By WAYNE JOSEPH
By WAYNE JOSEPH
Tribune-Herald correspondent
KEAAU — Hawaii Preparatory Academy’s Shane Brostek had a couple of off days in the discus.
He was as good as ever in the shot put, however.
Brostek was one of five defending state champions from the Big Island Interscholastic Federation who had a title on the line Saturday at the Hawaii High School Athletic Association track and field championships.
Brostek finished the discus in fourth place to lose his crown.
In the shot put, Brostek came back with a vengeance, repeating as the state champion with his toss of 55-7.25.
“I messed up in the discus with bad technique,” Brostek said. “I’m a little disappointed tonight, even with my shot because I did better during the regular season.”
Brostek is headed to the University of Washington on a football scholarship, but is also thinking of joining the track team.
“I might try to walk on in track, but those guys are pretty awesome,” he said.
Kealakehe’s Luca Walter did what he’s been dreaming of in the finals.
“I finally got my time under 50 seconds,” Walter said of his 400-meter victory. “Breaking 50 seconds means more to me than winning the state title.”
Walter, a confident senior for the Waveriders, took the race out in lane 5 and ran his own race.
“I actually like Lane 3 better because I can see my competition around me,” Walter said. “I’m a firm believer in God so I asked him to help me.”
During the preliminary trails on Friday a Kealakehe coach timed Walter on anchor leg of the 1,600 meters at 48.99 seconds.
Kamehameha Aukai Akau had no trouble defending his long jump title with his leap of 21-11.
“It’s great to repeat as state champ,” Akau said. “I managed to work out the tension in practice and allowed my technique to carry over into the jump.”
Akau, who most of the season found himself fouling in his first two attempts, was composed during the state championships and on Friday unleashed a 22-1 leap to regain his title.
“It was during my last jump on Friday that I hit the 22 mark,” Akau said.
During the 100 dash, Akau claimed third place and was satisfied with that mark.
“Third in the 100 at states, I can’t go wrong with that,” Akau said. “My mantra coming into states was ‘run fast, jump further.’”
The defending 300 hurdle champion, Kona’s Ua Ruedy, dove in desperation 18 inches from the finish line to take second place.
Ruedy a real competitor gave 100 percent in her attempt to retain her hurdle crown, falling just short.
Wildcat teammate Lia Galdeira won her first track state title leaping 18-01 in the long jump to outdistance the rest of the field. Then she added gold in the triple jump.
“I can’t wait to play basketball,” Galderia said after winning the long. “It was good fun with great coaches, but it’s onto basketball now.”
HPA’s Zoe Sims fell in her attempt to repeat in the 1,500 when a talented Seabury Hall’s Dakota Grossman, a sophomore, ran her personal best and gave credit to the two Big Island girls for pushing her during the race.
Hilo’s Carmen Garson-Shumway tried to stay in the pack of Sims and Grossman, but as the event came to its final lap Grossman pulled away for the victory.
Two new state champions were crowned in Keaau’s Cliff Eriksson, winning the high jump going 6-2 and Alexander Engdahl taking the 300 hurdles.
Eriksson was the only competitor to clear 6-2 and he asked that the bar be raised to 6-4.
“I just wanted to see what I could do today,” he said. “I am happy that I won the state title, but am also disappointed that I couldn’t clear 6-4.”
For Eriksson, it proved to be a mental game as the senior put it all together.
“I thought I could and I wanted it,” Eriksson said of the hurdle victory.
Eriksson did have his share of disappointment as his relay team failed to pull out the victory in the 4×100.
“It was a little disappointing,” Eriksson said. “We were all hoping we could win the relay and it just didn’t happen.”
“I’m very proud of my team,” Keaau coach Vicky Chai-Guerpo said. “This was our greatest season in the history of Keaau.”
The Cougars boys, the BIIF champions, finished fourth overall and were the first BIIF team.