By KEVIN JAKAHI
Hawaii Tribune-Herald
The Big Island did itself proud — hosting the 64th annual Hawaii Canoe Racing Association state championships, and showing the other islands the strength of Moku O Hawaii paddling.
What better way to make a bold statement than to sweep Division AAA (13-20 events) on Saturday at at Hilo Bay?
Puna (20 events) kept the crown home with 181 points, and edged defending champion Keauhou (18), 174; and Kai Ehitu (20), 155.
In Division AA (7-12), Waikiki Beach Boys repeated while Maui’s Kihei, which competed in 4A last year, took second and Kawaihae third.
Division A (1-6) was loaded with 24 clubs, and Maui’s Na Ka Ewalu flew home with gold. Oahu’s Waimanalo was second, and Haleiwa Outrigger third.
In Division AAAA (21-41 events), Hawaiian reeled off a three-peat with 375 points for its 12th title in the last 15 years.
Lanikai was second with 348 points, and was followed by Outrigger, 341; Hui Nalu , 287; Kailua, 272; and Kai Opua, 238, in the largest division.
Hawaiian’s youth paddlers must eat Maui Gold pineapples that give them super strength. Either that or they just know how to blend a canoe so much better.
The Valley Isle club won an impressive 8 of 13 youth races (ages 12 to 18), and collected two silvers.
That amounted to 146 points, or nearly 40 percent of Hawaiian’s final tally.
Hawaiian captured nine gold. The only adult crew to take first was its men novice B (first-year paddlers).
Basically, the kids did all the hard work, and left it up to the old folks to not finish in the cellar one too many times.
If Hawaiian ever hires Puna’s Afa Tuaolo or Keauhou’s Egon Horcajo as consultants, the rest of the state clubs could be paddling up a bigger river.
Puna’s men 50, men open four, and mixed men and women took home gold. Tuaolo was on the men 50 crew that finished with a perfect record.
That race was a good one.
Lanikai was the four-time defending state champion, and Manu O Ke Kai was runner-up the last two years.
Puna (Brian Peterson, Afa Tuaolo, Forest Parker-Bailey, Louie Mendonca, Terry Andrade, Bubba Baldado), Manu O Ke Kai, and Maui’s Kihei all entered the men 50 half-mile with clean records.
Puna raced past Lanikai, 3:51.43 to 3:52. Maui’s Kihei was third in 4:03.92, and Manu O Ke Kai fourth in 4:04.20.
Horcajo coached the Keauhou first-place 60 and 65 crews. He was the steersman for the 60 race.
Equally impressive, Kawaihae’s women freshmen won its mile race after not having a crew last year at states.
Kawaihae (Mahealani Gambill, Tiffany Hatanaka, Nahaku Kalei, Leilani Olson, Lora Schroder Sakai, and Noelani Spencer) finished in 8:52.89 to outpace Hui Nalu’s 8:53.56.
Small and strong
In the 13 youth races, Moku O Hawaii didn’t medal in only four races: girls 13, boys 16, girls 18 and boys 18.
Kawaihae’s mixed boys and girls 12 smoked Hawaiian , 2:04.68 to 2:08.98, in a quarter-mile race for the Big Island’s only youth gold.
Not only did Kawaihae (Keahiwai Lindsey, Kuhao Kane, Keenan Pahio, Julia Salvador, Laif Showalter, Kaila Sylva) blow Hawaiian out of the water, but the crew also finished the season unbeaten.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Big Island crews in the boys 16 and 18 didn’t win a medal of any color.
More than any other island, Moku O Hawaii struggles to fill those two age gaps — the prime age for BIIF football.
Next to Pop Warner football, the next best thing for gridiron youngsters is canoe paddling because of the multiple benefits.
Like any team-designed sport, canoe paddling is about teamwork and commitment. But it also helps with upper body and core strength.
It’s no secret that the best young paddlers are the soon-to-be football players.
But there’s the rub: BIIF summer football workouts run during the same time as the Moku O Hawaii season.
There’s potential for team disharmony if a canoe paddler doesn’t show for workouts, and replaces someone who was there all summer when the BIIF season starts in August.
Canoe paddling holds a lot of allure, but BIIF football is the flagship sport of any school. It’s why football stadiums are bigger than basketball gyms.
Keauhou was the last to win the boys 18 in 2010. But none of the canoe paddlers were prominent BIIF football players.
Puna was the last to capture the boys 16 in 2009. Hapa Aki, Aimoku Johansen, Kalae Ke, III, Luke Leasure Lucas, Lono Leasure-Lucas, Keola Sumera-Lee were on the crew.
Lono Leasure-Lucas was the only one to earn a football scholarship.
It was a good moment for Puna back in 2009 when states was held at Hilo Bay, and it was the same thing six years later.
Sorry, no gold
Upon further review, the Keaukaha boys 15 gold medal was changed to a silver after Hawaiian’s disqualification was overturned.
Initially, Hawaiian was DQ’d for a Code of Conduct violation, and protested the call. After a very long Race Rules Committee meeting, it was overturned and Hawaiian’s first-place victory was restored.
Regatta trivia
• Number of crews racing: 559
• Individual paddlers: 2738
• Adult paddlers: 1,863
• Youth paddlers: 875
• Fastest 1/4-mile: 1:42.75 Boys 14 Hawaiian Canoe Club (Ho’okele Santos, Traesyn Shimoda, Wyatt Meyer, Joshua Kailiehu, Rafael Adolpho, Devin Palazzotto-Cluney)
• Fastest 1/2-mile: 3:44.25 Men novice B Hawaiian Canoe Club (Jason Lee, Tony Babcock, Connor Hanley, Michael Balancio, Matthew McDonald, Dexter Gumboc)
• Fastest 1-mile:7:24.28 Sophomore men Keauhou Canoe Club (Bruce Ayau, Kainoa Tanoai, Edward II Aldridge, Daniel Chun, Chevise Conte, Kekoa Spoon)
• Youngest paddler: age 5 Boys 15 HealaniAaron Baker
• Youngest paddler (Adult Race): age 15 Mixed men and women Leeward Kai Makamae Roman
• Experienced paddler: age 85 Women (65 years) Anuenue Florence Apa
