At this point, it’s fair to ask if there is anything Kamehameha’s Chenoa Frederick can’t accomplish in track and field.
Coach Manly Kanoa struggled to put the junior’s latest powerhouse performance into perspective.
“It’s …. amazing,” he said.
Frederick defended two more titles Saturday on Maui and added another crown in an event she’s never practiced, and with four gold medals at the HHSAA championships she can stake her claim to being the best girls track and field athlete the Big Island has ever produced.
“I’m definitely stoked with this performance,” said Frederick, who felt somewhat empty at the BIIF championships last weekend after settling for a silver and four golds.
“This is exactly how I wanted my season to end.”
Get this, Frederick (40 points) outscored all but two of the 30 girls teams at the state meet all by herself. Kamehameha-Hawaii finished third with 41 points. Seabury Hall was second (50) and Punahou (109) first.
“I just found that out,” Frederick said. “It’s crazy.”
With eight career gold medals, Frederick surpasses Hawaii Prep’s Emma Taylor, who collected seven hurdling golds in career that closed in 2016. Taylor was thought to have been the most decorated BIIF track and field athlete of all-time.
And Frederick, who has battled a back injury since soccer season, still has one more year to go.
“Next year, I’m not going to be playing soccer,” she said “I want to go 6 for 6.”
After winning the long jump Friday, Frederick figured things were looking up Saturday when she saw gray skies that reminder her of home.
“It was really bad weather and I was stoked,” she said.
Feeling more mentally and physically prepared than last week, she repeated as the 100-meter dash champ with a time of 12.56 seconds, and her least stressful victory of the day came in the triple jump – she threepeated, reaching 38 feet, 7 inches.
Frederick also won her first state go-around at the high hump. She and Kamehameha-Kapalama’s Selena Chow each cleared 5-1, but Frederick had fewer missed.
“I want to thank all of my teammates for their support,” she said. “Shout out to all of the Big Island for doing well.”
Also tasting gold was Waiakea senior Eric Cabais-Fernandez, who tied a meet record by clearing 15-3 inches in the pole vault.
“This has been a delayed surprise,’” coach Tim Carigon said. “Last year he was poised to win a championship but he hurt his knee.
“It all came together at the right time.”
Carigon said the weather couldn’t have been worse until Cabais-Fernandez and Punahou’s J. Kai Yamafuji each reached 13 feet, then it cleared for a two-man battle that Cabais-Fernandez won by reaching his personal-record.
“That was a huge goal for his college coach,” Carigon said.
Kealakehe’s Leann Hamilton and Keaau’s Isaiah Akana each took silver.
One was a surprise.
Akana entered as the 13th seed in the state, but he leaped a personal-record of 21-05.25, far surpassing the fourth-place finish he took at the BIIF championships.
“I’m really excited about it,” he said, “I never thought I was going to be able to finish second.”
The senior said good old fashioned hard work and determination helped him reach his potential.
“It feels great to represent Keaau,” said Akana, who was seventh in the 400.
The other silver, Hamilton took second in 800, wasn’t a surprise.
The two-time BIIF champion said she was in front in the rain until Seabury Hall’s Chloe Gangnath passed her with about 30 meters to go, crossing in 2:20.71 to Hamilton’s 2:21.40.
“I’m satisfied with silver, but I was hoping for gold,”said Hamilton, who ran a personal record in her only individual event of the day. “I did way better than last year.”
And there is always next year for the junior.
Waveriders assistant Patrick Bradley pointed out that Gangnath, a senior who also won the 1,500, and Honokaa senior Sophia Cash, a four-time cross-country champion, won’t be around to deny Hamilton in next season.
“We put everything into winning gold,” Bradley said, “but Leann will be back.”
Waiakea’s Cheyn Tam-Switzer claimed bronze in the 200. The senior didn’t have the best times in the BIIF this season, but he pulled ahead late last week to win the league championship in a PR and followed that up with by finishing a shade slower in 22.92 seconds for third. Hilo’s Riley Patterson was sixth (23.10).
In a boys 100 in which the top four finishers all ran sub-11 seconds, Patterson was fifth (11.05) and Kealakehe’s Calvin McHone-Todd seventh (11.20)
Also grabbing bronze was Konawaena’s 4×100 relay team of Melina Ramirez, Kiyomi Watanabe, Jadyn Hanks and Caiya Hanks, and Hawaii Prep’s girls 4×400 relay team. Saturday’s participants weren’t available, but Marieke Renz, Regan Riley, Jordan Perry and Isabella Police handed off the baton in Friday’s trials.
Caiya Hanks claimed fifth in the 100 (12.91) with Police (13.04) seventh. In the 200, Police (26.55), Jadyn Hanks (26.56) and Caiya Hanks (26.87) occupied spots fifth through seventh.
Watanabe was fifth in the 100 hurdles in 16.43.
Finishers in the top six scored points and the top eight earned medals.
In the 800, Hawaii Prep’s Javan Perez was fourth in 2:02.33, just ahead of the BIIF champion, Waiakea’s Magnus Namohala-Roloos, who was fifth in 2:02.50. Kealakehe’s Jahren Simpliciano was seventh in 2:03.28
In the boys 4×100 relay, BIIF champion Hawaii Prep was sixth (44.09) , and Konawaena’s 4×400 relay team took took fourth, one spot above Waiakea.
Waiakea’s JoryAnne Cabalse (35-04.00) was sixth in the triple jump, and Konawaena’s Noah Bredeson (20-08.75) was seventh in the long jump.
Editor’s note: This story has been modified to correct a mistake in the long jump results.