For Kamehameha, a third straight sweep of ILH titles is more than another group of trophies on the shelf. It is a birthright.
The Warriors won all three varsity titles at Magic Island on Saturday, and did so in convincing fashion.
The Kamehameha girls canoe paddling team won the ILH championship for the fifth straight year.
While each crew credited synergy for their fast times in perfect conditions, the Warriors had the most. Kamehameha almost unified the islands in one canoe, bringing together paddlers from four islands to compete in the final regular-season race, two from Molokai and Kauai, and one each from Hawaii island and Oahu.
"For us it is a cultural thing," Kamehameha girls coach Kehau Meyer said. "It is the native sport to the islands, it is our cultural connection to the past and that is something our kids are very aware of."
Kamehameha needed only to finish third or higher in the 6-mile race to take the ILH title or force a race-off, but made it be known from the outset that third is not the Warrior way. Kamehameha was challenged in the first minute and a half of the race before pulling away and digging for home. It was Kamehameha’s fourth win in six races.
"We were a really strong crew today and we are all really close friends," junior steersman Iisha Fu said. "It just helps throughout the entire race knowing you could depend on the person in the front of you and back of you."
Anna Corotan, Hina Keala, Kawaipuna Kalipi, Nani Woolsey and Brittney Saldania were ahead of Fu in the craft.
The Wolfpack will join Kamehameha in the state championships on Feb. 3 in Hilo, leaving the Punahou girls team out of the mix for the first time since it became a state sport in 2002.
The Kamehameha boys were even stronger than the girls, cruising through the 6 miles to beat surprising Le Jardin for its fifth win in the six races. They needed only to finish higher than sixth to get to states, but made it moot and cruised to their third straight ILH title. Kamehameha had a trip to states ensured since the middle of the season, but stayed with its long-distance program to ensure another ILH title.
The Warriors, who will be joined at states by Punahou, will begin preparing for the half-mile course immediately, but their veteran crew has proven it can win any kind of race, anywhere. Kaeo Lindsey, Beau Shishido, Tyler Meditz, Makualii Perry, Christian Heer and Kaleopaa Vares did the work on Saturday, but the Warriors are confident about bringing home a third straight state title no matter who is in the canoe in two weeks.
"We’re going to win," Kamehameha coach Andrew Lai said. "I am calling it. These guys are thoroughbreds, they are supreme athletes and I know how much they want it. Plus it is in Hilo, and that’s my town, so I can put in the good juju for them."
Kamehameha’s mixed crew also won to complete the sweep.
"Our kids, as native Hawaiians, this is their culture and they know it," Lai said. "It means a lot to them every time they win."
