2B SPORTS FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016 | WEST HAWAII TODAY MOLINA: Konawaena is 92-0 in league play over the last 8 years Year. Molina went 4 for 4 for being named to the All-BIIF first team, and 3 for 4 for being selected the player of the year. (As a freshman, her teammate Courtney Kaupu was the POY.) She also won two HHSAA Division I state championships, along with four BIIF titles and is part of the greatest run in league history: Konawaena is 92-0 over the last eight years. Then throw in her laundry list for volleyball, where Molina was the most dominant player in the league’s Division II history. Molina went 3 for 4 being named to the All-BIIF first team. (As a freshman, she was on the second team.) She was the POY as a junior and senior. The Wildcats captured the Division II state title her sophomore and junior seasons, the first for the school, and BIIF crowns her junior and senior years. But back to basketball, where Molina will continue at Washington State. GOLD PRESENCE Molina missed seven BIIF games after hurting her left ankle during the winter break at the Title IX tournament in Washington, D.C. Her first game back was the regular-season finale against Hilo at the Vikings’ gym, where Molina estimated her ankle at 60 percent. She couldn’t cut, jump or accelerate. Basically, Molina was a stationary player. Still, her best skill — making her teammates better — is her constant shadow. Molina came off the bench and scored just seven points. However, points were never a concern for Magic or Molina. Her presence alone is worth pure gold. “When Chanelle came out, we were clapping. We feel more comfortable when she’s on the court,” Cherilyn Molina said that night. No surprise, the Wildcats beat the Viking 46-39 in a game that never seemed a threat to Konawaena’s long BIIF winning streak. Awa had the same perspective as Cherilyn Molina, who led the way that night with 20 points. “When Chanelle is on the court, the girls can feel it, and they’re more comfortable,” Awa said then. The next Friday in the BIIF semifinals, Molina didn’t play. Her ankle health estimate of 60 percent was probably a tad optimistic. Konawaena took care of Waiakea 60-19. The next night, Molina scored 13 points, looked a little closer to 50 percent to full health, and rode shotgun to Victor’s 16 points in Kona’s 56-32 win over Hilo for an eighth consecutive BIIF championship. Kailua-Kona’s Damian Camba. RANI: With the proceeds from the first and second Mac-A-Thon, the canoe club was able to obtain a Koa wood canoe Hosting the event on Easter Saturday was agreed upon because it was easy to remember. Club member, Arlene Wakefield, owner of Barry’s Nut Farm (Wakefield Gardens) near the Painted Church in Honaunau, offered the use of her venue to host the Mac-A-Thon footraces and also took charge of the first and many subsequent Easter egg hunts. Live music, homemade foods, a fun magic show, and an auction of items donated by businesses and individual supporters made the Mac-AThon and its post-race festivities a day of fun and games for all ages. The result was one of the oldest, most scenic foot races in the State and the canoe club’s most important fundraiser over the years. With the proceeds from the first and second Mac-A-Thon, the canoe club was able to obtain a Koa log and pay for the carving of their first Koa wood canoe, the Honaunau, in 1984. Subsequently, two more canoes were added: Kaahumanu, built in 1993, and the Alealea in 2012. Thus it allowed the canoe club to perpetuate in the tradition of Hawaiian canoe racing and carving with having three beautiful canoes in their halau. In 1996, the Mac-AThon’s venue moved from the upper Wakefield Gardens down to the lower halau waa (canoe house) at Honaunau Bay that helped to organize the event with less traffic. Although the change in venue discontinued the annual Easter egg hunt, the canoe club began serving hot pancakes topped with fresh fruit and macadamia nuts – an instant hit among hungry participants. And since then, the 10K and 5K courses traverse along gentle rolling hills of the paved Old Government Road extending from the pristine sanctuary waters of Honaunau Bay, to Napoopoo Road and back. Fast forward to present day, Saturday’s 35th running of the Mac-AThon 10K and 5K races drew 229 participants from around the island and honored Kawika Spaulding who graced the finisher’s shirt. Spaulding, the longtime treasure of the Keoua Honaunau Canoe Club and Mac-A-Thon race director, is a wellknown barefoot runner in the state and owns numerous ultra-running records. And as with tradition, Spaulding once again blew into a massive conch shell to start the perennial races. Defending champion, Billy Barnett of Volcano, saw no competition as he eased his way to the front of the field to win in a stellar time of 35 minutes and 29 seconds – a sizzling 5:43 pace per mile. Following Barnett in the men’s race was Glen Weissman of Washington in 38:23, and Kailua- Kona’s Joe Fairchild in third at 41:42. The lone barefoot runner of the morning, Spaulding, completed the race in a fabulous time of 1:03:47. Like Barnett, Hilo’s Ana Baker-Mikkelsen defended her title to win the women’s race in 44:03. A distant second was Washington’s Gaylene Donner in 49:38, followed by Robyn Dicesare with her time of 51:21. In the shorter 5K race, Kilauea’s Allen Ryan battled it out with Kona’s Adam Ankrum to claim victory in a swift time of 18:13. Ankrum followed in second place with a time of 18:42, with Logan Goering in third at 19:24. Honaunau’s Heather Scarbrough, who has multiple 5K victories listed on her resume, secured another win with a great time of 21:27. Second and third place went to Megan Sporny of Illinois and Holualoa’s Laura Ankrum, who finished in 22:44 and 22:53 respectively. It is also worth mentioning that the Ankrum family claimed five spots within the top 15. With dad, Adam, placing second in the men’s division and mom, Laura, third for the women, their sons Alec (13) finished sixth overall in 21:07, Aiden (11) in 13th place with his time of 23:29, and their youngest, Archer (8), in 14th overall in a great time of 23:46. With the Keoua Honaunau Canoe Club celebrating 35 years of family traditions, history and Hawaiian culture, their story will surely be told for generations to come. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1B JUST BRING IT Then at states, Molina put mind over matter. She put it out of her mind that her ankle was far from 100 percent. She just channeled her MJ killer instinct. In the quarterfinal 51-27 rout over Punahou (the 2014 state champion), Molina shot 4 of 8 from the field, scored nine points, grabbed 11 rebounds, and played 30 minutes. In the semifinal 63-25 blowout against Kaiser, she hit 3 of 6 shots, had eight points and eight boards, a game-high six assists, and played 29 minutes. Molina saved her best for her final prep game: a 44-34 state championship win over Maryknoll with 24 points on 8 of 11 shooting, including 8 of 9 on free throws. She also played all 32 minutes. That cemented her legacy as the BIIF’s most accomplished player and coach Bobbie Awa’s program (seven state titles, 14 BIIF crowns in the last 15 years) as the greatest in league history. NEXT WAVE So what’s next for the Wildcats, who graduate key starters in Molina and Victor? “The team will still be strong next year,” Molina said. “Celena will step in for Ihi as a big, and Cherilyn and Mikayla will work together to fill my spot. “Celena will crash boards, defend bigs, score, and bring aggressiveness. Cherilyn will take care of the ball, dish assists, score, and bring leadership. Same thing with Cherilyn.” Donny and Bobbie Awa’s Kona Stingrays club program keeps producing hoop gems. Next in line are two incoming freshmen, current eighth graders Anastasia Tuifua and Caiyle Kaupu. If the Kaupu last name sounds familiar, that’s because she’s the younger sister of Courtney Kaupu, a 5-9 junior forward at Chaminade. “The two new starters will be incoming freshmen who played in the Stingrays program,” Molina said. “Caiyle will be a big, as well as Anastasia. They’re both around Ihi’s height (5 feet 11). “Next year’s ’Cats will continue to keep winning games in the BIIF, and I believe they can take a third state title if they work hard in the offseason and get the chemistry going.” Like MJ and Magic, Molina and Victor led by example. The two Wildcats have been partners all four years. They’ll be gone but not forgotten. “Ihi and I left footsteps that the other girls can follow,” Molina said. “We showed them what it takes to win a BIIF and state title, and that is to work hard, never settle for less, keep pushing each other in practice, and stay composed when you play.” CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1B First Tee program starting up The First Tee Program for kids ages 5-17 is starting up. The cost is $25 per session (a session is 6-10 classes). This includes a T-shirt, Cap and a workbook. To register go to firstteehawaii.org Big Island Country Club starts on April 2 at 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. Makalei Hawaii Country Club starts on April 3 at 3-4. There will be a parent orientation meeting at 2:30 p.m. Kona Country Club will start on April 6 at 4-5 p.m. There will be a parent orientation meeting on April 3 at 4 p.m. Kellan Anderson, Executive Director from Oahu, will be conducting the meeting for the orientation. Please email peggyciriako@ gmail.com for more information or call her at 937-2380. LavaKids Family Fun Runs On April 16, LavaKids, in partnership with Club Rehab, will host its Family Fun Runs at 7 a.m. on Ane Keohokalole Highway between Palani Road and Kealakehe High School. Look for the Lavaman flags on the mauka side of the road. This is a free event and open to all ages. The guest speaker this month will be Alika Hoomana, who will talk about the importance of fitness. Registration will take place at 7 a.m. followed by a keiki dash at 7:45 a.m.. The one-mile and 2-mile run/walk will begin at 7:55 a.m. with the 5K run/walk right after. This event is open to both keiki and adults. Games and supervision will be provided for keiki during the 5K for parents wanting to participate. Preregister at lavakids. org for extra chances to win raffle for prizes. For more information visit lavakids. org or contact eventinfo@lavakids.org. Konawaena Foundation golf tourney The 11th annual Konawaena Foundation Golf Tournament is slated for May 7 at the newly opened Kona Country Club. Registration begins at 7 a.m. with a shotgun start at 8 a.m. The golf tournament format is two-person scramble with each person hitting at least six tee shots. Total maximum handicap per two-person team is 48 (calculated by averaging the players’ handicaps and taking 80 percent of that total as recommended by the USGA). Two mulligans per person are available for purchase at $5 each. Cost to play is $125 per person and the entry fee includes green fees, cart and great prizes. Applications must be submitted no later than May 1 to the Kona Country Club. Konawaena Foundation has committed $10,000 towards scholarships for qualifying Konawaena High School students attending Hawaii Community College’s newly opened Palamanui campus. For a golf tournament entry form contact Peggy Ciriako at the Kona Country Club 319- 2405. To sponsor a hole or to make a prize donation contact Reginald Morimoto at 974-2177. Upcoming HCC events The Hawaii Cycling Club and Metzler Construction are sponsoring the 3rd annual Hawaii Century on April 3 — a benefit for Hospice of Kona. The Hawaii Century event starts and ends at Spencer Beach Park. Cyclists have the choice of three routes: 30, 60 or 109 miles. While this is a non-competitive ride many cyclists will fit this into their training schedule. An exceptional lunch will be available at the end. There will be aid stations approximately every 20 miles. Preregistration and additional information are at hawaiicyclingclub. com. Click on “Century” to register at active. com. The Century entry fee is $50. Emily T Gail Show Jordan Ropp, Assistant Pro Waikoloa Beach Resort Kings’ and Beach Course, shares how he got into the business of golf and his experiences as a registered apprentice going through the PGA Professional Golf Management (PGA PGM) Program. of the golf industry. Winona Chen, of Bike Works, talks about the Lavaman Waikoloa weekend including the Bike Works Beach & Sport 5k Sunset Walk/ Run on Friday April 8 at Queens Marketplace to benefit PATH and ALS TDO. Entry fee is $20 adults, $10 for 14 and under and is a benefit for PATH and ALS TDI. Register to participate or volunteer at Bike Works Beach & Sport at Queens Marketplace or pathhawaii.org. Emily T Gail Shows are available 24/7 at espnhawaii.com under the lineup tab, as a free iTunes podcast and Emily T Gail on Facebook. For information contact Gail at emillytgail@emilys. org or 896-6780. Kona’s Camba a big winner in Hilo bodybuilding competition The third annual High Intensity Bodybuilding, Physique, Figure and Bikini Championship was held March 29 at Sangha Hall in Hilo. The sanctioned NPC (National Physique Committee) event was a qualifier to compete at the national level. The event continued an upward trend of growth and included a bodybuilding division for the first time. Damian Camba, from Kona who trains out of Pacific Island Fitness, won his weight division (middle class 154 1/4 to 176 1/4 pounds) the overall Men’s Open Bodybuilding award, and the Best Poser award. Other Kona competitors who placed well include Philip Buenavista and Cody Spencer, both taking second in their respective divisions. Transmission Technology, one of the main sponsors of the High Intensity Competition, is planning on having a Fitness Expo and Men’s Physique and Bikini Competition soon. The fitness Expo will be part of the car show on June 25 at the Old Kona Airport Park. Kona Strikers get bronze at Kirk Banks soccer tourney on Oahu The Kona Strikers Girls 14-and-under soccer team traveled to Oahu to play in the Kirk Banks soccer tournament at the Waipio soccer complex. The tournament is the largest soccer event in the state. They played four tough matches, coming back to the Big Island with a third place finish. The girls on the team are (last names not included in submission): Tiare, Amaya, Ka’i, Amanda, Maia, Malie, Pumeahana, Nikki, Sirena, Anela,Mai-Ling,Kalai, Ka’iulani, Jaydn, Coach Eric Kunitomo and assistant coach Steve Hanks. Getting some ink Individual or groups wanting to get sports announcements, results or photos of winning teams published in West Hawaii Today may send information via email to sports@westhawaiitoday. com. Include an evening phone number for verification purposes. SHORT HOPS
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