By KEVIN JAKAHI Tribune-Herald sports writer ADVERTISING The Honokaa girls surprised everyone, including themselves on a gorgeous Saturday. Well, almost everyone. It’s hard to pull one over on Manny Veincent, the old paddling sage who knows all about the power
By KEVIN JAKAHI
Tribune-Herald sports writer
The Honokaa girls surprised everyone, including themselves on a gorgeous Saturday.
Well, almost everyone. It’s hard to pull one over on Manny Veincent, the old paddling sage who knows all about the power of hard work.
The Dragons were the upset special order of the day, winning the Big Island Interscholastic Federation girls canoe paddling race at Hilo Bay under serene conditions — flat water, no wind and a stockpile of sunshine.
Shade Liftee, Breanne Samio, Monica Muskat, Britney Samio, Tisha Sugse and Puili Baquiring paddled with perfectly timed rhythm, and finished the half-mile event in 4 minutes, 25.03 seconds, beating Kealakehe’s 4:29.45 and Pahoa’s 4:30.22.
“I’m not surprised. They train hard,” Honokaa coach Veincent said. “Half of the crew are on the JV, but we didn’t have enough for a JV race and we moved them to the varsity. Our first two paddlers (in the canoe’s seats) are freshmen, Britney and Monica.
“It’s our second race of the season (out of three regattas). Our first race in Kona before the spring break we placed second. We’ve got a lot of new paddlers coming in. Most paddle for Kawaihae (during the Moku O Hawaii season), but Liftee is brand new. The key is practice. That’s it. And they all come out with pretty good attitudes.”
In the best and last race of the day, Hawaii Preparatory Academy’s mixed crew was one stroke better, edging Kealakehe by the slimmest of margins, 4:00.63-4:00.96, hand-delivering the Waveriders another runner-up finish.
However, the Kealakehe boys were simply dominant, blitzing to a 3:44.43, a sizable separation from Waiakea’s 3:51.08 and HPA’s 3:51.28. And in the junior varsity ranks over a quarter-mile, the ‘Riders ruled, placing ahead of archrival Konawaena in the boys, girls and mixed.
Happy Dragons
Sugse, the steersman, and Liftee catch the Hele-on bus to attend practice at Kawaihae four times a week. The other crew members live down there, making their life a little easier.
“It’s hard. Sometimes there’s no Hele-on bus and we have to find a ride,” Sugse said. “Sometimes the bus leaves late.
“I’m proud of all the girls. We worked hard today. There are no words to explain how I feel.”
In the heat leading up to the final eight-team race, Honokaa was second. Kealakehe won that heat. And the favorite going in was Pahoa, always a presence in its home waters.
The Dragons don’t have the depth of other schools. And paddling runs the same time as soccer, and that popular sport out in Honokaa requires a large roster of girls.
Still, the Dragons triumphed. They had a good start, a strong turn and a powerful down-the-stretch push, a winning combination any time six paddle as one.
“I’m surprised we won and I’m pretty happy,” Muskat said. “We pushed all the way through and worked as a team.”
Crampton’s home
RJ Crampton is Kealakehe’s stroker, the paddler who sits in the first seat and sets the tempo. And the way he led his canoe, he looked really comfortable at Hilo Bay, a good thing because the state regatta will be held there Feb. 3.
“I love Hilo waters. It’s consistently fair game for all,” he said. “We have to train harder and keep doing what we’re doing and get better.”
When the Waveriders hit the flag, steersman Tyler Parish, one of the six senior starters, powered his canoe around the corner with flawless precision, a byproduct of the crew’s cohesion.
“We have friendship and we know how well everyone works together,” he said.
Kealakehe coach Mike Atwood enjoyed the day, especially the postcard-perfect weather, and also offered big-picture perspective.
“I’m glad to see good competition from everybody, all the schools. Individually we know what we have to do. The other clubs know what they have to do, too. It’s a good first step,” he said. “I haven’t seen the other teams in the state. But the Interscholastic League of Honolulu is doing long distance and I know who the tigers are.”
He was referring to Kamehameha-Kapalama, which swept all three races at the state regatta last season. The Kealakehe boys finished third last year.
Lim’s tune
Kawena Lim is a sophomore at HPA and paddling for the first time. She’s the daughter of the late Kimo Lim, of the singing Lim family from Kohala, featuring aunties Nani and Lorna and uncle Sonny.
The Ka Makani have a roster of 50, but most of the school’s borders are still on break. School starts on Tuesday, so a lot of starters were missing, giving Lim her first varsity start.
“Last year I wanted to paddle, but my brother, Shannon, convinced me to wrestle. I think he’s undefeated in the 135-pound division,” she said. “I won a couple of wrestling meets last year. But I really wanted to try paddling. It was my first varsity race. I’m usually in the JV. I really liked how we all worked together as a team.”
She’s not much of a singer and more of a dancer like her dad, who performed with the Lim singing trio. At the BIIF wrestling championships last year, she lost and was ousted early. One positive outcome was her chance to dance in a hula performance later that day, and turn her mind to paddling.
Meanwhile, HPA coach Mesepa Tanoai summed up the day best when he talked about the nice surprises.
“Some teams surprised me today and did really well, like Honokaa and Kealakehe with their varsity and JV,” he said. “I watched Honokaa in Kona and they blended really well. They believe they can win and to me they’ll only get tougher. That group is one to watch for the girls.”
Saturday at Hilo Bay
Half-mile
Boys varsity
1. Kealakehe (RJ Crampton, Jason Fowler, Hoku Waahila, Malosi Correa, Jeremy Prehn, Tyler Parish), 3:44.43; 2. Waiakea, 3:51.08; 3. Hawaii Prep, 3:51.28; 4. Kamehameha, 3:54.47; 5. Pahoa, 3:56.06; 6. Keaau, 3:59.40; 7. Ke Kula O Ehunuikaimalino, 4:00.01; 8. Konawaena, 4:02.85.
Girls varsity
1. Honokaa (Shade Liftee, Breanne Samio, Monica Muskat, Britney Samio, Tisha Sugse and Puili Baquiring), 4:25.03; 2. Kealakehe, 4:29.45; 3. Pahoa, 4:30.22; 4. Keaau, 4:39.33; 5. HPA, 4:40.23; 6. Hilo, 4:50.00; 7. Parker, 4:50.43; 8. Kona, 4:59.05.
Mixed varsity
1. HPA (Noah Schenk, Kawohi Schutte, Sydney Budde, Emily Johnson, Kawena Lim, Kainoa Tanoai), 4:00.63; 2. Kealakehe, 4:00.96; 3. Kona, 4:09.60; 4. Parker, 4:10.31; 5. Keaau, 4:11.35; 6. Honokaa, 4:11.99; 7. Waiakea, 4:12.28; 8. Pahoa, 4:16.62.
Quarter-mile
Boys junior varsity
1. Kealakehe, 1:43.86; 2. Kona, 1:45.33; 3. Keaau, 1:49.27; 4. Kamehameha, 1:49.48; 5. Pahoa, 1:54.36.
Girls JV
1. Kealakehe, 1:58.15; 2. Kona, 2:04.68; 3. Pahoa, 2:05.81; 4. Kamehameha, 2:06.17; 5. Kanu O Ke Aina, 2:07.85.
Mixed JV
1. Kealakehe, 1:46.61; 2. Kona, 1:50.50; 3. Pahoa, 1:55.29; 4. HPA, 1:56.55; 5. Kamehameha, 2:00.55; 6. Hilo, 2:02.09.
