Clay clears final hurdle of career in winning form

By Dennis Anderson
Advertiser Staff Writer

Bryan Clay finished his collegiate track and field career in style. Championship style.

Castle High grad Bryan Clay capped his collegiate career by leading Azusa Pacific University to the NAIA track and field championship. Gary Pine • Azusa Pacific University

Result: Clay scored 18 points by himself, and contributed to a relay team's points, as Azusa Pacific University of California won the NAIA championship for the 13th time since 1983.

Clay and teammate Jesse Roberge were named the meet's Most Outstanding Performers.

Clay is still recovering from knee surgery on April 8 and is not in top form, but he defended his long jump championship with a leap of 23 feet, 9 inches and was second in a photo-finish 110-meter high hurdle final in 13.99 seconds, equaling his career best.

He pushed his career total of NAIA All-America awards to 23, believed to be the most any individual has ever earned.

"We've never had athletes like Chris (Carlson, two-time decathlon champ) and Bryan (Clay), who we can ask so much of, then have them deliver on cue," Azusa Pacific coach Kevin Reid said.

Clay has completed his collegiate competition but is expected to remain at Azusa Pacific, in Southern California, to finish his degree next semester and train for the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials and other events. Next is the USA Nationals on June 19 at Cal-Berkeley, then a decathlon dual meet with Germany in July.

MORE TRACK AND FIELD

• Oregon, Michigan

Oregon junior Eri Macdonald (Punahou '99, of Kailua) and Michigan sophomore Vera Iwalani Simms (Mililani '00) missed qualifying for this week's NCAA Division I national championships by a combined total of 17/100ths of a second. Can you snap your fingers that fast?

Macdonald's best 800 time of 2 minutes, 6.37 seconds was 4/100ths slower than the 19th person invited and Simms' 400 hurdles best of 58.50 was 13/100ths slower than the 20th person invited in her event.

In both events, fewer runners were invited than last year.

"I'm not as bummed as some of my friends and my coach," Simms said. "I think it's a good goal for next year to run at a higher caliber so I won't have to wait around and wonder if I'm going (to the championships) or not."

GOLF

• Pepperdine (Calif.)

After a horrible first round, freshman Rachel Kyono of Lawa'i, Kaua'i, finished with a 2-under-par 70 to help the Waves tie for ninth place in the NCAA Division I women's championships in Auburn, Wash.

Kyono, last year's Hawai'i high school girls champion for Kaua'i High, had rounds of 79-75-77-70 for a 13-over-par total of 301 and a 10-way tie for 60th place out of 126 entries.

"The first day it was more nerves," Kyono said. "But I did good at the end. I had four birdies the last day.

"The water killed me," Kyono said. "The 16th hole is a 330-yard par 4 with an island green. I went into the water twice. And 17 is a par 5 with a river through the middle. I put it into the river.

"I struggled with the back nine the first three days — didn't break 40 — but on the last day I was two under for the back nine and got a birdie on 16," she added.

Kyono said she plans to stay in Hawai'i this summer and play in the state women's stroke- and match-play championships. She won the stroke-play title in 2000, the same year she shot an 8-under women's par 65 at Olomana Golf Links. She shot another 65 last year, at Princeville.

SOFTBALL

Homegrown Report miss-wrote last week when we reported Kaleo Eldredge was the only player from Hawai'i in the Softball College World Series.

Eldredge was the biggest star, starting the winning rally for California in the seventh inning of the championship game, but two others were there, as a half-dozen callers and e-mailers pointed out.

• UCLA

Senior Casey Hiraiwa (Iolani '97, of Hawai'i Kai) started the opening world series game and final regional game at second base for the eight-time national champion Bruins.

Hiraiwa had red-shirted in 1999 because of a torn anterior cruciate ligament and had surgery last year for a torn tendon in her left (glove) hand. She had been used mainly as a pinch runner or sub in blowout games this season.

But when regular second baseman Crissy Buck was hurt after fouling a ball off herself in the regional semifinal, Hiraiwa started the next two games. Then Buck returned.

For the season, Hiraiwa batted .174 (4-for-23) in 31 games and handled 22 defensive chances with one error.

Her best season was 1998, when she played five different positions, mostly shortstop, and batted .280, starting all but one game and earning Pac-10 honorable mention.

• Arizona State

Freshman Pua Reis (Sacred Hearts '01, Waimanalo) was a reserve infielder. She played in about 12 games this season, but not in the world series or regional.

• Arizona

Sophomore Lineah Manuma, a two-time All-American, was born in Honolulu but grew up in San Diego. She is the niece of former University of Hawai'i and San Francisco 49ers great Jesse Sapolu. Her mother, Valerie, is a UH graduate.

Manuma has hit 40 home runs in two years, including some epic clouts that have caromed off a gymnasium wall 45 feet beyond the Arizona softball stadium's outfield fences. Her career slugging percentage is higher than .700.