Grossman polishes off career sweep

Dakota Grossman never has to run alone again.

The Seabury Hall senior cruised to her fourth straight state cross country title at Island School on Kauai on Friday, beating her nearest competitor by more than 30 seconds to become the first girl to win four titles at the current distance of 3 miles.

Punahou’s Eri Macdonald won four straight from 1995 to 1998, but those were 2-mile races. Now the two girls are linked in history, running side-by-side.

"I first heard of her after I won my freshman year," Grossman said. "They have been telling me about her for four years. I definitely wanted to win, but as soon as I crossed the finish line all I was thinking about was the team."

Punahou coach Duncan Macdonald, an Olympian who once held the American 5,000-meter record and won the first Honolulu Marathon, saw Grossman’s performance up close and was as impressed as everyone else. He won’t compare his daughter Eri to Grossman because performances are hard to compare across eras, especially at different distances.

"They are different animals," Macdonald said. "(Eri) was more of a sprinter. From time to time we get phenomenal athletes and it is so hard to compare them unless they run together. (Grossman) is one of those phenomenal athletes."

Grossman threatened the state championship record of 18 minutes, 11 seconds by Lauren Ho of Hawaii Baptist at Kauai Community College in 2005 but fell short with an 18:17.04 clocking when she said she relaxed a little bit and sat on her huge lead. She ran for the record all alone, as ILH champion Amanda Beaman of ‘Iolani finished second in 18:52.55.

Punahou won the girls team title for the eighth time in nine years behind super sophomores Teri Brady (fifth), Noe Obermeyer (seventh) and Kailey Totherow (12th). Seniors Hallie Lam and Noe Lum finished 21st and 22nd. Hawaii Prep was second and Seabury Hall was third but won the Division II championship thanks to sophomore Ally Smith, who Grossman tried to pump up by telling her she could finish top 10 with a good performance. Smith sped through the course to finish third.

Grossman passed fellow Seabury Hall runner Tia Ferguson with her eighth gold medal between cross country and track in her running career, and she still has the track season ahead in the spring. The haul has drawn the attention from colleges as far away as the East Coast, but she is still weighing her options. She has one big name on her side, though.

"She looks strong, very impressive," Duncan Macdonald said. "I wouldn’t rave about her form, but she gets the job done and that is all that matters."

Senior Davis Kaahanui of Kamehameha was a double winner, taking the boys race for the second straight year and helping the Warriors to their fourth team title in five years. Seabury Hall’s boys won the Division II title by finishing 11th overall. Sophomore teammate Kaeo Kruse pushed Kaahanui to a 15:47.51 clocking, the fastest time in the meet since Jeremy Kamaka‘ala’s 15:22.4 for Kamehameha at Kauai Community College in 2005.

Kaahanui felt pressure to repeat from the beginning of the season, and that pressure intensified when Kruse jumped up to challenge him at the ILH meet and again on Friday.

"There are some records out there for that guy," Kaahanui said of Kruse. "I wouldn’t be surprised if he won it the next two years. It’s kind of sad that it is over. This team is a family."

Kruse, who lost to Kaahanui by less than a second in the ILH championship, finished in 15:51.17, with Punahou’s Jacques Hebert third in 15:56.45. Kainalu Asam (fifth), Grant Kam (21st) and Tyler Gututala-Gonsal (30th) also contributed to Kamehameha’s repeat. But it started with Kaahanui and Kruse, who ran together the whole way until Kaahanui pulled away at the end to deny the sophomore.

"I was trying to stay with him the whole time," Kruse said. "But he really kicked it up the last 800. He was fast as always; I was trying to beat him."

Punahou finished second and ‘Iolani finished third. Mid-Pacific was seventh to give the ILH four of the top seven teams.

"We have been doing this awhile," Kamehameha coach Steve Jenness said. "I am not sure how this happens so often except to say a lot of hard work."