With just three regattas remaining until the Moku ‘O Hawai‘i championship, Saturday’s Keaukaha Canoe Club regatta saw intense competition between the isle’s crews.
This summer has been a remarkably dominant one for Puna Canoe Club, which once again grossed the most points — checking out at 292 points with 19 gold medals. The Green machine has sat atop the leaderboard of every regatta this summer.
Another season-long trend has been Keaukaha giving Puna a run for its money. The host club was neck and neck with Puna for much of the day, but Puna pulled away during the masters events. Keaukaha finished with the second most points (238) — collecting eight gold medals, seven silver and seven bronze.
Kai Opua and Kai ‘Ehitu grossed the third and fourth most points, respectively, coming in close together at 191 and 189.
Keoua Honaunau Canoe Club led Division B with 94 points — trailed by Paddlers of Laka, which tallied 86 points in 15 events.
Puna’s Boys 14 crew — La’akea Kaawaloa-Okita, Ikena Kuikahi-Keolanui, Kamakana Badan-Dellomes, Robert Kalili-Burdman, ‘Iolani Rocha and Analu Kaholokai-Yockman — has showed no signs of slowing down. The boys notched the fastest quarter-mile for the third time this season and second time in a row, clocking in at 1:44.94 to stay atop the state leaderboard.
Similarly, Kai ‘Ehitu’s Men Masters (40) crew — Ian Hamar, Eddie Hayward, Troy Parker-Bailey, Joel Noa, Keola Rivera and Jimmer Tan — has continued to dominate in Moku and statewide. The crew recorded the regatta’s fastest half-mile (3:36.03) for the second straight time, and stands at No. 2 statewide behind Kauai’s Kaioloa CC.
Keauhou Canoe Club’s Men Junior crew — Chase VonNordheim, Ka‘eo Peterson, Trey Cox III, Aaron Nahina, Jose Lizardi and Makoa Becerra — notched a hat trick, recording the fastest mile (7:16.10) for the third straight time. The crew trails Kauai’s Kukuiula Outrigger Canoe Club in the state leaderboard by less than four seconds.
This Saturday, Puna CC will host its regatta in the Hilo Akiona Course. The next two remaining regattas before the Moku championship will be Kamehameha CC’s John Kekua Jr regatta on July 8 and Paddlers of Laka’s regatta July 15.