Steady rain couldn’t kill the vibe at Saturday’s Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association State Championship.
Bayfront was packed to the gills with 2,731 paddlers from across the state, as well as plenty of people who just wanted to watch and check out the vendors.
Twelve Big Island clubs took part in the championship alongside 27 from Oahu, eight from Maui, five from Kauai and one from Molokai — and the isle’s clubs made an impact in the standings.
Kai Opua won 3A, scoring 162 points in 20 events to edge Oahu’s Keahiakahoe CC’s 161 points. Kai Opua was the only Big Island competitor in 3A.
It collected a gold medal, two silver (Men Novice B and Women Golden Masters 55) and a bronze (Girls 13). Kai Opua’s first place finisher was its Mixed Masters crew — Dane Enos, Melanie Kelekolio, Nicki Lacey-Enos, Dave Old, Mesepa Tanoai and Cheryl Villegas.
Kai ‘Ehitu won 2A by a longshot, grossing 116 points in only 12 events — collecting three gold medals and a silver (Mixed Masters 40).
Its first-place finishers were Men Golden Masters 55 (Hunter O’Dean Anderson, Michael Andrade, Bruce Johnston Ayau, Jun Balanga Jr., Daniel Legler and Troy Parker-Bailey), Women Masters 40 (Sarah Balanga, Laura Birse, Darcy Daniel, Tiffany Hatanaka, Leilani Olson and Tiapepe Ulufaleilupe) and Men Masters 40 (Nathan Grocholski, Eddie Hayward, Sean Kaawa, Joel Noa, Lance Oliveira and Jeremy Padayao).
Keauhou Canoe Club placed third in 2A, grossing 99 points from 12 events.
In 4A, the most competitive division, Puna CC placed third with 306 points across 33 events. Oahu’s Lanikai CC came out on top with 466 points, just ahead of Maui’s Hawaiian CC — which grossed 463 points.
In its first 4A appearance, Keaukaha CC placed fifth with 226 points across 21 events.
Keaukaha collected three gold medals, all going to its youth crews — Boys 12 (Caius Cowell, Manoalii Publico, Mystiq Rosario, Reigan Shimahara, Zyan Subica and Treyston Yung), Girls 15 (Zoe Aoki, Tati Dunhour, Pua‘ena Estocado, Pualani Estocado, Malia Lani Simram and Brandy Uyeshiro) and Boys 18U (Eha Kiyuna, Kahalia Masaoka, Tyler OBrien, Niau Paulos, Noah Pila and Ali‘i Youderian)
Keaukaha also notched two second place finishes (Mixed 18 and Men Junior) and two third place finishes (Mixed 12 and Boys 16U).
“It’s awesome, it’s been a long short season,” Keaukaha CC Head Coach Dr. Keahi Warfield said with a laugh. “It’s nice because everybody puts a lot of dedication and commitment to practices, training, dealing with issues.”
Puna notched two gold medals, three silver and five bronze.
Its Boys 14 crew (Kamakana Badan-Dellomes, La‘akea Kaawaloa-Okita, Robert Kalili-Burdman, Keanu Kim, Ikena Kuikahi-Keolanui and ‘Iolani Rocha) placed first and also recorded the championship’s fastest quarter-mile (1:48.31) after leading its division’s leaderboard for most of the season.
Puna’s other first-place finisher was its Women’s Novice A crew — Ranee Aki, Dani Dougherty, Kahiau Freitas, Megan Fuller, Kalei Kalili-Burdman and Ayla Swart.
“We worked hard for it all season to get here,” said Puna CC paddler Pulama Downing. “Also, just so proud to be hosting it, to have everyone come and see Hilo and the whole state come to our town, our waters, our bay — share this with all of us and see these beautiful canoes and children, kupuna, watch everyone pour their heart out and come with so much fight and power and energy.
“It’s been an amazing year to see everyone come back to canoe paddling more than ever. The spirit has grown more than ever.”
Downing took part in Puna’s women’s freshmen and women’s juniors races — placing third in freshmen behind Hawaiian CC and Lanikai CC — and second in juniors behind Manu O Ke Kai, also from Oahu.
In many of Saturday’s events, paddlers raced a half-mile, rather than a full mile, like they did for most of the season.
“Hawaiian Canoe Club took off with such a huge lead,” Downing said. “In a half mile, they pulled ahead so far, which speaks to their ability.”
Other Big Island first-place crews included Na Wa‘a Hanakahi’s Girls 14 (Puku‘i Alameda, Halana Daog, Pua Kahihikolo, Pohai Longakit, Kaiawe Pe‘a-Whitney and Zyrie Smith), Kamehameha CC’s Men Open Four (Samson Castillo, Mark Grant, Kenika Kane and Marco Roldan) and Kawaihae CC’s Girls 12 (Zoe Carpio-Napoleon, Hali‘a Drummundo, Maile Revilla, Meera Schuett-Iwamura, Lau‘ae Silva and Sayuri Yamamoto).
