Kamehameha Upcountry Track Relays blow into town

Junior Kalai Yap sprints in the men’s 100-meter dash at the second annual Kamehameha Upcountry Relays at Kana’iaupuni Stadium, Friday, March 30, 2012.

By Dylan Godsey, sports co-editor
March 31, 2012

High winds and gusts opened the second annual Kamehameha Upcountry Relays held at Kamehameha Schools Maui’s Kana’iaupuni Stadium on Friday.

“It is extremely windy today [Friday]. It can be good, and it can be bad. It just depends how you take it,” KSM runner Naomi Holokai said.

The grandstands were filled by fans and track competitors from high schools all over Maui. The event was going at full speed as field events were held simultaneously with track events.

Many returning athletes for KSM earned a spot the leaderboard, placing multiple times in the top three spots for all events.

Junior Billy Ayakawa did especially well in the 400-meter sprint, bringing in the only first place among the KSM boys.

As for the KSM girls, junior Raven Poepoe placed first in the high jump and senior Kylie Yamada took first in the shot put. The girl’s 800-meter sprint medley relay team also took first.

This was the first upcountry relay meet for some newcomers on the KSM track team.

“It’s pretty scary jumping into something so intricate as track, but it’s fun, and I enjoy it,” Holokai said. Previously, she has been a four-year cross country runner.

“This is my first track meet, and I’m pretty excited,” junior Chayce Tancayo said.

Last year the Kamehameha Relays were held all day on a Saturday, and special events were coordinated into the meet such as a throwers’ relay and sprints. The relays were moved up to Friday afternoon this year to accommodate the junior athletes who were going to their junior prom on Saturday.

This is the fifth meet of the year, and the Warriors have a goal in mind.

“Overall everybody has been doing good even though our team isn’t as big as Baldwin or Lahaina. Everyone is trying hard to go to states,” Tancayo said.

“The whole team is good, I wasn’t expecting so much talent. You can see it in the results,” Holokai said.

The next meet for the Warriors is at 4 p.m. on Thursday, April 5, at War Memorial Stadium.

Upcountry Relay Top 3 Results for Kamehameha Maui:

Boys:

400-meter: Billy Ayakawa, 1st, 54:19

400-meter relay: Kamehameha Maui Team A, 2nd, 45:03

1600-meter relay: Kamehameha Maui Team A, 3rd, 3:44:4

Long Jump: Sayge Edrada, 3rd, 21′ 2″

Triple Jump: Iain Armitage, 3rd, 38′ 10″

Girls:

100-meter dash: Makana Pundyke, 2nd, 13:24

400-meter: Kiana Sniffen, 3rd, 1:06:27