by Dennis Fujimoto - the garden island
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WAIMEA — Ali Mubbashir crossed the finish line Saturday in second to last place and set off what could have been the loudest cheer of the afternoon.

After all, the Pakistani had covered a lot more ground than the three-mile cross country course.

While host Waimea High School swept the invitational meet, giving onlookers plenty to cheer about, many were — at least at first — unaware that two boys garbed in Menehune called somewhere very far away home.

“Sports is good,” said Teri Sakai, one of the parents in attendance. “It teaches people about culture. Nothing else can bring so many different people from everywhere together and they can learn about each other.”

“I’m here to cheer for three schools today,” her son, Gabby, said as he pleaded for keys to the car for a respite from the rapidly warming Waimea morning.

She said Gabby was an exchange student to Moriyama, Japan last year with another student who lives in Koloa.

While Mubbashir might have struggled yesterday, Armenian Gevorg Aghajanyan crossed the finish line in much heavier traffic, at 20th overall. He was followed closely by Kaua‘i High School’s Trais Schoniwitz.

Aghajanyan finished the three-mile course in 23:04 while Mubbashir stopped the clock at 34:05.

“Gevorg doesn’t run in Armenia,” Sakai said. “His sport is soccer. Since our kids in soccer do cross country running as a way to cross train, I suggested he take part in cross country, too. But he replied, ‘When I play soccer, I don’t run, I wait for the ball.’”

That left Sakai at a loss for words, but the exchange student stepped up for the race and following his finish, was eyeing the Kaua‘i High School students who were playing with a soccer ball in the shade.

Sakai said she is a local coordinator for the O‘ahu-based International Hospitality Center which coordinates exchange students from around the world.

“Waimea will have six exchange students by next week,” she said. “And this is not counting the exchange students hosted by the Rotary clubs.”

Earlier in the summer, Westside resident Jo Ann Watanabe was orienting her host student from India while shopping at the Waimea Big Save.

The young girl, apparently en route to Watanabe’s home from the airport, was still dressed in her native colorful sari.

“You’ll have a girl running with your team?” Sakai asked of Waimea runner Kelly Joyce, a senior who was among the spectators along the finish chute.

Joyce, who finished third for the Menehune and seventh overall in Saturday’s race, said they expect an exchange student to join them some time next week.

Basilio Fuertes, one of the Waimea High School teachers and coordinators for the Saturday meet, is also aware of how exchange students become part of the atmosphere for sporting events.

Several years ago, he was coaching the Menehune cross country team when he had a Japanese exchange student running.

That runner ran in every KIF race, but was not a frontrunner. Instead, he finished close to the end of the field. That gave the field and spectators an opportunity to cheer him home, the Menehune cheerleaders learning the Japanese cheer of “Gambade!” to bring home the exchange student.

When this story made the local media, Fuertes said the student’s principal from Japan was thrilled with the way Kaua‘i had embraced his student.

Mubbashir and Aghajanyan are already gearing up for the first race of the KIF season, which starts at 9 a.m. Saturday on the grounds of Kapa‘a High School.

• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@kauaipubco.com.