Records fall early, often at Moku O Hawaii finals

By KEVIN JAKAHI

Tribune-Herald sports writer

On flat, gentle Hilo Bay waters that resembled a blank canvas, eight crews turned in technical masterpieces at the seventh annual Aunty Maile Mauhili/Moku O Hawaii Outrigger Canoe Racing Association championships, establishing new records and starring in the sunshine.

With barely a trace of Tropical Storm Emilia present on Saturday, the morning conditions were itching for fast times, and crews from Kai Opua, Kai Ehitu, Keauhou and Puna complied.

On the first race of the day, Kai Ehitu’s girls 12 crew (Kealoha Dinson, Tatiana Macomber, Olivia McKellar, Tanya Penovaroff-Diaz, Nayeli Silva-Kahalewai, and Teagan Travalino) set the first record, finishing the quarter-mile course in 2 minutes and 4.80 seconds.

That was fast, so too were the times of tailgaters Paddlers of Laka’s 2:06.99 and Kai Opua’s 2:07.89, which were also record times.

Just two races later, Kai Opua’s girls 13 crew puts its name in the record book. Paddling in harmony, Aaliyah Butler, Danielle Gramlich, Taimane Kamaka, Eleashia Kealoha, Nala Mrozinski-Foti, and Zoey Vera Cruz clocked in at 1:57.53.

Then the distance doubled in size and more records were set, starting six events later with the girls 15, a contest Kai Opua’s crew of Jaylynne Fowler, Nora Frank, Megan Kaipo, Jessica Lloyd, Makamae Quinn, and Justyce Torres knocked out in 4:20.38.

It was Keauhou’s turn two races later, in the men novice B, a half-mile race for rookie and second-year paddlers. The six-pack of Peter Dahlberg, Dustan Esteban, Donald Goings, Mikah Pada, Nicholas Schenk, and Todd Wanke soared through the finish line in 3:43.79.

That was fun, getting everyone’s attention. A dozen races in and already four records, a rather nice ratio. Then Kai Opua stepped to the plate, again, and made Melanie Kelekolio, who coaches the 15 to 18 girls, proud as can be.

The West Hawaii locomotive went 3 for 3, winning the next three races and setting new records with the girls 16, boys 16 and girls 18, flying to new heights.

Kai Opua’s girls 16 crew of Vailana Akeo-Taetuna, Ashley Alani De-Mello, Joelle Kahalewai, Gabriele Lovell, Quinn, and Torres finished in 4:27.00.

Rafael Flores, Isaiah Hauanio, Ha‘aheo Kaiawe, Kepa Kalima-Padillio, Ka‘u Kin In, and Devin Vandervoort clocked in 3:43.37 to take gold in the boys 16 race.

The girls 18 crew of Faran Brown, Ashley Gross, Sara Ingram, Lorelei Nakagawa, Kayli Towler, Miranda Villegas won decisively in 4:21.66, nearly 10 seconds ahead of Keaukaha’s 4:31.13.

“They’re all hard-working groups,” Kelekolio said. “I teach them to act as a team, even though they’re three separate teams. That fosters sisterhood.They’ve got good heads on their shoulders.

“When I went to the scoreboard, and saw that all three of my crews had won and set records, I was pretty proud. They deserve it. They’re really hard working. I couldn’t have asked for a better turnout.”

Kelekolio, who also paddled on the winning Kai Opua women freshmen and senior crews, said the calm waters played a part in the records, but a major portion was hard work.

“Granted the water was nice,” she said. “It was like a blank canvas, and I told the girls to use it to the best of their abilities. They paddled hard and smart.”

Torres, a power stroker in a middle seat, and steersman Quinn were the only paddlers on the two Kai Opua record-setting crews, the 15 and 16 canoes.

“Justyce has a good head on her shoulders. You can correct her and she takes it in, and works on it,” Kelekolio said. “She doesn’t take herself too seriously. She’s easy to talk to, and she’s sort of like your rock. You can rely on her.

“Makamae is just a natural talent. I taught her how to do turns several years ago and she picked it up and took it to another level. She does turns like an adult could.”

Then Kelekolio explained there is but a slim difference between technical masterpiece and last-place finish.

“If you have a bad turn, that could add as much as 10 seconds to a race that’s short, just a half-mile,” she said. “That means everything because races are won by tenths of a second. Makamae is a smart paddler and aggressive. She drives those girls. She wants it so much. She gives them that drive.”

Paddling, of course, is much more than pulling in fast times.

“What I expressed about those two goes for all of the girls,” Kelekolio said. “The girls on our team, they have a love for the sport and love for each other. They made lei and sashes for each other.

“They sat together the whole time and cheered each other on. They respect each other. That’s what I like.”

One race later, it was Puna’s at-bat in the women’s novice A, for paddlers with up to four years of experience. Danielle Downey, Ruth Hamakawa, Rachel Kingsley, Ariel Moniz, Harriet Parsons, Torrie Suda set the last record of the day in 4:16.33.

“Our minds were all blown. The whole crew worked so hard to get this far,” Moniz said. “From where we started, we’ve come a long way.

“Entering the race it was the whole part for us. We had a good start and that gave us a good momentum to go forward. Going into the turn, out of the turn and finishing, that all played a part in getting a good time. It was our timing in the canoe and we blended together.”

That led to a good time, a gold medal and one of eight records on a full-canvas day.