Campbell boys, Kaiser girls rule

No track, no problem.

With its track under construction, Campbell’s track and field team trains on any available strip of land on campus. Sidewalks, stairs and grass fields are what’s available for improvisation, and the lack of a proper facility hasn’t stopped the Sabers.

The Campbell boys won their third straight OIA championship on Saturday at Mililani’s John Kauinana Stadium. The Sabers finished with 72.33 points and have run the last two seasons with their track under construction.

“I tell them when we come here, take advantage of the facility because when we come back Monday, we go right back,” said Campbell coach Wyatt Tau. “Every week when we come here, we’re just taking advantage of the facilities we participate in.”

Campbell’s Corey Smith won the 100- and 200-meter dashes. Jonah Jessop, who set a meet record in the 300 hurdles during Thursday’s trials with a time of 39.28 seconds, won the finals of the 110 hurdles and 300 hurdles. Smith and Jessop also ran on the Sabers’ winning 4×100 relay team.

“We just got to work with what we got to work with,” Smith said. “And give it our all when we get into our blocks or when the official says ‘set’ and the gun goes.”

Tau and his coaching staff put their heads together to figure out how to improvise and give their team a good workout. While athletes complain about the conditions, they remain competitive.

“They can complain and do nothing about it, but these guys complain and they still want to win,” Tau said. “The competitiveness in them is what keeps us going.”

Added Smith: “To not having a track to coming and winning it for a third time, it’s a blessing,”

Kaiser’s girls won their third straight OIA championship, winning six events and totaling 120 points. Kristen O’Handley won the 200 and 400. She also captured Thursday’s high jump after clearing 5 feet, 2 inches. Tommi Hintnaus won the pole vault and long jump. The two were also on Kaiser’s winning 4×400 relay team.

“It’s hard, but honestly it’s so worth it to compete in all those events,” O’Handley said.

Kaiser’s small squad scored its points with athletes doing triple and quadruple duty, and having multiple finishers in multiple events. Kaiser scored 20 points in the pole vault with Hintnaus, Juliette Lum (third) and Kelci Robitaille (fourth). The Cougars also picked up 18 points in the high jump with O’Handley’s win and Ginon Jones finishing second. Jones and Hintnaus placed second and third in the 100 hurdles to score 14 points.

“(The coaches) train us really well, we can handle all the events,” O’Handley said.

Their athleticism and ability to handle multiple events have the defending state champion Cougars in contention for another state title. The state meet starts Friday at Kamehameha.

“We want to defend the state title again,” Hintnaus said. “That was such an amazing feeling to win the whole state.”

Radford freshman Brooke Michaels broke the record in the girls 1,500 with a time of 4:54.09, breaking the mark of 4:55.68. Michaels later rallied to win the 800, moving from the back of the pack to the front in the final lap.

“All the training we’ve been doing at practice with my coaches has really paid off and has made me stronger as a runner,” Michaels said.

Leilehua’s Christhena Edwards won the 100 and 300 hurdles. Other girls winners were Radford’s Mary Moloney (3,000), Kalani’s Emily Leong (triple jump), Anuenue’s Kamaleikuhalia Krug (shot put) and Farrington’s Brittany Kamau (discus). Campbell’s Tristen Dulay won the 100 and helped her team win the 4×100 relay.

Kalani’s Sione Vea improved on his state-leading mark of 165 feet, 5 inches from Thursday’s trials with a winning throw of 165-11 in the discus. Vea also won the shot put. Waipahu’s Jordan Williams won the long jump and triple jump. Other boys winners were Castle’s Hudson Lockette (1,500) and William Ewaliko (pole vault), Radford’s Thomas Reid (400), Waianae’s Douglas Mitchell (high jump) and Kalaheo’s Guillaume Tabary (800) and Avery Torres (3,000). Radford won the 4×400.