Individual Champions: I’olani’s Esaki and Seabury Hall’s Grossman Win Convincingly

Troy Esaki was not the favorite, but he was a young man on a mission motivated by a sister, who he had watched have the race of her life four years prior on the exact same course.  On Saturday, I’olani’s Esaki completed his mission and met his destiny by winning the 2011 HHSAA/Honolulu Marathon Hawaii State Cross Country Boys Individual Championship at the Kapalua Village Golf Course on Maui.

Hawaii Preparatory Academy Girls Upset Punahou

Running is an unpredictable sport and what everyone expects to happen sometimes doesn’t happen.  On Saturday, the Hawaii Preparatory Academy “Ka Makani” Girls (35) pulled off the most improbable of upsets by beating heavily favored Punahou (50) at the 2011 HHSAA/Honolulu Marathon Hawaii State Cross Country Championship held at the Kapalua Golf Course on Maui.  On the eve of the race, the humble and esoteric Coach Franklin read to his team from Shakespeare’s “Henry V”, and the result was magical.

Battle Royale: Repeat State Champion Leilehua Mules Hold Off Maui High Sabers

The 2011 HHSAA/Honolulu Marathon Hawaii State Cross Country Championship Boys’ race was set up to be a dogfight and it ended as a battle between three teams from three different Leagues.  Pre-race favorite and the reigning State Champion Leilehua Mules (55) of the OIA used their team depth win out by only eight points over an impressive end-of-race surge by the Maui High Sabers (63) of the MIL at the Kapalua Golf Course on Maui.  Meanwhile, the ILH Runner-up I’olani Red Raiders (74) fought to within 11 points of Maui with a convincing third place finish over the ILH Champion Punahou Buff-n-Blu (108) in yet another shuffling of bragging rights within the ILH.

2011 HHSAA/Honolulu Marathon State Cross Country Championships: Individual Contender Preview

The boys team race should be a “dogfight” between a multitude of schools from across all leagues and Islands.  The girls team race is looking to be a conflict between two outer-island “David’s” and one Oahu “Goliath.”  Both the Boys and Girls races are going to be good ones for several different reasons.

However, two other races will run in parallel with the team events – Additionally, a Boys and Girls individual champion will emerge from Saturday’s State Meet.  Everyone has a favorite runner, and an opinion as to why that runner will win.  Rather than make predictions, here are some points to ponder in Saturday’s big races so you may make your own predictions:

2011 HHSAA/Honolulu Marathon State Cross Country Championships: Girls’ Team Preview

The Top Girls’ Team Contenders (In Alphabetical Order)

·         Hawaii Preparatory Academy (BIIF)

·         Punahou (ILH)

·         Seabury Hall (MIL)

Girls’ Team Preview: The MacDonald Clan is all about running.  Duncan is a former American record holder and US Olympian.  His Daughter, Eri, is the only Hawaii runner who can claim four of four HHSAA State Cross Country Championships.  Moreover, since McDonald took the reigns as the Head Coach of the Punahou Girls’ Cross Country program from Hugh Jenkins in the late 1990’s, he has led the Buff-n-Blu to eight State titles.  Last year, Coach MacDonald equaled his predecessor by winning his sixth consecutive championship.  This Saturday, the Coach will lead his team in an attempt to do what has never been achieved by a girl’s cross country team, and done only once by a boy’s team: Win a seventh consecutive State Cross Country Championship.

2011 HHSAA/Honolulu Marathon State Cross Country Championships: Overview and Boys Team Preview

Even while high school football and volleyball are making headlines in the traditional press, there has been a quiet renaissance rising in the Islands.  Fueling this movement are the multitudes of young athletes who compete every Saturday over field, hill and trail for fleet-footed dominance in the most disciplined, painful, and rewarding of sports.  Times have been dropping and interest has been peaking within Hawaii’s running community over the increasingly popular sport of high school cross-country.  These young runners will gather at the Kapalua Village Golf Course on Maui this Saturday for the HHSAA/Honolulu Marathon 2011 Cross Country State Championships. 

Punahou Pulls off a Surprise Sweep at the ILH Cross Country Championships

Punahou School, Honolulu, Oahu (10/22/2011) - According to League officials, it has never happened before – One school managed to win all six events at this Saturday’s ILH Cross Country Championships.

The Buff-N-Blue of Punahou won the Boys’ and Girls’ Varsity, Junior Varsity and Intermediate team races.  Some of the races were blowouts; however, some of the events were so close that it came down to just a few points.