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SHORT HOPS | PAGE 3B B Keauhou’s Penn Henderson (left) and Malik Mariano go head to head at Sunday’s 2nd annual “Dragon Race.” Mariano won the nine hill climb bike event with a combined score of 85. BRANDON FRANCO/SPECIAL TO WEST HAWAII TODAY RANI HENDERSON RUNNIN’ WITH RANI Become a PADI Certified Rescue Diver PADI Rescue Diver Course eLearning plus 2 days of training Prerequisite certifications required 808-329-7585 www.jacksdivinglocker.com SPORTS FRIDAY, MARCH 18, 2016 | WEST HAWAII TODAY Since 1981 C Add some adventure to you life! Fast running and barrels of beer kicked off Saturday’s 9th Annual Kona Brewers Festival Run For Hops 10K and 5K races. The community fundraising event once again attracted a field of nearly 600 participants ranging in ages from babies in jogging strollers to the oldest competitor — 91-year-old Bill Sprangrud of Kamuela. Yet for those over the age of 21, it was all about getting to the finish line to enjoy a frothy cold one. “It’s all for the beer,” joked Kona’s Danny Becker who was participating in the 5K event with his son, Duke. “It’s about spending time with family. This is a fun event, lots of kids, and there’s some good competition out there.” The 5K footrace began fast and furious with defending champion Cody Ranfranz, last year’s runner up, Adam Ankrum, and Kona professional triathlete Bree Wee, all bolting to the front. Ranfranz, a Konawaena High School junior who was also scheduled to compete at a BIIF track and field meet later that day, decided not to waste any time and sprinted through the finish line in a swift 18 minutes and 6 seconds. Not too far behind was Wee who claimed the women’s division in a speedy time of 18:40. “It was a good day chasing down Cody as he is one Kona’s best runners right now,” Wee said. “The plan was just to keep my head in it. I just finished racing the Subic Bay 70.3 last weekend and I kind of fell apart mentally on the run so I just wanted to hold on today.” Wee said she plans to compete in April’s Hapalua Half Marathon on Oahu as part of Team Hawaii — an elite team made up of Hawaii’s fastest male and female runners who will race against some of the world’s best Kenyan athletes. “I could tell that I had a lot of long distance miles in me — like I didn’t have that extra gear to go fast,” she said. “I plan on doing all of the local races from now until Hapalua to get some speed back into my legs.” In third overall and second place in the men’s division was Ankrum with his time of 18:42, with Pahoa’s Jonathan Popejoy taking the men’s third spot in 19:32. Following Wee in the women’s race was Ankrum’s wife, Laura, in 22:02, and Michigan’s Pina Finazzo rounding out the women’s top three at 23:17. As runners sized up their competition before the start of the 10K race, many looked toward a bearded Michael Popejoy — a visiting runner from Flagstaff, Arizona who looked primed and ready to roll. “That guy over there looks fast,” said Kailua- Kona’s James Resor. “I doubt I’ll be able to keep up with him. But I’m just happy that I can fit into these bike tights.” And sure enough, A weekend of run, beer, bike Coming Up Sunday: The 19th annual Big Island International Marathon, Half Marathon & 5K running events will kick off at the Hilo Bayfront Area. Start time is 6 a.m. for the marathon, 6:15 a.m. for the Half, 6:40 a.m. for the 5K, and 7 a.m. for the 2-mile fun run/walk. For a full schedule of events, registration details, and entry fees visit hilomarathon.org. NFL DRAFT Former Waverider Peni Vea steals the show at UNLV Pro Day Kealakehe graduate Peni Vea stole the show at UNLV’s Pro Day on Thursday. Unfortunately, not many scouts were there to see it. With an intimate crowd of two scouts on hand, Vea blazed the two fastest 40-yard dashes — 4.40 seconds and 4.48 seconds. The 6-foot- 1-inch, 205-pound safety prospect also benched 225 pounds 19 times and also had the highest vertical jump at 41½ inches. Vea was not invited to the NFL Combine in February, but for comparisons sake, his jump would have been tied for the best among all players, and his bench and 40 numbers would have tied for second best among safeties. “I was a little surprised by that, but that’s not my decision to make,” Vea told the Las Vegas Review-Journal on not being invited to the combine. “I’ll prove it in stuff like this. I just hope to land somewhere.” The San Diego Chargers — home of fellow Hawaii product Manti Teo — were the only NFL team to send a scout. The other scout was from the Saskatchewan Rough Riders of the Canadian Football League, the Review-Journal reported. The former Waverider made much more than a ripple during his time at UNLV, despite the Rebels winning just five games since 2014. A four-year starter, Vea amassed 328 tackles — good for third in school history — and also had 4½ sacks and four interceptions. ESPN’s Draft Insider has Vea as the 65th ranked safety in this year’s draft class, but expect that to move a bit higher after his impressive set of Pro Day measurables. The 2016 NFL Draft will take place from April 28-30 in Chicago. WEST HAWAII TODAY Vea WHAT TO WATCH FOR No. 13 HAWAII vs. No. 4 CAL 8 a.m. | Today BRING ON SINGER Sam Singer stepped in already once this season when Wallace first went down with a broken hand. He played at least 30 minutes in six of the next eight games, but could not bring the scoring punch that Wallace provided. That will need to be shared among Brown, Bird and Rabb, but Singer must be some type of threat to try to make up for the loss of Wallace. PLAYER OF YEAR Jankovic was the Big West player of the year, becoming just the second Hawaii player to win conference player of the year honors. While his scoring was important — the Warriors were 9-0 when Jankovic scored 20 or more points — Hawaii’s ability to control the backboard was more crucial this season. The Warriors were 23-0 when out-rebounding their opponents. Jankovic was the leader at 6.6 rebounds per game. SCOUTING REPORT Hawaii was able to get some unique insight into California thanks to its coaching staff. Coach Eran Ganot was previously an assistant at Saint Mary’s and talks regularly with Gaels coach Randy Bennett, who played Cal this season. And Hawaii assistant John Montgomery is a former Cal assistant and son of former California coach Mike Montgomery. 2016 NCAA TOURNAMENT OPENING ANTICS In the first 16 games of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, seven lower-seeded teams won... MARCH MADNESS, INDEED. NCAA TOURNAMENT FIRST DAY ROUNDUP PAGE 2B Yale celebrates its victory as Baylor guard Lester Medford walks off the court. Yale defeated Baylor 79-75. CHARLES KRUPA/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS BIIF SOFTBALL SEE RANI PAGE 2B Wildcats feast against Hawaii Prep, win 21-2 Despite some defensive miscues Konawaena defeated Hawaii Preparatory Academy for the second time 21-2 in a four inning game at Gabby Inaba Field on Thursday. Ka Makani had something to cheer about early on, taking a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning as the Konawaena defense faltered early. With one out, Sara Heymann walked and moved to second when Kiai Lindsey reached on an error by the first baseman. Tina Wu made it to first on an error by the third baseman, allowing Heymann to score. Lindsey scored the second run on a wild pitch. However, Konawaena answered back with 10 runs in the bottom of the first inning, and followed that up with one run in the second and 10 more runs in the third. Daycee Lei McKee-Haalili’o led the Wildcat offense. She went 3-for-3 with a triple, four RBIs and two runs. Kaimana Joy Manzano, Precious Transfiguracion, Erin Kaimuloa Bates and Andi Uemura had two SEE BIIF PAGE 2B WEST HAWAII TODAY ONLINE Leonard, Aldridge lead Spurs over Blazers


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