ILH Boys Run Hard in Fierce Competition: No Clear Favorite Emerges
Central Oahu Regional Park – Waipio (10/1/2011) As of mid-season, the Interscholastic League of Honolulu (ILH) competitive fires heated up for the Varsity Boys. In the initial results, team scores were not officially tallied. However, in unofficial team scoring, Punahou (53) edged out a narrow victory over I’olani (63), Hawaii Baptist Academy (69) and Kamehameha – Kapalama (76). Still, no team was able to set itself apart from the others, and runners from the various schools were mixed in the final standings. Meanwhile, I’olani Senior Troy Esaki (16:36.98) led the race from start to finish, eventually opening up a 22-second lead over runner-up Charles Akiona (16:59.88) of Kamehameha. Punahou Junior Nikolai Scharer (17:24.67) moved up through the pack in the first half of the race, and then won a sprinting duel to finish third.
In the girls’ varsity race, unofficial team results had Kamehameha-Kapalama (56) winning out against I’olani (71) for the team victory while most of the Buff-n-Blue varsity took the week off. Punahou Senior Kyleigh Mann (20:51.40) mirrored the boy’s race by leading from the start, and finishing over 25 seconds ahead of Kamehameha’s Kai Hoshijo (21:17.33). Kelsi Teramae (21:19.58) and Jennifer Borzilleri (21:19.93) of Island Pacific Academy finished in third and fourth place.
In the Boys’ JV race, Hawaii Baptist Academy ran as a team to a narrow unofficial victory over Punahou (48-51). No HBA runner was in the top five, but every scoring team member in the top 13. After an impressive showing in both the Varsity and JV races, HBA Boys’ Cross Country Head Coach, Derek Coryell, was asked how HBA is building the quality of its running program to compete with the traditional ILH power schools. Coach Derek commented, “We have developed a culture of expectations. The kids know that if they work hard, then they can expect to get faster. Right now we have kids who have been running in the program for three, four or five years and they know how to race.”
In the girls’ JV race, there was no week off for Punahou, and they scored a perfect 15 points to win the unofficial team competition over Kamehameha-Kapalama (57).
ILH cross-country competition continues next Saturday at the Punahou Invitational. Races begin at 8:30 AM on the school’s campus.