Both the girls and the boys cross country teams won ILH championships on Saturday as they repeated their victories of last year at CORP (Central Oahu Regional Park).
Leading the way for the girls was Nicole Anderson who pushed winner Lauren Ho of Hawaii Baptist to a sub 12 minute tiime. Nicole finished just ahead of Joleen Oshiro in third.
They were followed by Susan Mukai in fifth and Megan Chock in tenth.
The win marked the Raider girls' fourth straight league championship. They scored 40 points to win by 7 over second place Kamehameha. Punahou finished a distant third with 66 points.
For the boys, Morgan Stephenson finished right behind winner Jeremy Kamaka'ala of Kamehameha who set a course record with a blistering 16 minute 31 second run over the three mile course.
The boys won a tight one, with their 40 points just barely edging Punahou's 42 and Kamehameha's 43.
Taking fourth place behind Stephenson's second was Kon Weber. Antonio Baclig took sixth, with Ryan Harada in tenth.
Both the girls' coach Greg Char and the boys' Jim Rubasch said that their victories were especially sweet for being so close. They praised the runners for rising to the challenge of the league championships and running some of their best races of the season.
Now it's on to States.
Coach Char's Analysis
The ILH Championships were held Saturday afternoon on November 6th, 2004 at Central Oahu Regional Park. It rained non-stop the day before, and it was feared the races would be run in terrible conditions. However, the skies cleared and the sun shined brightly. The park has an excellent drainage system which left the course in fantastic shape. You couldn’t even tell it had stormed the day before.
The energy level was cranked up for this big meet. Expectations were high in the Iolani girls' camp as we looked to defend all three championships. It would not be easy, though, as Maryknoll had an awesome Intermediate team, and Kamehameha had stupendous Junior Varsity and Varsity teams.
The Intermediates kicked off the meet. The game plan was to try and match up with the Maryknoll team in hopes of having our depth overcome their extremely strong front runners. The race started out fast as usual and all of the girls quickly positioned themselves with the Maryknoll team. They were in great shape after the first loop as they started up the hill.
When they came back from around and down from the hill, however, they had strung out. Kelli was running gamely with two other girls in a battle for second with Kaili a ways back. Leyna and Amelia were close to Kaili, and Miranda was a bit farther back. Annie and Jenna W. were running together after that. The last half mile saw the two girls pull away from Kelli, but she had a great first season, ending up fourth in the League.
Leyna had a fantastic race as she overtook Kaili for 8th. Also in her first season, Kaili ran awesome placing 9th. Amelia was just a bit back in 12th and ran remarkably well given the practice time she missed due to illnesses inlcuding having her appendix removed.
Another first year runner, Miranda finished strongly to close out the scoring as she ended up with a great season, too, despite illneses and a recently discovered asthma condition. Annie continued her amazing season and Jenna closed out an excellent first year campaign with fine runs. The Intermediate girls placed second as a team, which was projected, so they did their jobs. It was a tough task to beat an extremely talented Maryknoll squad, but our girls gave it their best. The future looks bright as the team consisted of four 7th graders and three 8th graders.
INTERMEDIATES
4th Kelli
8th Leyna
9th Kaili
12th Amelia
17th Miranda
20th Annie
22nd Jenna W.
TEAM SCORES
1. Maryknoll 33
2. Iolani 50
3. Punahou 68
4. Kamehameha 88
5. H.B.A. 137
6. Mid-Pac 161
The Junior Varsity team had the unenviable job of trying to stay with a very strong pack of Kamehameha girls. On paper the Warrior girls looked almost unbeatable. However, our Iolani girls had trained well all season and everyone knew they could run better than what they had shown up to this point. The race would end up a classic dual meet. The first loop found four Kamehameha girls and our girls Nikki, Amy, Ame, and Kelsi all running together in a big pack. Trisha was just a bit behind with Lianna and Avery further back, but running with the rest of the Kamehameha girls.
They made their way up the hill in the same position. When they came back down the front eight had begun to break up as Nikki and Amy pulled away a bit. A couple of Kamehameha girls gave chase, while Kelsi and Ame were close behind with the other two Kamehameha girls. Trisha had tired, but Lianna had picked up speed. She was hurting, but dug deep and stuck with the other three Kamehameha girls.
The last half mile was furious. They got to last straightaway with one of the Kamehameha girls gamely trying to catch the front two. Nikki had her usual big kick and held on to become JV Champion. Amy got passed in the last 100 meters, but ran a fantastic race for 3rd place. Ame and Kelsi were solid again finishing 5th and 8th, respectively.
Lianna had a huge race as she finished in 10th just behind Kamehameha’s 5th runner while holding off their 6th runner. The JV’s would end up winning by just one point in one of the most exciting races ever. Our girls ran tremendously peaking at just the right time while not giving up to a game Kamehameha team.
JUNIOR VARSITY
1st Nikki 14:09
3rd Amy 14:14
5th Ame 14:25
8th Kelsi 14:41
10th Liana 14:53
17th Trisha 15:31
20th Avery 15:48
TEAM SCORES
1. Iolani 27
2. Kamehameha 28
3. Punahou 72
4. Maryknoll 134
5. Priory 139
6. H.B.A. 147
The much anticipated showdown between Iolani, Punahou, and Kamehameha in the Varsity division did not disappoint. The three squads have been among the best in the state all season, and League bragging rights were on the line. The start was clean and fast. Nicole A. sprinted out as planned, staying close to HBA’s Lauren Ho. She ran arguably her best race of the season as she chased Ho the whole way but couldn’t quite catch her and placed 2nd. Joleen also went out hard hoping to keep pace with the front two. After the first loop she had dropped back a bit, but had a nice margin over the 4th place girl. Finally healthy she would go on to cruise to a 3rd place.
As expected, the team title would be decided in the pack which included the rest of the girls from the three schools. Megan and Susan led the pack for the first loop and as they headed up the hill they were joined by the rest of the girls including four Kamehameha girls. Nicole L., Kira, and Lara were just off the pack, but running with the rest of the Kamehameha girls. It was like watching three races! After making the upper loop and coming back down the hill the pack had spread out. Megan and Susan continued to run with the four Kamehameha girls. The Punahou girls had dropped back, and it was now a two team race. Nicole L. was running a very nice race just off of the pack, yet still in front of the rest of the Kamehameha team, and Lara and Kira were next.
The pack stayed together until about 1/4 mile to go when one of the Kamehameha girls began to drop back. Megan and Susan tried pushing the pace and got out front. As they approached the final straightaway it would come down to a kick. Susan battled with a Kamehameha girl all the way until the end and just edged her out at the finish line to finish in 5th. Megan was caught and passed by the other two Kamehameha girls and a Punahou girl, but held on for 10th place.
Meanwhile, the rest of the Punahou and Kamehameha girls really picked it up the last 1/2 mile and closed in on Nicole L. who fought furiously only to be out kicked at the end. She still closed strongly enough to finish the scoring for Iolani. It turned out to be enough as the girls defending their League title, but it was close as they won by just seven points. Kira had a tough day, but vowed to bounce back at the state meet. After battling illnesses all season Lara ended up having her best race of the season ending her career on a positive note.
Nicole A. and Joleen ran on four consecutive ILH Championships teams and will lead the girls at the H.H.S.A.A. state meet. The team will try to capture their fourth in a row, but it will not be easy as Kamehameha, Punahou, Baldwin, and H.P.A. all await. The state meet will be held Friday, November 12th on the Big Island at the H.P.A. campus and it will be a barn burner as all of the top five teams are evenly matched.
VARSITY
2nd Nicole A. 12:22
3rd Joleen 12:53
5th Susan 13:34
10th Megan 13:50
20th Nicole L. 14:09
23rd Lara 14:32
24th Kira 14:37
TEAM SCORES
1. Iolani 40
2. Kamehameha 47
3. Punahou 66
4. H.B.A. 116
5. Maryknoll 117
6. Priory 159
