KAILUA-KONA — It wasn’t the complete picture, but BIIF crews from the west side of the island got their first taste of what the season might hold at Kailua Bay on Saturday.
KAILUA-KONA — It wasn’t the complete picture, but BIIF crews from the west side of the island got their first taste of what the season might hold at Kailua Bay on Saturday.
Greeted by sunny weather and pristine conditions, Kealakehe took two of the three varsity half-mile races, while Parker suprised and captured the mixed event at the BIIF season-opening regatta.
“Across the board, the competition looks pretty good. There were no runaway wins,” Kealakehe coach Mike Atwood said. “That’s good for us. We know we can’t really slack off.”
The winning Waverider girls crew was made up of Olivia McCure, Kawehi Pelekane, Trinity Ballesteros, Paula Wigzell, Natalie Binham and Abcde Tan. They finished at 4 minutes and 40 seconds in the half-mile race. Parker finished second.
Hanalei Akazawa, Joey Wagner, Hiram Anakalea, Anthony Vierra, Ezra Kahanu and Lamaku Kekaualua made up the winning boys crew for the ‘Riders, crossing five seconds ahead of Konawaena.
Like many of the team’s on the west side, Kealakehe is dealing with number issues. If even one paddler is missing, it could throw a wrench into the plan for an entire regatta. However, Atwood believes his team has a special attribute that will make a big difference down the stretch.
“Our kid’s attitude right now is our strength. They show up to practice, want to get better and also do work in the classroom with their grades,” he said. “You work with what you have got and our goal is to get these kids to be better paddlers.”
While Kealakehe is accustomed to its share of success at the BIIF level, Parker pulling out the mixed win was a big early season victory for the hard-working Bulls. Noeau Simeona, Mathias Migliorini, Hunter Weigle, Kira Vidosh, Grey Kim and Marlo Mundon made up the winning squad.
“It was a great crew win,” Parker assistant coach Derek Park said. “I think we have a great group of kids who show up and give it all they’ve got.”
Parker also captured wins in three quarter-mile races (JV mix, JV girls and non-scoring varsity).
Konawaena has likely had the biggest turnover since last season. The Wilcats are the defending mixed champs, but do not return a crew that even resembles that lineup. The program also has new leadership under coach Jerome Kanuha, who stepped in just two weeks ago to make sure the program did not get dropped.
“We are two weeks behind everybody, but I’m happy with how we did,” said Kanuha, who is also the tennis coach at Kealakehe. “Right now, we are reading a book. The first page is interesting — the last page is better.”
With the opening chapter of the BIIF season in the books, the story will continue to evolve next week when all of the BIIF gathers at Kailua Bay on Dec. 19.