Entering the weekend, Kaiser paddlers longed to hang a banner in their gym alongside other championship distinctions raised by victorious Cougars teams.
Following a successful Saturday showing at the Oahu Interscholastic Association’s championship regatta at Keehi Lagoon, the Cougars will finally get to hoist a banner of their own.
Kaiser claimed its first canoe paddling championship amid hot, humid conditions in the calm lagoon waters by notching a victory in the mixed (three boys and three girls) division, and finishing the race in 3 minutes, 54.58 seconds. The winning crew of Jace Darval-Chang, Levi Richards, Alexander Look, Michaela Kemna, Kia Hasegawa and Alexandra Hagedorn fell behind Kalaheo (3:55.16), Moanalua (3:55.65) and Kaimuki (3:59.41) early on, but rallied on the heels of a consistent pace down the stretch to eke out the victory.
"We just pushed through. We were all lined up at the turn and pulled it out," said Look, the crew’s junior steersman. "Now we need to train, train, train and see what we can come out with (in the state championships). Our school hasn’t gotten a banner in our (paddling) history, so it was pretty important to us."
Crews competed on a half-mile course that ran parallel to shore. Canoes were slotted in lanes according to their finishes within the league’s five preceding races. The paddlers also contended with variable breezes out of the southwest, which made the lagoon course run in the opposite direction, similar to the way a golf course plays differently when the prevailing winds change direction. Competitors had the wind at their backs as they pushed toward the finish line.
Kalaheo won the boys race for a fourth consecutive year and fifth time in six seasons as the Mustangs posted an event-best winning mark of 3:34.47 after sprinting out to a quick lead off the start and extending the advantage down the stretch. Kaiser (3:41.13) gave its fellow OIA East rivals a fight as the crews rounded the turn on nearly the same pace, but the Cougars could not keep pace with the Mustangs.
Waianae, which was expected to compete with Kalaheo after going through the OIA West season undefeated, was disqualified for burying a flag marking the turn.
Kalaheo’s victorious crew included seniors Charlie Dickens, Vincenzo Kahalepauole-Bizek, Shawn Wilhoite and Makena Johnston, junior Talus Carpenter and sophomore steersman Spencer Vanderkamp.
"The kids all race for each other," said Kalaheo coach Chelsea Bizik, a former Mustangs paddler and assistant coach. "The boys in particular are really good friends, and even hang out together responsibly the night before each race. They’re young adults, and it’s great to see how maturely they’ve approached this entire season."
In the girls event, Anuenue won its fifth race in six attempts this season, and used a steady power stroke down the stretch to complete the sprint in 4:19.26. Late charges by runner-up Kalaheo (4:23.07) and Waianae (4:23.36) — last year’s undefeated OIA champion — came up just short.
The winning crew of Kona’ai Keanini White, Kaiona Oana Momoa, Charlotte Ka’ala Kaikala, Nakuina Soma, Mahea Mendiola and Ka’ohinani Koanui-Kong supplemented Anuenue’s rich paddling history, as the school’s girls three-peated twice — 2004-06 and 2008-10.
The three victorious squads earned coveted slots in the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA State Paddling Championships, scheduled for Feb. 1 at Keehi Lagoon, and should receive favorable seeds behind ILH representatives Kamehameha and Punahou, which earlier in the day combined to claim championships and runner-up slots in all three of their respective races. Based on league allotments for the state races, the OIA sends its top six teams apiece from the boys, girls and mixed divisions.
"I just want to make sure (the paddlers’) minds are straight," said Bizik in anticipation of the state regatta, at which Kalaheo last won a title in 2010 in the mixed event. "They all have the strength — they train and cross-train hard enough and take their practices seriously. In their minds, they need to stay in control, which makes for a much easier race."
Waianae was awarded the Tesoro Hawaii Cup after amassing the highest cumulative point total over all three events throughout the six OIA regattas this season.
OIA PADDLING
Saturday
0.5 miles at Keehi Lagoon
Boys Varsity: 1. Kalaheo (Charlie Dickens, Vincenzo Kahalepauole-Bizek, Shawn Wilhoite, Makena Johnston, Talus Carpenter, Spencer Vanderkamp), 3:34.47. 2. Kaiser 3:41.13.
Varsity Mixed: 1. Kaiser (Jace Darval-Chang, Levi Richards, Alexander Look, Michaela Kemna, Kia Hasegawa, Alexandra Hagedorn), 3:54.58. 2. Kalaheo 3:55.65. 3. Moanalua 3:55.65.
Girls Varsity: 1. Anuenue (Kona’ai Keanini White, Kaiona Oana Momoa, Charlotte Ka’ala Kaikala, Nakuina Soma, Mahea Mendiola, Ka’ohinani Koanui-Kong), 4:19.26. 2. Kalaheo 4:23.07. 3. Waianae 4:23.36.
