PUHI — Island School runner Ryan Stevens metered his run off the start line before slingshotting into the lead of the 38-runner pack on Saturday during the opening race of the Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation cross country races contested on the Island School campus.
Races were sidelined by the arrival of the novel coronavirus in Hawai‘i and reopened following a nearly two-year absence of competitive high school sporting events.
Saturday’s opening races featured fields of 38 runners for the boys and just 17 runners, including no Island School participants, for the girls over the course that measured a little more than 3 miles.
Stevens, once gaining the lead heading into the tree line, continued to hold off challenges to cross the finish line first overall on a run of 17 minutes, 49.77 seconds to set the pace.
Stevens’ lead fueled the Island School boys team to finish first on 23 points as fellow Voyagers Kai Spindt (17:50.25), Christian Carrington (18:01.25), Avinash Srikanth (19:24.31), and Spencer Summerhays (19:57.51) filled the scoring spots in second, fourth, seventh, and ninth places, overall.
Brennen Corregedore, starting his runner career as a freshman at Kaua‘i High School, was the first Red Raider finisher at 17:54.84, third overall, and set the stage for the Kaua‘i boys who ended with 47 points.
Nicholas Uribe (20:32.10), finishing 10th overall, fueled the Kapa‘a boys’ effort that yielded 59 points. Waimea runner Issac Funtanilla topped the Menehune effort, finishing 11th overall on a 20:32.66 run, that netted 107 points.
On the girls’ track, Kaua‘i High School’s Emma Burgess, instrumental in starting a community-run group for runners left stranded by the pandemic, dominated the 17-runner field to stop the clock at 21:33.29. She was challenged through the 3-mile, or 5,000 meter, course by fellow Red Raider Kamaira Silva who stopped the clock at 22:07.00.
The efforts of the duo was good enough to earn a victory for the Red Raider wahine runners with 30 points, challenged by the Kapa‘a girls who finished with 39 points and led by Jessica Drent who crossed the line third overall at 23.32.20 and Meah Jensen who crossed fourth overall at 23:35.68.
Waimea’s Hope Newton, finishing seventh overall at 25:06.15, opened the Menehune floodgates as Aliyah Taba (25:24.73) and Kayla Prigge (27:00.32) crossed eighth and ninth, overall toward the team’s 54 points.
The next KIF cross country meet moves to the Kapa‘a High School campus on Saturday, Oct. 23, with the first race starting at 7:30 a.m.
w Boys Results (Top 20): Ryan Stevens (IS) 17:49.77, Kai Spindt (IS) 17:50.25, Brennen Corregedore (KA) 17:54.84, Christian Carrington (IS) 18:01.25, Dominic Agrade (KP) 18:36.61, Damon Johnson (KA) 19:09.76, Avinash Srikath (IS) 19:24.31, Kaidyn Yago (KA) 19:55.60, Spencer Summerhayes (IS) 19:57.51, Nicholas Uribe (KP) 20:32.10, Issac Funtanilla (WAI) 20:32.66, Bradley Pratt (IS) 21:07.41, Rigo Uribe (KP) 21:20.48, Cassius Olson (KA) 21:23.39, Azure Seals (KP) 21:27.80, Thomas Capelli (KP) 21:28.95, Kelsen-Jay Sam Fong (KA) 21:40.97, Jacob Reese (KA) 22:06.82, Alexander Agrade (KP) 22:35.18, Aaron Egan (IS) 22.43.87, Jayred Tumbaga (WAI) 22:55.18, Jovin Moises (WAI) 24:08.69, Eliam Ornellas (WAI) 28:15.49, Jai Pacilio (WAI) 28:36.18.
w Girls Results: Emma Burgess (KA) 21:33.29, Kamaira Silva (KA) 22:07.00, Jessica Drent (KP) 23:32.20, Meah Jensen (KP) 23:35.68, Sage Hofman (KP) 23:55.02, Coral Turner (KA) 24:48.36, Hope Newton (WAI) 25:06.15, Aliyah Taba (WAI) 25:24.73, Kayla Prigge (WAI) 27:00.32, Jeanine Longboy (KA) 30:03.67, Michaela Alcaraz (KA) 30:51.39, Casey Bernabe (KP) 31:00.40, Makanani Aki (KA) 31:20.43, Kayleigh Martinez (WAI) 31:38.23, Adi Jensen (KP) 32:12.95, Katelyn Constantino (WAI) 32:15.17, Lauryn Hashimoto (KA) 35:00.98.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
