Varsity paddling sends boys crew to state competition
Photo by Maile Sur
Coach Robert Brede talks to the Varsity Boys I crew before their race at Kahului Harbor on January 31, 2015.
February 1, 2015
KAHULUI–Out of four varsity crews, KS Maui will be sending one, the boys’ crew, to the state competition this weekend at Kahului Harbor.
The crews battled it out, with two race-offs for a seat at states during the Maui Interscholastic League championship regatta on Saturday, January 31, 2015.
“The outcome of today was excellent,” head coach Robert Brede said. “Everybody came out and did their best… that’s all we ask for.”
In the junior varsity competitions, the boys crew also came out on top with a time of 1:65:14 for a first-place win.
“I think we did awesome!” sophomore Kamauliola Kana said. “We owe it to Amery Duduoit, he was our stroker. Without him, we wouldn’t have blended or done as well.”
Kana said he is ready to move up to varsity next year.
The JV girls crew was just a short distance behind King Kekaulike’s 2:10:72 with a time of 2:11:99 getting the second-place win.
For the varsity competitions, both the girls varsity I and mixed varsity I crews raced-off for a state seat; however, both crews fell short. Several key girl paddlers had been off-island in the two days preceding the meet. They were on Molokaʻi for the island’s annual makahiki, and the Kamehameha mixed crew informally spoke of a lane violation by the Luna’s, but the officials did not note any violation, so the mixed brew was left out of a state berth by a matter of inches.
The boys varsity I crew will be going to the state competition next weekend with their qualifying time of 4:04:98.
“We tried to push all the way through to the end, and, really, that was the best turn we had of the season,” senior paddler Ionatana Tua said.
That crew consists of Tua, Mahonri Aiwohi, Shae Johnson-Eugenio, Edward Juan, Rafael Adolpho and Nuʻuanu Santos.
Under the new Hawaiʻi High School Athletic Association regional competition structure, the Warriors in third seed will be able to compete in their home harbor in Kahului.
“We have to work hard from today on…,” Coach Brede said. “We just have to all come together and work as one.”
