Colorado linebacker and Waimea High School graduate Jordon Dizon at one time led the nation in total tackles. He graced the cover of two magazines, caught an interception and returned it for a 42-yard touchdown, was named the Big 12’s Defensive Player of the Year, made The Associated Press’ All-American team and was a finalist for the Dick Butkus award. Not bad for a kid from a small town.
• Kaua‘i girls in the big game: Kaua‘i High School’s Red Raider softball team made it all the way to the Division II State Softball Championships in Honolulu. The Raider girls fell 5-1 to the Lancers from Sacred Hearts, but it was a thrill for the girls to have even made it that far. Throughout the tournament, they pulled out come-from-behind victories, including a win over Maryknoll after being down seven runs.
• Golf master: Casey Watabu of Kapa‘a did what Michelle Wie wants to do: Play in the Masters. Watabu made his debut in golf’s prestigious Masters Tournament earlier this year at Augusta National in Georgia. Although it was a less than desirable finish for the 24-year-old, many golfers just wish they got invited to play. He earned his spot when he won the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship at Gold Mountain Golf Club in Washington.
• Blanchard beats colleagues: Hanalei’s Alana Blanchard beat out fellow Kaua‘i girls Bethany Hamilton, Gabi Cope, Melody Hass, Adriana Medival, Mia Melamed, Keala Kennelly and Rochelle Ballard to win the Cholo’s Women’s Pipeline Pro on O‘ahu’s North Shore. The then 16-year-old won the first Pipeline Pro just two year prior, which was also the competition’s debut year.
• Fantastic four: Kaua‘i’s local junior lifeguards won their fourth state title this year on the Big Island. Although they traveled the farthest out of any of the other islands, Kaua‘i came out on top, becoming the first island to win four championships in a row.
• GOOOOOOAAALLL!: University of Hawai‘i sophomore soccer player Emma Makepa-Foley scored the game-winning goal in the 59th to launch the Wahine to their first-ever Western Athletic Conference title and its first-ever NCAA tournament bid. Makepa-Foley’s header came off of a free kick by teammate Nicole Mikula.
• Jimenez’s jump: Jamilee Jimenez broke the 22-year-old Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation long jump record by six inches. The then Kaua‘i junior jumped 17 feet 10 1/2 inches breaking the 17nfootn 4 1/2ninch record set by Waimea High School’s Marlo Luis in 1985.
• Rochelle retires: The Southside’s Rochelle Ballard announced her retirement from the professional surfing circuit this month. Association of Surfing Professionals World Tour has seen the 36-year-old rise as high as No. 2 in the world in 2004, as well as collect a number of victories including the Gunston 500, the Billabong Pro at Burleigh Heads, the U.S. Open, among others. Ballard will most likely continue to host her surfing camp for girls on the Southside.
• Kaua‘i’s Warriors: The University of Hawai‘i is the only unbeaten team in the nation and will play in it first Bowl Championship Series on Tuesday when the face fourth-ranked Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. Hawai‘i is enjoying its highest ranking ever in the school’s history and is in its first postseason bowl game outside of Hawai‘i since the 1992 Holiday Bowl in San Diego. The Warriors have five Kaua‘i boys on the team. Kaua‘i, like the rest of the state, has joined in the Warrior fever in support of team and all their accomplishments.
Stories of the year honorable mentions go to Kalani Vierra and Blanche Yoshida for winning the World Tandem Title at the International Tandem Surfing Association championships in Santander Liencres, Spain and Roy Powers for winning the REEF Hawaiian Pro at Hale‘iwa. The REEF Hawaiian Pro was the first event in the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing.
• Lanaly Cabalo, sports editor, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 237) or lcabalo@kauaipubco.com.
