KEA‘AU — Kamehameha-91直播 began resurfacing its track prior to the start of fall sports with the idea that it would be finished in time for the football playoffs. Unfortunately, constant rain delays during the fall meant that the stadium wasn’t ready to host events until the spring — just in time for high school track and field season and for KSH to host last weekend’s BIIF championships.
The prolonged delay was worth it, as the brand new navy blue surface was a ‘fast track” that gave the athletes a little extra boost, leading to some very fast times throughout the championship meet..
Perhaps the most impressive performance by an individual athlete was turned in by Konawaena sprinter Violet Schaut. Schaut took gold in the girls 100 meters with a blazing time of 11.88 seconds. The senior also anchored the Wildcat’s 4×100-meter relay team on their way to a first place finish in 48.38 seconds. In her last race of the day, Schaut finished in 23.93 seconds on her way to a track record and third gold medal of the day.
Schaut’s 100 time was the fastest fully-automated time ever recorded in the history of 91直播 high school track and field competition — solidifying her first-place ranking in the state. The Kona girls 4×100-meter relay team is ranked second in the state heading into the HHSAA State Championships this weekend. Schaut’s 200 and 400-meter times are also the top-ranked times in the state. She was named the Outstanding Female Athlete of the meet in recognition of her achievements.
“It feels pretty good, I’m really looking forward to (states),” Schaut told the paper of her performance.
When asked about preparing for states, she said, “I need to focus this week at practice, and get a good start.”
The title of fastest male athlete on the Big Island went to KSH’s Tanoatoa Muskat, who claimed the 100/200-meter double. He posted a time of 11.02 seconds in the 100 meters, barely beating out Hilo’s Tayvin Kuali’i (11.05s) and Kona’s Paxton Sokham (11.08s). In the 200, Muskat recorded a personal-best time of 22.26 seconds — besting Sokham (22.37s) and Hilo’s Aiden Iliad (22.45).
Sokham had himself a day as well, being named the outstanding male athlete of the meet after an ironman performance. Paxton claimed gold in the 400 meters, 4×100 meter relay, 4×400-meter relay, silver in the 200 and bronze in the 100.
There were a number of athletes who captured two gold medals. In the girls distance races, it was Kealakehe’s Zadie Bolton that finished first in the 1,500 and 3,000-meter races and picked up third place in the 800. The boys distance runners were paced by Waiakea’s Shane Tominaga — who ran his way to victories in the 800 and 1,500-meter races. St. Josephs’ Michaela Costales placed first in the girl’s 110-meter hurdles and the triple jump, and added a second-place finish in the 300-meter hurdles. Mari Ontiveros of Kohala claimed gold in both the girls discus and shot put, while Na’i Rivera of Kohala had a spring in his step on the way to gold medal in boys high jump and triple jump.
Kahalia Huddleston was another athlete who claimed multiple gold medals, finishing first in the long jump and 400 before anchoring the KSH 4×400-meter relay team to gold with the team championship on the line. While the boys team championship was a forgone conclusion going into the final event of the meet, the KSH girls held a small seven and a half-point lead over Kealakehe and needed at least a fourth place finish to hold off the Waveriders. With her teammates cheering her on, Huddleston took the baton from Kalai Aina in the final lap and cruised to a four-plus-second victory over the HPA squad clinching the girls title for KSH.
The path to the team championship was much easier for the KSH boys, as they scored 165 points to claim the crown, with Hilo coming in second at a distant 79 points. The constant for both the boys and girls teams at KSH is head coach Damien Packer. Packer, a BIIF track and field star in his own right from his days at Kea‘au High School, is in his third year at the helm and has been steadily building the program with second and third place finishes in previous seasons.
With his championship teams celebrating on the football field, Packer had an opportunity to reflect on the victory.
“It feels awesome,” he said. “It’s just a testament to the kids and the work they put in during the offseason. Before our track was renovated, we were training on sidewalks and the attendance was unbelievable.
“We wouldn’t be here without my assistant coaches. They bring their best everyday and sacrifice their personal and family time. It’s a collective effort.”
The HHSAA Track & Field Championships will be held Friday and Saturday at Kamehameha-Kapalama. The BIIF athletes who have qualified for states should be very competitive and will be among the favorites in a number of events.
You can follow the state track and field action on athletic.net and at hhsaa.org.
