A wet track didn’t stop a Punahou foursome from breaking the 4×100-meter record at the Interscholastic League of Honolulu track and field championships Friday at Kamehameha.
Those four girls — who helped lead the Buffanblu to the team title — appear to still be far from their peak. Stevie Marvin, Alialani Yamafuji, Kaylie Klausing and Kealoha Scullion clocked a time of 49.64 seconds to better the previous mark of 49.81 set in 2010.
“When we showed up, we were nervous,” Scullion said. “It was rainy and windy and it started to clear and we were glad it stopped raining. For all of us, this is our favorite event. We looked up the meet record before the race and it was our goal to beat it.”
The same four won the state championship a year ago (50.64) and will be going for a repeat May 12-13 at Keaau High School on the Big Island.
“I think there’s definitely always room to improve,” Yamafuji said. “Even after last year, our first year running together when we were able to pull out a state win, we still didn’t want to stop improving. We’ve showed this year that we’re still improving, and we’re hopeful that even next year we can get faster by a second.”
Scullion, who captured the 200-meter run (26.46) and took second in the 100 on Friday, is a junior along with Yamafuji, and Marvin and Klausing are sophomores.
“We’re strong at the ILH level and I think we’ll have a competitive team at states next year,” said Punahou girls coach Duncan Macdonald, perhaps downplaying his team’s shot at the state title this year. “We have a lot of freshman, sophomores and juniors, but we had no hiccups today. Everybody stepped up and did what was expected of them in almost every situation.”
Junior Mia Schiel won the 800 (2:22. 75 seconds) and the 1,500 (4:55.73) and freshman Kaila Ronquilio ran to victory in the 400 (59.42) to rack up team points for the Buffanblu. Punahou’s girls also won the 4×400 relay.
It was a week to remember for Kamehameha senior Kayla Afoa. She set the ILH long jump record on Wednesday in the two-day event with a leap of 18 feet, 51⁄2 inches, nudging past the mark of 18-51⁄4 by ‘Iolani’s Erin Stovall in 1997.
Afoa also won the high jump (5-0), placed second in the triple jump and second to those Punahou girls in the 4×100 relay.
“They’re so good,” Afoa said about her rivals.
As for the long jump record, she said, “It was cool. Everyone was on the side to support me and I don’t know how to explain it, other than it was like winning a state championship, but I have to remember that (the league title) is not enough with the bigger meet coming up.”
Afoa is the reigning state long jump champion who also has two girls state volleyball team titles from her freshman and sophomore seasons.
In the final 10-team girls standings, Punahou scored 194 points, with ‘Iolani at 95 and Kamehameha at 91.
Nikki Shimao of ‘Iolani was among Friday’s two-event winners with a 46.62 in the 300 hurdles and a jump of 35-111⁄4 in the triple jump.
Punahou also earned the boys team title Friday with 198 points. Buffanblu boys victors on the day were: Miki Suguturaga (discus, 155-03), Alama Uluave (shot put 50-113⁄4), Bailey Wilson (high jump, 6-0) and Connor Lehl (1,500 in 4:03.04 and 800 in 1:58.12).
With 125 points, Kamehameha’s boys placed second, with ‘Iolani in third at 64 in the 10-team field.
‘Iolani’s Logan Rubasch pole-vaulted a personal best 15 feet to win that event, and he just missed on his third attempt at what would have been a league-record 15-3.
“He did really well today,” Raiders coach Jon Shiraki said about Rubasch. “The conditions weren’t great, a wet runway. He pulled it together. He’s worked hard on his mental focus and staying calm. He’ll get there (15-3 or higher).”
Damien’s Christian Padron was a double winner, taking the 100 (10.97) and 200 (22.8).
“I felt kind of slow, could be better,” said Padron, whose personal best in the 100 is 10.8. “It was the weather (hard rain before the meet) and I was kind of anxious.”
Padron, who hurt his hamstring and still placed fifth in the 100 at states last year, is trying for both titles along with the 4×100 relay crown with teammates, and he knows that it won’t be easy.
“Since my sophomore year, it’s been my goal to win a state title,” he said. “I didn’t get it last year. I’m taking care of my body and working out and keeping it strong and not pushing too much.”