KEAAU – UH-Hilo senior Kaylee Rapozo didn’t finish in first place, actually far from it, at the PacWest cross country championships, but she’s still a champion in more important matters.
KEAAU – UH-Hilo senior Kaylee Rapozo didn’t finish in first place, actually far from it, at the PacWest cross country championships, but she’s still a champion in more important matters.
The 2013 Hilo graduate clocked in at 35 minutes and 33 seconds for 101st place in the 6K (3.7 miles) race on Saturday at Kamehameha’s campus, which featured rain, mud, and a challenging terrain.
It was Rapozo’s last race of her UHH career. The budget-conscious Vulcans are sending only junior Anna Baker-Mikkelsen, who was 49th in 26:55, to the West Regional (where anyone is invited) on Nov. 5 in Montana.
“I’m happy I finished it, and I’m happy I was able to do four years in college,” Rapozo said. “It was a dream. To be able to accomplish that is rewarding.”
Last year under former UHH athletic director Dexter Irvin, all of the Vulcans went to the West Regional held at Western Oregon University. Rapozo was 192nd or last in 29:02, but the impact of her running goes far beyond any standing.
Rapozo is on a partial scholarship and is majoring in kinesiology and education. She’s looking to stay home to become an elementary teacher and coach track and cross country.
In fact, she is already a coach with Lance and MJ Tominaga’s Sunrise Athletics running club. Rapozo is also the track coach for Christian Liberty, where her sister Kylyn is a junior.
Despite a minimal amount of time to study, basically, two hours after early practice and late at night, Rapozo is holding a 3.5 grade-point average. She’s set to graduate in spring 2017.
Two UHH professors, Tam Vu and Eric Im, crunched numbers of the 14 schools and couple hundred visitors and touted the race’s long-term impact at close to a million dollars. They reasoned people flew on Hawaiian Airlines, stayed at hotels, and bought food and umbrellas.
But sometimes role models are even more valuable, especially local ones, who stay home for the rest of their lives with a UHH degree and inspire others, teaching life lessons that don’t carry a price tag.
Rapozo’s mindset for her last race was simple enough, and it served as a message to her Sunrise Athletics and Canefire youngsters.
“It was pretty much to do the best that I can,” she said. “What I tell the kids is it doesn’t matter if you’re first or last. If you gave it your best, that’s all that matters.”
Rapozo is also a champion of perseverance. She ran all season with shin splints and a hip alignment injury. And she’ll continue to run and train because the Vuls will participate in the Great Aloha Run on Oahu next February.
When her running students don’t have any energy to train or fall behind in their grades, Rapozo can get on their case because she’s doing the same thing and juggling a heavy load.
As a coach, what’s the best reward for her?
“It’s seeing their faces when they accomplish something that they didn’t think they could accomplish,” Rapozo said. “Or when they set a goal and go past that goal.”
That’s a priceless tag, no university study can put a dollar figure on.
There’s still more to go as far as Rapozo’s long-term impact. Again, she may not be a winning medalist, but, more importantly, she’s a champion of perseverance and the aloha spirit.
And maybe there’s a 101 Symbiosis class going on at the UHH cross country program under coach Jaime Guerpo, who embodies the aloha spirit. He’s friendly, unassuming, generous, and humble. Rapozo is the same way.
“The kids can learn from my mistakes,” said Rapozo, in a statement of humility. “I love motivating them and being positive. First off, No. 1 is being injury-free, make sure your body is in tune with proper training and eating right. And No. 2 is the mental part, not having a negative thought in a race. That can overpower everything.”
And sometimes the best reward for local UHH athletes like Rapozo is the hometown support at the finish line. There to welcome her with open arms were her dad Kelly and mom Sossity Rapozo, and Sunrise Athletics coaches Lance and MJ Tominaga.
“My parents find me motivating them, knowing I work hard and balance everything,” Rapozo said. “And I’ve helped my sister, too. I got her into running at Christian Liberty. She can do what she wants to do if she puts her mind to it.”
That’s a priceless piece of long-term motivation from one sister to another, spoken from UHH’s champion.