The Maui High School boys cross-country team is hoping to make history Saturday by defending its state title at the Hawaii High School Athletic Association championships at Seabury Hall.
Doing so would make the Sabers the first Maui Interscholastic League team to claim back-to-back Division I state boys titles, after finishing as runner-up in 2017. In fact, only one other MIL school has claimed the state boys cross-country crown: Seabury Hall in 1984.
Four hundred of Hawaii’s top high school boys and girls distance runners will be here Saturday to compete in the 5K race, covering a distance of 3.1 miles in three loops of the Spartans’ scenic campus in Makawao.
The Maui High Sabers enter the season-ending meet with little or no fanfare despite claiming the 2018 state title and returning three of its top four runners from a year ago.
In addition to the talented running trio of Damon Wakefield, Adam Hakola and Hunter Shields, Maui High’s Connor Kong and Kaimana Cantere will be equally important in contributing to the team results, according to coach Jared Welch.
“Everybody has to do their job, and last year everybody pretty much did their jobs perfectly,” Welch said. “All we can ask is that everybody does their best, and that’s really what it comes down to.”
The MIL championships were held Saturday, when the Sabers were expected to easily claim their seventh straight MIL championship and 10th league title in Welch’s 14 years at the helm. A dominating performance should bolster the team in this week’s state meet.
Shields, the junior, finished second at the state championships last year, while senior teammates Hakola and Wakefield were third and fourth, respectively. Defending individual champion Adam Harder of Hanalani School on Oahu also will be here for his final prep 5K.
Always the underdogs
Interscholastic League of Honolulu powers ‘Iolani and Punahou schools are the top threats to spoil the Sabers’ victory celebration.
“The way I look at it is we’re the underdogs — we are always the underdogs. We’re from Maui and we’re the public school,” Welch said. “Just to be put in the same conversation with Punahou and ‘Iolani is an accomplishment in itself.”
The Red Raiders have captured five state crowns since 2003, and the ILH has collected 19 of the last 23 state championships.
“We don’t have the depth like Punahou and ‘Iolani,” Welch noted.
Kong, the Sabers’ No. 4 runner, is a senior who finished 24th overall last year. Cantere, the team’s No. 5 runner and final scoring participant, is a sophomore.
Entering the state meet as the defending champion, “Now they will have the experience of running with a target on their backs,” Welch said.
Wakefield rated the Seabury course “medium” in difficulty, adding, “It’s a good course; it’s fun and it’s fast.”
In the 2015 state meet at Seabury, Kamehameha- Kapalama runner Kaeo Kruse blitzed the field in 15 minutes, 22.23 seconds. His winning time is the fastest recorded finish for boys since the HHSAA changed the race distance to 3.1 miles from 2.5 miles in 1976.
Home course advantage
The top Saber trio is led by Shields, the 2018-2019 Gatorade Hawaii boys cross-country runner of the year. He was the first Hawaii finisher at the prestigious preseason ‘Iolani Invitational in September, losing by a step to Carrick Denker of Dana Hills (Calif.), 15:06.13 to 15:06.49.
In the process, Shields beat Hanalani’s Harder by more than 20 seconds.
“That felt good, and almost getting first felt good,” Shields said. “Things just worked out for me in that race. I wasn’t expecting to beat him (Harder) in that race; I was just trying to stay with the top guy and push till the end.”
Welch described Shields’ effort at the ‘Iolani Invitational as “really incredible and something to be proud of.”
Wakefield won the 2018 MIL individual title and placed fifth at the ‘Iolani meet, while Hakola was the 2017 MIL champion and 16th finisher at ‘Iolani.
“Coming back as defending state champions, we have to up our game,” said Wakefield at a recent practice. “There is no specific time or place for us to finish; we just want everyone to do their very best.” He added, “Our competition is each other. That’s what pushes us. … The important thing is that we don’t defeat ourselves.”
Hakola said the team is focused and confident but not overconfident.
“There’s always pressure, no matter what the race is. And that’s always in the back of your mind. But we’ve been training very hard, and our preparation and familiarity with the course should help ease the pressure,” he said.
On track for success
The Saber runners also mounted a solid showing in May when the Valley Isle hosted the HHSAA track and field championships. Shields beat Harder in the 1,500- meter run to earn a silver medal, and Wakefield finished fourth in the race, which was won by Narayana Schneider of McKinley High School.
In the 3,000, Wakefield was third, Shields finished fifth and Hakola sixth. Harder was runner-up to double event winner Schneider.
“They all have their individual strengths, and they’ve learned to pace each other and feed off each other,” said Welch, who was chosen the 2018 Hawaii Boys Cross Country Coach of the Year by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
“My hope for them is that they get to experience what they did last year and they feel good about themselves when it’s over,” Welch said. “It’s hard to stop and appreciate what you have. … I just want to make them the best runners they can be.
“But as people go, all of this couldn’t have happened to a better group of people. And I tell them that they got to experience what they have because they made it happen.”
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Honolulu Marathon Hawaii Cross Country State Championships
Hawaii High School Athletic Association
>> Where: Seabury Hall, Makawao
>> When: Boys race, 8:30 a.m.; girls race, 9:15 a.m.
>> Cost: Free admission
>> Info: sportshigh.com
Rodney S. Yap has been covering Maui sports for more than 30 years. Email him at ryap2019@gmail.com.
