Life going swimmingly for Felezs
By Dennis Anderson
Advertiser Staff Writer
College life has been a ball, says 1998 Kamehameha Schools graduate Carla Felezs of Mililani, and it was never better than last weekend.
University of Puget Sound
Felezs, a senior at the University of Puget Sound in Washington, was named Outstanding Women's Swimmer of the Northwest Conference championship meet in Spokane, Wash.
Puget Sound's Carla Felezs, a Kamehameha Schools graduate, was named most outstanding at the Northwest Conference championships.
She won three events, breaking meet records in two, and swam on four first-place relay teams as Puget Sound won its sixth straight conference championship.
Felezs swam her career-best times at the Husky Invitational last Nov. 30-Dec. 2 in Seattle: 24.08 seconds in the 50-yard freestyle, 52.47 in the 100 freestyle and 58.90 in the 100 backstroke.
All of the times qualified for the NCAA Division III national championships March 14-16 at Miami of Ohio. She will also swim on four relay teams at the nationals.
"I was rested for (the Husky Invitational)," she said. "I've been 'working through' all the other meets."
Last weekend, she "worked through" Northwest Conference meet records of 24.14 in the 50 freestyle and 52.78 in the 100 freestyle. Her 50 time erased the oldest record in the conference record book, set in 1984, and she broke her own 2-year-old 100 record three times in one day on Sunday.
Felezs won one conference title last year and two as a sophomore.
"Swimming here is the best thing I could have done; it was so worth it," Felezs said.
"I'm a lot better than I was in high school," when she won a single state title (1997 individual medley), she said. Felezs started competitive swimming in the first grade for the Kamehameha Swim Club and says, emphatically, that this will be her last year of competition.
She will graduate in May with a degree in mathematics, paid for largely with scholarships she won for her prowess in her major. Puget Sound does not give financial aid for athletics.
"It's been fun; I'm having a ball," Felezs said.
VOLLEYBALL
• Idaho
Senior Mindy Marques (Waimea '98) this month was named co-recipient of the team's Student-Athlete Award for academics. She also was an All-Big West academic pick and left her mark on the Vandals' record books, too.
Marques, a four-year starter at defensive specialist, finished fifth all-time in digs with 956 and fifth all-time with 40 career double-figure dig matches. She finished with 101 service aces, two short of the top-10 list.
• BYU
Sophomore Uila Crabbe (Kamehameha '00) has added Mountain West Conference All-Academic honors to her first-team all-conference selection as defensive specialist. Crabbe, a fitness and wellness management major, has a 3.51 GPA.
CHEERLEADING
• Miami
Jasmine Brown (Radford '99) of 'Ewa Beach is hoping to get a national football championship ring. Brown is a member of the Hurricanes' cheerleading team and Sensations dance squad, and performed in the Rose Bowl when Miami won the championship last month. She's a junior studying criminology. She said a decision on rings for the cheerleaders has not been made yet.
BASKETBALL
• Fresno State
Freshman Arrita Lane ('Aiea '01) got her sixth double-double (13 points, 11 rebounds) as the Bulldogs defeated UTEP, 78-62, Thursday for their first victory ever in the state of Texas.
Lane ranks fourth in the WAC in rebounding (8.2 per game), fifth in field-goal percentage (48.1), and 10th in free-throw percentage (73.7). She is averaging 9.5 points per game and is a strong candidate for the All-Freshman team.
When she played at UH last month, Lane was overwhelmed as she left the Bulldog locker room by dozens of friends and 'Aiea alumni, who buried her in lei as if it were graduation night. The Bulldogs and Wahine meet again tomorrow in Fresno.
• Pacific (Oregon)
Senior Pierre Elliott (Kaiser '97) finished his collegiate career in style, scoring 55 points in his final three games. Elliott ranked second in the Northwest Conference in steals (2.04 per game) and ninth in field-goal percentage (53.5).
Sophomore Kattanya Kapeli (Kamehameha '00) of Kane'ohe started all season for the Pacific women and finished third in the Northwest Conference in steals (2.38 per game).
MEN'S SOCCER
• Oglethorpe (Atlanta, Ga.)
Freshman Kyle Kagihara (Punahou '01) of Mililani, a starting midfielder, was named to the Southern Collegiate Conference Fall Student-Athletic Academic Honor Roll.
