Kamehameha pulls together to repeat

WAILUKU » Injured for part of the season, Dylan Kane didn’t even need to run on the track team.

But the senior sprinter was one of several injured athletes who stuck it out for their teammates. Their dedication and commitment helped Kamehameha repeat and dominate as state champions at the Island Movers/HHSAA State Track and Field Championships on Saturday at War Memorial Stadium. Kamehameha finished with 113 points, the most in tournament history and the only team to surpass the century mark.

"Tremendous courage," Kamehameha coach Harvey McInerny said of Kane. "Five or six people, the same thing. He has a full ride to Oregon (for football), he doesn’t even have to run track, but he did it for his team. It comes from what they have, the fire that burns in them. The fire is very, very bright."

Kane was second in the 100 and 200 dashes and anchored the winning 4×100 relay team that finished in 42.53 seconds. Kayson Smith-Bejgrowicz won Friday’s high jump and Saturday’s triple jump with a mark of 46 feet, 1.50 inches. The Warriors built their point total with their athletes scoring points in 14 of 16 events. Points are awarded to the top six finishers.

"We have a very talented team," McInerny said. "The strength of our team is our belief in each other and love that they have for each other. The coaching staff is top notch and it carried over. When we combined our (boys and girls) teams two years ago to get one unified team, that was the start of something good and we’re in good shape."

When Kamehameha’s three runners stepped onto the track for the 3,000 run, the second to last event, the Warriors had already accumulated 96 points. Kaeo Kruse repeated as the 3,000 champion with a time of 9:04.83 and Kainalu Asam placed sixth, giving their team 11 points and pushing them over 100.

While the talent was evident, the Warriors spoke of wanting to perform well for one another.

"It’s surreal, I can’t explain how much we wanted to do this for Coach, for each other," Smith-Bejgrowicz said. "It’s unexplainable, it’s amazing."

Many of the key components returned from last year’s state championship squad.

"It felt like we were finishing up our senior season, we got to go out with a bang," Smith-Bejgrowicz said. "Everyone had laser-sharp focus, everybody knew what they needed to do and how they needed to do it. This was the result and I really appreciate it."

Baldwin finished second with 75 points and had a shot at the team title entering the meet. But Anthony Kahoohanohano-Davis injured his foot during Friday’s high jump. His mark in the long jump from Friday’s trials held up to win the event as he skipped his jumps on Saturday. He started the 110 hurdles, but fell midway and didn’t finish.

Baldwin’s Bailey Kaopuiki won the 100 in 10.74 seconds and the 200 in 21.68, and Kiernan Leighton Mateo won the 300 hurdles. Pole vaulters Sean Fukuhara and Kainoa Tom tied for second and Jonathan You was fourth after all three cleared 14 feet.

Lahainaluna’s Emerson Liburd repeated as the 110 hurdles champion. Kamuela Borden of ‘Iolani won the shot put and discus. He also captured the shot put title last year.

Kaimuki won the mixed 4×100 unified relay and mixed 4×400 unified relay, both new events to the meet. The two nonscoring races combined track members with Special Olympians from their schools.

"It’s all about teamwork and we did it," said Kaimuki’s Aaron Ou.

4X100 RELAY

Pedrina: “The whole thing this year was to beat my brother’s record. We were just trying to get our name on top, because the whole goal was to replace Jeffrey Pedrina with Keola Pedrina. I don’t know if we did it, but we all feel like we did.”

4X400 RELAY

Graham: “We have been through a lot of work at practice, but we knew when we got here we could create a miracle. We were thinking about states even before OIAs. We saw our times and knew where we needed to improve and we knew we could do it.”