“We’ve pushed really hard the past two weeks,” Willey said. “We did this all for Coach Beanie. The whole race we were yelling, ‘Coach Beanie.’ We all came together in one canoe.”
By KEVIN JAKAHI
Tribune-Herald sports writer
No surprise, Ke Kula O Ehunuikaimalino conquered obstacles to make school history at the Big Island Interscholastic Federation canoe paddling championships.
For starters, Na Io has just 28 high school students. They didn’t field a girls crew all season. And getting to practice is no easy thing either, with paddlers taking the Hele-on bus, among one of several challenges.
That theme continued Saturday when the meat of Kaumualii Kailiwai’s paddle broke in half. Still, the boys finished fourth in 3 minutes, 46.43 seconds at Hilo Bay, capturing a berth at the state championships.
In the mixed race, the Hawaiian immersion school near Konawaena also took fourth in 4:09.42, despite missing one of its top girls paddlers, Kaua Mitchell, who had a scholarship orientation.
“The mixed is a big surprise,” Na Io coach Eddie “Piki Hayward said. “Kaua is one of our stronger paddlers. But the good thing is the other girls stepped up and filled the void.”
They not only filled a void, but put their names in the school’s record books as the first to qualify for the state championships. It’s the school’s first entry into any BIIF sport.
Kawika Hashimoto, Makoa Chapa, Kalama Freitas, Hero WooChing, Paeai Navas-Loa and Napua Tacaga-Kuikahi were in the mixed crew.
Kailiwai, Hashimoto, Chapa, Freitas, Kala Ikeda and Manao Ikeda were in the boys canoe.
“I couldn’t pull as much as I could,” Kailiwai said. “I thought we could have finished second. It broke 11 strokes in and in my peripheral vision I could see other teams gaining on us. But I just kept trying and didn’t give up.
“It’s pretty mind-blowing to go to states considering how small our school is in our first year and that we have only one coach. Family is the main word to describe our team. A lot of us have been going to the school since kindergarten. We know each other really well. We have that bond, a family bond.”
When the state championships roll around on Feb. 3 at Hilo Bay, Kailiwai will have one thing on his mind.
“I’ll definitely make sure I have a sturdy paddle,” he said.
For Beanie
Parker coach Harrison “Beanie” Lono Heen died Nov. 4 on the first day of practice due to an aneurysm. He was 60 years old.
Heen completed 45 consecutive Molokai Hoe races, the first when he was 15 years old. That strong spirit powered his Bulls, who placed third in the mixed race and earned a state berth.
“It feels really good to dedicate this to him,” stroker Aidan Wharton said. “We pushed really hard for him. Everything came together in this race.”
The Bulls are all young. Wharton is a junior, along with Charlie Charbonneau, Cody Brown, Mariko Langevin and steersman Sarah Willey. Emily Whitfield, in seat No. 2, is just a sophomore.
“We’ve pushed really hard the past two weeks,” Willey said. “We did this all for Coach Beanie. The whole race we were yelling, ‘Coach Beanie.’ We all came together in one canoe.”