Jonathan Melton knows his place.
Forgive him, though, for enjoying the view from the top so far this season.
Melton, a senior at Hanalani, won the boys’ 100-meter race at Kamehameha on Saturday, his fifth victory in the event in five races this season. His time of 11.33 was nearly a half-second better than second-place finisher Dade Apao of Kamehameha but slower than he has run in a month. His personal best is 11.04 at ‘Iolani on March 3.
"He should be under 10 by now," Hanalani coach Louis Fuentes said. "I’m surprised he’s not there. He is running hard and looks good; it’s just surprising the way things are going. He is stumping everybody, because he is still running in front of everybody."
Melton’s main competition looms over each of his meets. Jeremy Tabuyo of Saint Louis is recovering from ACL surgery in November and tested his recovery by running the 4×100 at "75 to 85 percent" and he expects to enter the 100 meters again at the Honolulu Marathon meet April 13 at Kamehameha.
Then the fun and games will really begin for Melton. Tabuyo ran a 10.97 to capture the ILH last year and ran a personal best of 10.84 at states to finish second behind Kapolei’s Devin Jenkins.
"I am really impressed by (Melton)," Saint Louis coach Anthony Arceneaux said. "His times are good for not having anyone pushing him right now. Hopefully when Jeremy gets back they can push each other to be better."
Melton is not chasing Jenkins and Tabuyo as much as he is competing against himself. He says he will happily cede the fast lane to Tabuyo if the Crusader can come back as fast as he was when he got injured. The only role the state’s two fastest sprinters play in Melton’s development is making him run faster than he normally would.
"It’s a big burden in my heart," Melton said. "I am going to do my best and I believe God has planned for me to run a 10.99 this season. Anything less than 11, I will be satisfied."
Melton also ran the 400 on Saturday, winning his heat and coming in 10th overall. He won the 200 by two-tenths of a second over Brandon Akiona of Kamehameha, but the 100 is where his passion is.
"I like the training of it," Melton said. "It is such a competitive aspect of track and field. Mentally and physically, it is so fun to just go out there and run my hardest. I was slower when I was younger. When I worked hard and put my mind to it, I did well. It is a reminder to me how far I have come in life."
Kamehameha had six winners on the boys side on Saturday, with five different individuals taking gold and the team winning the 4×100. Punahou was next with four wins, paced by Isaac Savaiinaea sweeping the discus and the shot put.
The Buffanblu led with five wins on the girls’ side, three of them by Christine Tsai in the long jump, triple jump and high jump. Hannah Sherrill of Pac-Five swept the discus and the shot put and Abrianna Johnson-Edwards took both hurdles events. Kanoelani Yadao won the 100, 200 and 400 for Hawaii Baptist.
ILH TRACK AND FIELD RESULTS
At Kamehameha
BOYS
Discus—1. Isaac Savaiinaea, Pun, 145-8. 2. Nick Wong, Dam, 132-7. 3. Chevy Fonseca, KS, 127-10.
Shot put—1. Isaac Savaiinaea, Pun, 49-6.75. 2. Keoni Bush-Loo, KS, 46-8.75. 3. Kihaakeanu Sai, KS, 42-4.
Long jump—1. Micah Halemano, KS, 21-4.25. 2. Kiko Whiteley, Pun, 19-10.5. 3. Royce Mori, Dam, 19-8.
Triple jump—1. Taylor Taliulu, KS, 40-11. 2. Jack Kealohi, KS, 40-2.5. 3. Adam Fong, Iol, 39-3.
High jump—1. Kayson Smith-Bejgrowicz, KS, 6-0. 2. Kiko Whiteley, Pun, 5-10. 3. Chris Bueno, Iol, 5-8.
Pole vault—1. (tie) Bryson Wong, Pun, and Nicholas Liu, Iol, 12-6. 3. Trent Park, KS, 12-0.
110-meter hurdles—1. Christian Schroppel, P5, 16.26. 2. Nathan Ramos, KS, 16.53. 3. Collin Pidot, KS, 16.58.
100—1. Jonathan Melton, Han, 11.33. 2. Dade Apao, KS, 11.78. 3. Kyle Sato, Dam, 11.79.
1,500—1. Adan Overcash, Iol, 4:20.23. 2. Charles Akiona, KS, 4:22.78. 3. David Clarke, Iol, 4:23.65.
4×100 relay—1. Kamehameha 44.41. 2. Damien 45.59. 3. Saint Louis 45.95.
400—1. Logan Ne, KS, 51.52. 2. Devon Terayama, Pun, 52.75. 3. Brandon Akiona, KS, 52.86.
300 hurdles—1. Zach Masuda, Iol, 43.94. 2. Griffin Saunders, Pun, 44.31. 3. Christian Schroppel, P5, 44.41.
800—1. Michael Chin, CA, 2:01.86. 2. Adan Overcash, Io, 2:04.95. 3. Nikolai Scharer, Pun, 2:05.14.
200—1. Jonathan Melton, Han, 23.65. 2. Brandon Akiona, KS, 23.67. 3. Logan Ne, KS, 24.28.
3,000—1. Charles Akiona, KS, 9:37.62. 2. Davis Kaahanui, KS, 10:03.43. 3. Gordon Kowalkowski, Pun, 10:06.63.
4×400—1. Punahou 3:36.47. 2. Iolani 3:37.07. 3. Damien 3:44.00.
GIRLS
Discus—1. Hannah Sherrill, P5, 150-2. 2. Elizabeth Vaea, Iol, 105-9. 3. Kekahiliokalani Novikoff, KS, 101-5.
Shot put—1. Hannah Sherrill, P5, 37-7.5. 2. Kekahiliokalani Novikoff, KS, 37-3. 3. Emalata Maka, SH, 32-3.
Long jump—1. Christine Tsai, Pun, 17-2. 2. Tori Houston, Pun, 16-11. 3. Carly Kan, Pun, 15-8.5.
Triple jump—1. Christine Tsai, Pun, 34-7. 2. Marie Moriwake, MP, 34-0. 3. Kacie Won, Pun, 33-7.
High jump—1. Christine Tsai, Pun, 5-2. Savannah Marrtte, KS, 4-10. 3. Lauren Arakawa, Iol, 4-8.
Pole vault—1. Taylor-Ashley Moss, KS, 9-0. 2. (tie) Victoria Rooks, Pun, and Amy Kimura, 8-6.
100-meter hurdles—1. Abrianna Johnson-Edwards, Iol, 15.14. 2. Amirah Majied, IP, 15.92. 3. Gabby Jamain, Pun, 17.29.
100—1. Kanoelani Yadao, HBA, 13.18. 2. Tiffany Atud, SH, 13.21. 3. Courtney King, Pn, 13.85.
1,500—1. Elli Brady, Pun, 5:05.92. 2. Madison Morse, MP, 5:15.14. 3. Hallie Lam, Pun, 5:18.83.
4×100 relay—1. Sacred Hearts 53.74. 2. Mid-Pacific 55.19. 3. Kamehameha 55.90.
400—1. Kanoelani Yadao, HBA, 59.90. 2. Kayla Kirk, SH, 1:00.20. 3. Alyssa Kim, Iol, 1:01.37.
300 hurdles—1. Abrianna Johnson-Edwards, Iol, 48.51. 2. Megan Herndon, Pun, 49.32. 3. Amirah Majied, IP, 50.36.
800—1. Breanne Ball, Iol, 2:19.62. 2. Alice Liggett, MP, 2:28.98. 3. Monica Woolley, Pun, 2:30.86.
200
—1. Kanoelani Yadao, HBA, 27.69. 2. Kayla Kirk, SH, 27.73. 3. Crista Nishimoto, Iol, 28.88.
3,000—1. Melissa Wong, Pun, 11:19.33. 2. Noe Lum, Pun, 11:35.68. 3. Kelsi Teramae, IP, 11:36.10.
4×400 relay—1. Iolani 4:15.19. 2. Mid-Pacific 4:26.76. 3. Sacred Hearts 4:30.44.
