KIF Championship this Saturday
by The Garden Island
After sweeping last week’s KIF Regatta, Kula School teams were dispatched to a second-place and two third-place finishes in the finals Saturday.
“We almost had them,” said Rachel Smith, one of the paddlers for the Kapa‘a High School girls varsity team. Smith was speaking at the national Groundhog Job Shadow Day program Monday. “We were close, but this weekend is the race.”
The Kapa‘a varsity girls charged to the top in the qualifying heats on a 4:00.94 paddle but settled for second in the finals when Kaua‘i High eked out a 4:06.91, good for first over the Warriors’ 4:07.88 time.
Kula finished third at 4:09.55.
Kaua‘i’s 4:06.91 finish in that race was almost four seconds better than its showing in the qualifying heats.
But that was Kapa‘a’s only weak spot as the Warrior teams in the Varsity Boys and Varsity Mixed topped their respective finals.
The Warrior Varsity Boys beat Kula by almost four seconds, stopping the clock at 3:32.36 and bettering its qualifying run of 3:33.11.
Waimea filled in the third berth at 3:47.56, also shaving time off its qualifying run of 3:48.74.
Warriors dominated the Varsity Mixed with a run of 3:45.95 over Kaua‘i High’s 3:52.93 and Kula’s 3:54.77, good for second and third, respectively.
In the JV races, Kaua‘i girls took the heat at 4:20.4, followed by Kapa‘a crossing at 4:23.54 and Island School at 4:36.07.
Kapa‘a JV boys filled in the top slot at 3:56.10, followed by Island School at 3:57.91.
Overall, Kapa‘a topped the points standings with 30 points, followed by Kaua‘i at 20 points. Kula picked up third place with 16 and Island School and Waimea High School earned 10 and 7 points, respectively.
The KIF Paddling Championships start Saturday at 10 a.m. on the banks of the Wailua River.
