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Kelena Sauer and Javyn Pimental have seen a thing or two.
Surprises. Twists. Coaching changes. The Kamehameha senior pitchers have endured, though. They have thrived. Sauer signed with San Diego State and Pimental signed with Arizona at the National Letter of Intent signing ceremony hosted by Education 1st at the Sheraton Waikiki on Wednesday morning.
“I’m super excited for what’s coming up. I can’t wait,” said Pimental, who doesn’t mind the desert heat. “I’d rather be hot than cold.”
Wearing a new Aztecs hat, Sauer cited his top reason for choosing San Diego State.
“The weather. It’s way better than Hawaii. It’s cool. It’s 70 degrees all the time,” he said.
Pimental and Sauer have one more thing in common. Each has worked diligently on a changeup in the offseason. Sauer rates Pimental’s changeup at a 9. Pimental has seen Sauer’s changeup and curve ball improve to new levels.
“I give his changeup an 11,” he said.
The two were among more than 60 student-athletes who participated in the signing ceremony. Not all signed actual national letters of intent to Division I schools, but they all will be playing sports at the next level.
Punahou’s Jack Deuchar, who finished No. 2 in the Star-Advertiser All-State Fab 15 as a junior, signed a letter of intent to play at USC next season.
“It’s super cool, the Trojan family. They’re super tight-knit so I’m excited to be part of the team next year,” said Deuchar, who wore a black USC hoodie. “Coming from an island school, it’s kind of weird to think about leaving, but I’m excited.”
Kamehameha’s Bryanne Soares got back from visiting Oral Roberts on Monday and two days later signed to play volleyball with the Golden Eagles.
Playing time might arrive sooner than later for Soares. ORU is 7-21 so far this season, including 3-11 in The Summit League. The roster includes a sophomore and a freshman at setter.
“Personally, I worked on my vertical because I’m a tri-setter and I worked to play the six rotations. You just train hard. You work on what you’re good at,” Soares said. “Hawaii girls are known for their defense, so I’ve really worked at it the past few years. The coaches recognize that I can play defense and I can play front row.”
She knows exactly where young players are coming from if they’re not quite the prototypical height.
“I really encourage kids to, even though you’re undersized,” Soares said. “Strengthen your weakness and you’ll be there.”
Five girls volleyball players from Kamehameha signed letters of intent. Keonilei Akana put ink to paper to fulfill her dream of playing at USC while libero Tara DeSa decided to sign with another Pac-12 school, California.
“I like that the school is very active. It’s really nice over there. It’s pretty. It’s like my school,” she said. “It’s on a hill.”
Five baseball players signed letters of intent in addition to Sauer and Pimental. Damien’s Jordan Donahue is headed to Oregon State, Saint Louis’ JT Nayvac signed with Cal State Fullerton, Punahou’s Kade Morihara chose San Francisco and fellow Buffanblu Kalae Harrison is headed to Texas A&M.
“The coaches, the facilities. It’s big, real nice, it’s new,” Harrison said. “It’s a big-time program in the SEC. I’m hoping to play right away as a freshman.”
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