KAPA‘A — Kaua‘i High School cross-country runner Kobe Claussen was a busy athlete over the weekend.
Claussen finished the Honolulu Marathon Hawai‘i High School Cross-Country Championships at Central O‘ahu Regional Park on Saturday morning, and then he headed back to Kaua‘i to represent the Lihu‘e Coed Division 14 and Under soccer team, which was participating in the AYSO 14 Under championships at Bryan J. Baptiste Sports Complex.
Claussen tripped the clocks at the cross-country championships in 18 minutes, 48.30 seconds, just a few steps back of La‘akea Malczon of Hanalani School (18:48.30) to lead the Red Raiders boys team — the Central Pacific Bank Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation champions— to a sixth place Division II Boys finish with 137 points on O‘ahu.
Joining Claussen on the team were Cassius Olson, Liam Juvan, Zion Akana, Ty Clark and Elias Casillas in the 200-runner field where Yuta Cole — he ran the Island School course during the 2022 KIF preseason meet — grabbed top honors for Kalani High School on a blistering 16:16.12 over the 5,000-meter course.
The top Division II boys team belonged to Seabury Hall with 32 points, and the top Division I team belonged to Iolani School with 43 points.
On the girls course, the CPB KIF champion Island School wahine finished in sixth place with 134 points in the Division II race. The wahine were led by Voyagers Ashlyn Worley, McKenna Kerry, Avani Keahiolalo, Sadie Stiglmeier, Sydney Manibog, Kolohaiaheahe Kuhaulua and Michaela Meuldijk.
Worley crossed the line in 30th place overall on a run that stopped the clock at 22:05.48 in a field of 200 runners, where the top finisher award belonged to Kekaihullali Halpern of Hilo High School, who set the pace at 19:25.56. She was the sole female runner to break the 20-minute mark as the second overall wahine finisher, Saige Miller of Hanalani School, stopped the clock at 20:09.85.
Hanalani School was the top team in Division II with 48 points. Punahou School was the top Division I girls team with 65 points.
