HIGH SCHOOLS
Iolani's Dignam bound for Washington

By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer

Lauran Dignam waited, and sure enough — a good thing came.

Dignam, who won five gold medals at last month's state track and field championships before graduating from Iolani School last Saturday, plans to sign a national letter of intent today to run for the University of Washington next year.

The signing will end months of speculation about where the record-setting sprinter would end up. At the state meet on May 11, Dignam said she was weighing offers from Cal State Fullerton, Oregon and Colorado State. She finally decided on Washington early last week, after receiving a 75 percent athletic scholarship offer.

"They wrote to me a while ago, and I just turned in the application because it's a good school," said Dignam, who also ran cross country and was the Interscholastic League of Honolulu soccer Player of the Year. "But as I started talking to their coaches, I got more interested. Once I decided I didn't want to play soccer anymore, it came down to Washington and Colorado State."

She said after discussing her options with Iolani college counselor Dan Feldhaus, they decided Washington would be a better fit. Washington routinely attracts about 12-15 Iolani graduates every year.

"Academically, it's a good school, and they have more Hawai'i kids," Dignam said.

Dignam's spectacular performances at the ILH and Island Movers State Championship meets helped the Raiders win girls team titles at each for the first time.

In each meet, she won the 100-, 200- and 400-meter dashes and anchored the winning 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams. She set ILH meet records in the 100, 200 and 400 with times of 12.20, 25.06 and 56.34 seconds, respectively.

At the state meet, she set a record in the 200 with a time of 25.04.

Dignam said Washington likes her versatility and probably won't lock her into one event.

"They said if they need me, they can put me in anywhere," she said.

Now that she'll be locked into one school, she'll get some needed rest.

"It was a lot of stress," she said.