Kayakers do well at trials

Hawaii sent 10 paddlers to last weekend’s USA Canoe/Kayak Sprint National Team Trials at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif. Eight came home as members of senior or junior national teams.

This was the first step toward competing at the 2012 Olympics. U.S. senior flatwater kayakers are basically on their own to qualify boats for the Games after the U.S. Olympic Committee slashed their funding late last year.

Twins Luke and Jake Michael — Australian-Americans now training on the Ala Wai with national coach Guy Wilding — and Kailua’s Patrick Dolan were first to qualify. They finished 1-3-4 in the K1 1,000 meters. Georgia’s Morgan House, who has also trained here, was second. Those four will try to qualify a U.S. K4 boat for the Olympics.

Pat’s younger brother Ryan then won the K2 200M convincingly with Tim Hornsby, who has also trained here, to claim a place on the national team.

Ryan Dolan added a second in the K1 200M to House. Luke Michael was third, Jake Michael fourth and Patrick Dolan sixth.

The four paddlers training here and the rest of the senior national team head to Europe next to race in World Cups in August. The U.S. must qualify Olympic boats at World Championships or Pan Am Games to be eligible for the Olympics.

Hawaii Canoe & Kayak Team’s Kalei Kahookele won two junior men’s events, edging teammate Trenton Dos Santos-Tam in the 200-meter K1 and claiming the 500M A final by more than 2 seconds. Kahookele was also fourth in the 1,000M, making him the top-ranked junior in the country.

The Mid-Pacific Institute senior claimed a spot on the junior national team along with Dos Santos-Tam and Alex Cheung. MPI junior Rachel Kincaid was the only girl from Hawaii to gain a place on the junior national team, placing second in the 500M and third in the 1,000M. The 16-year-old, competing against 18-year-olds, also earned a top-three national ranking. Hawaii’s Emily Mickle and Tatjana Perrin narrowly missed qualifying for the senior and junior teams.

Malia Gacutan, a 14-year-old member of HCKT, went to trials to support her teammates. She ended up winning three events in the revived Silver Blade Regatta exhibition.