Cassidy Denault won the gold, Kacie Tagawa the silver, and John Marrack the bronze for the Sunrise Athletics Senior Scholarship, based on their academic, character, community service, leadership, and athletic achievements.
The recent graduates received $1,500 for the gold, Denault (Waiakea); $1,000 for the silver, Tagawa (Waiakea); and $500 for the bronze, Marrack (Hilo).
Other Sunrise Athletics members were given a small monetary parting gift. They were Osiana Pacheco (Kamehameha), Ayrton Takane (Waiakea), Alysa Yabe (Waiakea), and Bronson Klein (Waiakea).
“Cassidy exemplified the importance of being a strong student-athlete and showed that it is possible to have a rigorous academic workload, participate in athletics and give back to the community at the same time,” said MJ Tominaga, a Sunrise Athletics founder, and coach along with her husband Lance, Tominaga. “Kacie was always very team-oriented and would be the captain that would put emphasis on team spirit and cohesiveness.
“John led by example, not only for being respected by his peers as a talented runner but for always being composed as a leader.”
Tagawa is heading to the University of Oregon to major in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing. She’ll be busy but is considering joining the school’s running club.
“It was an honor to receive the scholarship because Sunrise Athletics has played such a huge role in my life since a young age,” Tagawa said.”I really appreciate all the support I’ve received from my coaches and teammates.”
Denault was surprised and grateful at the same time.
“I was so happy. I’ve been with Sunrise forever,” she said. “It’s been a good experience, and I’m so grateful to have been supported like that.
“I joined in 2012, the end of elementary and the beginning of intermediate. My dad got me into it, and we ran together. The team was so good, and I made a lot of friends. It made me love running and the experience.”
Her BIIF highlight was during her sophomore year in an unfamiliar sport. Denault took runner-up for the high jump at the BIIF championship.
“It was my first year of doing high jump with coach Lance,” she said. “Coach Lance encouraged me. I never tried it before, but it was kind of fun, and II kept doing it.”
Denault graduated with a 4.2 GPA and will head to Seattle University in mid-September to study environmental science with hopes of returning to Hawaii and work for the forestry department.
She earned her high GPA the hard way: she worked for it, managed her time and didn’t turn into a couch potato.
“It was definitely discipline. I was running basically year-round in high school and Sunrise and having a busy schedule. It taught me to make the most of my time. I prioritized grades over watching TV or procrastinating over things. I enjoyed those things anyway.”
For her community service checkbox, Denault was in the Waiakea Leo club and 4H Superstar club, which focused on community service, volunteering as helpers for the Hilo marathon, and help coach younger kids at their practices.
Denault doesn’t plan to run in college but picked a place that fits her comfort zone.
“With COVID, I couldn’t visit any of the colleges, but I did a lot of research,” she said. “Seattle seems like a fun city. I wanted a new experience. Seattle University is a small school, and I liked the small class sizes. It’s right in the city so there are opportunities for internships and exploring the city.”
The best moment for Denault was helping others.
“Racing can be very stressful,” she said. “If a teammate doesn’t have a good finish, they can be so unhappy. You want to be there for your teammate, so they can feel better. Those are the moments I remember.”
