PUHI — This Saturday will be the Kauai Interscholastic Federation cross country championships, and last Friday afternoon’s race, hosted by Island School, was a way for runners to adjust to the course set up in a two-leg configuration. Kauai High
PUHI — This Saturday will be the Kauai Interscholastic Federation cross country championships, and last Friday afternoon’s race, hosted by Island School, was a way for runners to adjust to the course set up in a two-leg configuration.
Kauai High School’s Mia Takekuma still sported that impish smile as she held back through the first half of the race, settling behind Island School’s Carolyn Price and Kapaa’s Victoria Hennessy before making her move for first-to-finish honors at 21 minutes, 17.65 seconds.
Hennessy dogged her footsteps, crossing 10 ticks (21:27.00) back, and Price filled in third overall at 21:51.00.
Lacey Bagain was first to finish for Waimea, crossing at 23:50.00 in seventh, overall.
Kapaa girls controlled the field, finishing tops with 29 points as Hennessy was followed by Kelsea Armstrong (23:17.00) fourth, overall. The Warriors locked up the race as Julia Tampus (5th, 23:17.00), Heather Faretta (8th, 24:04.00), and Kahlil Shockley (10th, 24:28.00) filled in the scoring positions, Leila Nelson (12th, 25:0-3.00) being the Warrior girls’ No. 6 runner.
Following Takekuma, Kauai girls finished with 45 points as Kristin Chun crossed sixth overall (23:28.00) followed by Sydney Brady at ninth overall (24:07.00). Stacie Schnackenberg (13th, 25:05.00) and Dillyn Sakai (18th, 25:42.00) filled in the Raider girls’ top finishers.
Led by Bagain, Waimea girls finished with 74 points, Samantha Bostick crossing 11th overall at 24:30.00 and Tori Ishikawa crossing the line at 26:03.00 in 18th, overall.
Following Price, Island School’s Emma Thain came across 17th overall (25:40.00) to help the Voyagers accumulate 90 points.
On the boys’ course, Kauai continued to dominate the top 10 field of finishers as Dodger Middlebrook set the pace with an 18:20.28 race, dogged through the three-mile course by Kapaa’s Garret Smith who was just 10 seconds back (18:30.43).
Kauai boys filled in the third (Kane Casillas, 18:51.04), fourth (Jacob Herr, 19:17.46), and fifth (Dutch Fairbanks, 19:27.96) to control the field with 31 points as Micah Matsunaga (18th, 21:23.00) filled the No. 5 runner spot for the Red Raiders.
Following Smith, Kapaa boys collected 44 points behind Keanu Brown (9th, 20:13.14), Keon Orlando (10th, 20:25.21), Rafael Sifuentes (11th, 20:34:68), and John Uribe (12th, 20:41.50).
James Pratt set the stage for Island School, crossing sixth overall (19:45.56) followed by Joshua Graves (7th, 19:46.46) for 63 points and third place as Ben Griep (14th, 20:50.89), Ian Penner (16th, 21:05.61) and Micah Asuncion (20th, 21:31.25) filled in the top five Voyager spots.
Braden Lumabao topped the Waimea boys finisher in the eighth place (19:53.04) to lead the Menehune to its team 79 points, Levi Snowden (13th, 20:50.46) and Zachariah Costales (17th, 21:17.96) filling in the leader spots.
