KEAAU – Kealakahe’s Nicole Cristobal has been engaged in a game of leapfrog all season in the triple jump. In the long jump, Kamehameha’s Meagan Kualii had been trying to gain at least an extra inch.
KEAAU – Kealakahe’s Nicole Cristobal has been engaged in a game of leapfrog all season in the triple jump. In the long jump, Kamehameha’s Meagan Kualii had been trying to gain at least an extra inch.
After their performances Saturday, the rest of the state has its work cut out to catch up.
The conditions were favorable at the BIIF’s final track and field qualifier at Kamehameha. In baseball parlance, the wind was blowing out at Paiea Stadium, and the sand pits couldn’t hold either Cristobal or Kualii.
Their marks – Cristobal reached 37 feet, 2 inches in the triple jump and Kualii made 18-9 in the long jump – won’t go down as records because those are only recorded in the league championships, but officials believed them to be all-timers in the BIIF.
“It’s amazing,” said Cristobal, just a sophomore. “I actually thought it was a horrible jump.”
Still, when she landed it, she looked to her left and flashed a wide grin.
“I was surprised,” she said, “when they said 37-2. ‘Are you kidding me?’
“All I could do was look over at my coach and smile.”
Waveriders coach Duke Hartfield had reason to smile, too. He gets to work with Cristobal for two more years in both track and field and volleyball.
“Such a humble, young lady,” he said.
In all, four stadium records fell Saturday, but Mehana Sabado-Halpern’s mark only lasted a matter of minutes. The Hilo senior leaped 36-09.75 to increase her state-best in the triple jump, only to be bettered by Cristobal in a discipline that’s quickly becoming the BIIF’s bread and butter.
“It’s like we’re coaching each other to get our biggest jump,” Cristobal said.
No other athlete has reached 36 feet in Hawaii this season. Kamehameha-Hawaii’s Casey Poe won states last season with a 37-00.75. Konawaena’s Lia Galdeira holds the BIIF record with a 36-06.75 set in 2012.
How far can Cristobal go next weekend at the BIIF championships at Konawaena?
“Whatever my legs take me,” she said.
Much like Cristobal’s jump, Kamehameha jumping coach Kapoula Thompson credited Kualii’s effort to a combination of hard work, good form and athleticism – and fresh legs.
“People might look at this as a fluke, but I’ve been thinking she was capable of going 18 for quite some time,” Thompson said.
Before shattering her personal-best, the senior had been No. 2 in the state with a 17-6.50 that was a half-inch behind Baldwin’s Kaitlin Smith. Smith won states last year with a 17-05.25 as Kualii took fourth in the long jump and third in the triple.
“Everything felt really good for her, and she just happened to pop one,” Thompson said. “She is a seasoned athlete, so it’s just the mental details that you have to keep an eye.”
Galdeira also holds the BIIF mark in the long jump, reaching 18-3.75 in 2011.
Another goal for Kualii next week is to try and catch up to Cristobal and Sabado-Halpern in the triple jump. Kualii’s best in the event is a 35-07.50 that had been third-best in the state until she was passed by three other last week.
“I think she can go 37 in the triple jump as well,” Thompson said. “But you have to come and show it.”
Quick hitters
• Waiakea’s Louie Ondo set a stadium record in the 1,500 meters with a time of 4 minutes, 9.80 seconds that ranks him third in the state. The junior also holds BIIF-best times in the 800 and 3,000.
• Officials said the windy conditions added extra aid in the 200, and it showed as Waiakea’s Isaiah DeSilva (22.20) and Hilo’s Lukas Kuipers (22.51) recorded times that rank second and fourth, respectively, in the state.
• Kamehameha’s Tre Evans-Dumeran claimed the 100, 110 hurdles and triple jump.
• Hawaii Prep’s Emma Taylor didn’t compete in the meet, and Iolani’s Lindsey Combs eclipsed Taylor’s state-best times in the 100 and 300 hurdles at the ILH championships.