The UH-Hilo Invitational featured four women’s cross country schools and only 19 runners in the field, but it was a good eye-opener for the young Vulcans, who saw a bit of talent on the Division II level in a small sample size.
The UH-Hilo Invitational featured four women’s cross country schools and only 19 runners in the field, but it was a good eye-opener for the young Vulcans, who saw a bit of talent on the Division II level in a small sample size.
Hawaii Pacific sophomore Allison Carone won the 5-kilometer race on Saturday at the relatively flat Naniloa Golf Course, where pleasant weather greeted HPU, BYU-Hawaii, Chaminade and host UHH before the expected arrival of Hurricane Ignacio in a few days.
Carone finished in 19 minutes, 42 seconds while BYUH junior Jessica Horrocks was second in 20:10, and HPU’s Marissa Kunsch was third in 20:10, exhibiting the strength of the two Oahu schools.
After next year, the UHH Invitational will have a much smaller field. The Seasiders will drop their sports program after the 2016-17 season.
UHH’s highest finisher was sophomore Anna Mikkelsen in seventh in 20:37. Freshman Crystal Baysa was 13th in 22:26 and sophomore June Garrett was 15th in 23:55.
The two other Vulcan runners, freshman Alexandra Bielli and junior Kaylee Rapozo, were sidelined with injuries. That left UHH short for team scoring.
HPU captured the meet with 23 points, followed by BYUH (32), and Chaminade (70).
UHH has meets at HPU, BYUH and Chaminade before the PacWest championships. They’re basically tune-ups because all the schools are invited to the postseason.
With that in mind, Mikkelsen had a good run.
“My plan was to go out and keep pace and catch up as soon as possible,” she said. “It was pretty good for the first race.”
Mikkelsen wasn’t really supposed to be here.
After her first year at UHH, she figured to return home to Denmark to finish her college studies. But her love of her major in marine science and Hilo changed her mind.
“Marine science is really interesting, and I like this place and the people,” she said. “I like Hilo a lot. I like the atmosphere. It’s laid-back and the marine science program is great.”
UHH coach Jaime Guerpo pointed out that the best thing about Mikkelsen is that she makes her teammates better.
“She’s mild-mannered and soft-spoken, and all the girls like her,” he said. “She’s very driven and structured. That’s her biggest strength. She’s not vocal, but she leads by example.”
Baysa learned that there’s a big gap between high school and college competition.
At the BIIF championships last October, she was 14th at the three-mile race in Waimea in 24:17. There were 36 runners behind her.
“It’s way different than high school. In high school I could always go and work up to the front,” she said. “Here I started off in the back and had to catch some people. I have to change my mindset that I’m not one of the fastest ones anymore.”
Baysa, a 2015 Kamehameha graduate, is majoring in environmental studies. She was influenced when the school took field trips to the mountains, and she saw the limited number of native trees.
“I thought it was so beautiful with the native trees, but there are not a lot of them,” she said. “I’d like to help take care of the forest.”
She wrestled for four years at Kamehameha and won a BIIF title her junior year. Baysa also ran track.
When she was on the wrestling mat, there were tons of technical things for Baysa to think about. One little mental mistake and an opponent is on top with no chance of victory in sight.
It’s different for cross country. There can only be one champion. In wrestling, there are different weight classes.
As a new Vulcan, Baysa has discovered small prizes for herself.
“It’s about keeping fit,” she said. “Wrestling is all technical. In cross country, you just run. It’s simpler and more relaxing. And I like the team.”
Women
5-kilometer race
1. Allison Carone HPU 19.42.7
2. Jessica Horrocks BYUH 19.53.9
3. Marissa Kunsch HPU 20.10.8
4. Meghan Fairchild HPU 20.16.7
5. Lindi Young BYUH 20.31.8
6. Jessica Suriano HPU 20.34.8
7. Anna Mikkelsen UH Hilo 20.37.8
8. Malacie Jorgensen BYUH 20.44.1
9. Olivia Rivera BYUH 20.49.5
10. Gabrielle Wisot HPU 20.51.6
11. Julia Taylor BYUH 20.52.0
12. Amanda Turnbull BYUH 20.58.4
13. Crystal Baysa UH Hilo 22.26.1
14. Jaycie Dennison CU 22.43.2
15. June Garrett UH Hilo 23.55.2
16. Kaohi Gomera CU 26.21.9
17. Kristle Henry CU 28.33.9
18. Alexa Shah CU 29.27.5
19. Alicia Shedden CU 29.55.0
Team
1. Hawaii Pacific 23, ; 2. BYU‐Hawaii, 32; 3. Chaminade 70
Men
1. Jacob Alplund HPU 16.29.0
2. Carston Feigleson BYUH 16.46.4
3. Dylan Evans HPU 16.51.2
4. Ricky Oshner HPU 16.54.5
5. Bradon Schafer HPU 17.04.1
6. Blay Kotwitz HPU 17.29.0
7. Max Moncur BYUH 17.34.7
8. Mark Mojarro HPU 17.38.1
9. Ivan Juarez HPU 17.42.9
10. Mark Inay CU 17.51.0
11. Joseph Chagoya HPU 17.53.5
12. Philip Herrera BYUH 18.05.8
13. Evan Stolk BYUH 18.08.3
14. Aden Pierce BYUH 18.32.0
15. Taylor Mower BYUH 19.33.5
16. Aris Springs CU 19.54.7
17. Joshua Cordwin CU 20.00.0
18. Chris Ortiz CU 21.57.6
19. Patrick Cantor‐Martinez CU 24.25.6
Team: 1. Hawaii Pacific, 19; 2. BYU‐Hawaii, 45; 3. Chaminade, 76