Kalani runner Yuta Cole never failed to provide clutch performances.
During the weekend of the HHSAA cross country championships, the Waipio wildfire threatened to derail Cole, who has asthma. He was more than willing to compete even with air quality numbers far above acceptable levels. Fortunately, the level dropped in the hour before the race began, and he won the state cross country title.
At the track and field state championships, Mililani’s John Kauinana Stadium was drenched for a part of the day. He broke the 1,500 record anyway with a time of 3 minutes, 55.19 seconds, eclipsing the previous state-meet mark by more than six seconds. Cole also won the 3,000 run (8:59.17).
He broke the previous 1,500 mark held by Punahou’s Jac Hebert (4:01.23, 2014).
It’s more than coincidental, then, that he caught a cold after the state track and field championships.
“I stopped taking as many precautions, like not talking to as many people. I appreciate it when people came to shake my hand,” he said. “I should be fine. It’s getting better quickly.”
Cole learned about his induction last weekend.
“I was pretty excited. It was really exciting to find out and be honored that way. It was a very enjoyable way to finish my high school career,” he said.
He was a bit of a late starter in running. Freshman year was hampered by the pandemic. He didn’t get into running until sophomore year in 2022.
“When I was a sophomore and first started running, I never believed I would break any state record, but for some reason my coaches told me I would. I thought they were delusional, but they were right,” Cole said.
“When I looked at the rankings, I was 20th … then at states (as a junior), I was second.”
Now, he considers his teammates part of his family. Even his competition from other schools are friends.
“I’m definitely going to miss the community sense we have in Hawaii, especially as competitors. We’re all close to each other even if we’re on separate teams. We enjoy seeing each other succeed,” he said.
The next chapter begins at the University of Portland.
“I won’t miss the conditions and the temperatures here. They’re great for living but not for running long distances,” Cole said.
Aside from training, he plans to spend part of the summer visiting his mother Masami’s side of the family in Osaka. His mother and father (Scott) never pushed him into sports.
Cole’s advice is to run your own race.
“Don’t compare what you’re running right now to others. Everybody has a different journey and different destinations. Focus on how you’re doing and only compare it to your past self,” he said. “I was rising pretty quickly. I’d see some crazy time posted by some middle schooler. I’d feel like I was kind of insignificant. So it’s only good to compare yourself to yourself. It’s key to try different sports because you don’t know which ones you’ll be better at.”
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Meet the 2024 inductees
>> Kamehameha’s Adrianna Arquette
>> Kalani’s Yuta Cole
>> Punahou’s Carly Cormack
>> Lanai’s Diesel Del Rosario
>> Kahuku’s Maia Esera
>> Kamehameha-Hawaii’s Maela Honma
>> Punahou’s Payton Jim On
>> Mid-Pacific’s Logan Lau
>> Hawaii Prep’s Brooke Samura
>> Mililani’s Belise Swartwood
>> Punahou’s Lulu Uluave
>> Kaimuki’s Jeremiah White
