Ka Leo o Nä Koa
Volume VI
Issue 4
May 13, 2011
D7
Track and field
Photos by KANOA YAP
Raven Poepoe flings herself over the high jump bar above, and Ashley Wendt flies for the sand pit in the track and field state championships held at War Memorial Stadium, May 6-7. Wendt finished in third place and earned the bronze medal for her jump of 17’ 3”.
Track and field ends with 4 state competitors By NIKKI DAVIS, sports writer
The KSM track and field team earned 11 spots in the Island Movers Track and Field State Tournament, located at War Memorial Stadium in Kahului, May 6-7. Five competitors qualified for the finals on Saturday, and Ashley Wendt placed in the top three in the state placing third for the long jump. Kaimalu Stanich came in fourth for the 100-meter dash, Nainoa Bright came in eighth in shot put and Raven Poepoe came in twelfth for high jump. Both Wendt and Stanich broke existing school records for their events. Alternate Jordan Nauka did not get a chance to compete. This year’s track and field team was filled with many returning seniors, but was smaller than in previous years. “This season we have a lot less members on the team than last year, but the quality is still good,” said Nainoa Bright, senior shot putter and discus thrower. A main struggle the team
faced this year had to do with students keeping their grades up to remain academically eligible. “A big struggle was a lot of the sophomores getting on AP (academic probation). They
are a big asset to our team, and it hurts us if they can’t compete,” said Ka’ea Warrington, senior discus thrower and 4X1 runner. April 15-16 the freshman and sophomores of the junior
Photo by KANOA YAP
Kainalu Stanich pushes over the finish line of the 100-meter dash. He finished fourth in the state with a time of 10.11 seconds.
varsity team competed in their JV championship. The junior varsity girls won 1st place, and the boys came in 2nd. The boys relay team also broke a record. “I see a lot of great performances. I’m excited with the sophomores, and the freshman class is pretty strong,” said Coach Bala Spencer. Two weeks later, the varsity boys team placed second, and the girls came in third at the Maui Interscholastic League championship. There were some strong competitors throughout the entire season. Junior long jumper/triple jumper Ashley Wendt was one of them. According to Spencer, she was ranked 4th for long jump and 3rd for triple jump in the state. Another competitor was sophomore, Raven Poepoe, who was ranked 4th in the state for high jump. “I think it’s exciting that these young kids are stepping up and turning out to be Warriors,” said Coach Bala.