Kaua‘i High School sophomore Kawehi Louis-Diamond secured two state auto standards, a state consideration standards and broke two Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation records to help lead the Kaua‘i girls to its eighth consecutive KIF track and field championships with 194 team
Kaua‘i High School sophomore Kawehi Louis-Diamond secured two state auto standards, a state consideration standards and broke two Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation records to help lead the Kaua‘i girls to its eighth consecutive KIF track and field championships with 194 team points, Friday night at Vidinha Stadium.
Kapa‘a’s Darren Taylor picked up two state consideration standards with his first finishes, Warrior sophomore Joshua Cram earned a state consideration standard along with Kevin Marshall Adkisson to help pull the Kapa‘a boys to a whopping 231 team points for the KIF championship.
Those results are based on the Friday night finals. Results of finals during the Thursday qualifying round were not available at press time.
Calvin Paleka, assistant athletic director for Kapa‘a and one of the track coaches, relished the victory, Saturday night at the KIF boys volleyball games, noting that it was a long time since Kapa‘a had gold in track.
But the Island School Voyagers, finishing fourth in the girls team scoring with 43 points and fourth in the boys team scoring with 45 points, went home with three new KIF track and field records —long distance runner Pierce Murphy setting new standards by breaking his own records set in 2010, and sophomore Joy Claypoole breaking a 2006 record in the 3000 Meter Run.
Claypoole earned a consideration standard, one of two at the KIF championships, with her first finish of 11:32.98 (cons 11:26.04) and broke the 11:51.65 standard set by Kaua‘i runner Chelsea Smith-Wishard in 2006.
Her other consideration run came in the 1500 Meter Run where she finished second to schoolmate Lauren Spears (5:11.59) and above Kaua‘i’s Heidi Herr (5:26.70) with her run of 11:26.04, all three girls earning consideration standards.
Spears also took a consideration (2:36.24) standard with her first finish in the Girls 800 Meter Run at 2:32.68.
Murphy had the sole state standard in the 1500 Meter Run, stopping the clock at 4:05.42 (auto 4:19.64) and bettering his own 2010 record of 4:08.67.
He continued to blister the track, stopping the clocks in the 3000 Meter Run at 9:03.75 (austo 9:41.44), better than the 2010 record he set at 9:05.90.
But Murphy was not alone in that event as Heidi’s brother Joshua Herr copped a consideration standard (10:08.24) with his 9:47.52 second finish.
Kapa‘a boys finished 1-2 for consideration standards (11.14) when Taylor and Zachary Rodrigues finished with runs of 11.50 and 11.83, respectively in the 100 Meter Dash.
Cram pushed the bar at 5-10 in the Boys High Jump to edge out Island School’s Logan Domingo who also carded a 5-10, both being consideration standard leaps.
Taylor topped the Boys Triple Jump on a leap of 41-08.75 for a consideration (40-05.50) standard and Adkisson put the shot 46-00.00 for another Kapa‘a consideration (41.08.25).
Red Raider boys rounded out the state standards led by Darren Acoba who earned an auto standard (15.74) in the Boys 110 Meter Hurdles where he stopped the clock at 15.07 with his first finish in that event.
Acoba took a consideration (44.04) standard in the Boys 300 Meter Hurdles where his first finish tripped the clock at 42.94.
Acoba was the opening runner in the Kaua‘i Boys 4×100 Relay team which earned a consideration (45.94) standard with its 45.74 run. Other members on that relay team included Wayne Knight, Myron Manera and Michael Kahoekapu-Cruz, a power thrower who finished second in the Boys Shot Put on a 40-08.00 placement below Adkisson.
Louis-Diamond secured her auto (16.74) standard in the Girls 100 Meter Hurdles where her first finish of 15.31 bettered the KIF record she set in 2010 of 25.55.
But beyond her, the four other finishers earned consideration (17.64) standards as Rachael Hinkel (16.29), Jayme Jacinto (17.29), Holly Kai‘akapu (17.29) and Alexis Aguano (17.62) crossed the line.
Louis-Diamond’s other KIF record came in the 300 Meter Hurdles where she earned an auto (48.94) standard with her first finish of 47.41 which broke a 1986 KIF record set by Waimea’s Michelle Pacheco at 47.4.
Hinkel (48.36) and Jacinto (49.62), with their second and third finishes, respectively, earned consideration (51.94) standards.
Having broken a 1986 record, Louis-Diamond set her sights on a KIF record held by her mother, Marlo Louis-Medeiros, in the 200 Meter Dash.
The record stands at 26.1 after Kelsey Cadiente, with her first finish of 26.92 earned a consideration (27.64) standard along with Louis-Diamond’s second finish (27.34), Cadiente missing the auto (26.64) by less than half a second.
Cadiente pocketed an auto (12.94) standard with her first finish in the Girls 100 Meter Dash with second finisher Reanna Javinar (13.21) pocketing a consideration (13.24) standard.
Javinar’s auto (34-05.50) standard came in the Girls Triple Jump where she leaped to a first finish at 35-02.50 followed by Kapa‘a’s Kekai Gonsalves (33.00.75) getting a consideration (32.04.00) standard.
Kapa‘a freshman Kaylee Silva took an auto standard with her 5-00 leap in the Girls High Jump followed by Waimea’s Cassandra Owen getting a consideration jump of 4-10.
One Kaua‘i girls relay team and two team each from Kapa‘a and Waimea earned state times in the two relay events.
Kaua‘i’s A 4×100 Relay team was the sole team to acquire an auto (51.84) standard with its first finish at 50.96 followed by Kapa‘a (53.02) and Waimea (53.87) getting consideration (54.44) standards.
Waimea’s A 4×400 Relay team topped the Girls 4×400 Relay event with a 4:29.83 run for a consideration (4:35.84) standard followed by the Kapa‘a A team at 4:35.14.
The KIF track and field stars next prepare for the Hawai‘i High School Athletic Association Island Movers Track and Field state championships, May 6 and 7 at the War Memorial Stadium on Maui.
