ISLE FILE
Kahuku names hoops, softball coaches
Advertiser Staff
Wendy Anae, the Most Valuable Player of Kahuku High's only state girls basketball championship team in 1983, will try to take the Red Raiders there again as head coach.
Anae has been chosen by interim athletic director Joe Whitford to replace Mona Ah Hoy, who said she resigned to concentrate on her girls volleyball teams. Kahuku will play Moanalua on Thursday for the O'ahu Interscholastic Association girls volleyball championship.
Anae has assisted Ah Hoy for three years.
"I never thought I would be coaching girls basketball," she said, "but once one can't play any more, helping other kids becomes very meaningful. My passion for playing transferred into coaching."
Anae, who graduated from Cal State Fullerton in 1989 after a successful college playing career, will finish up a term as acting vice principal at Kahuku this month and return to teaching special education.
She will inherit a veteran team, with 15 players back from last season's state tournament roster, plus 6-foot all-star Latoya Wily, who transferred back to Kahuku after a year at Kalaheo. The season starts in February.
• Heffernan to coach softball: Clinton "Bu" Heffernan, a former Kahuku football player, has been appointed the school's head softball coach. He was an assistant last year.
Heffernan, 31, graduated from Kahuku in 1988 and University of Utah in 1999, playing football at both schools and at Foothill (junior) College in California.
He is the community building facilitator at Queen Liliuokalani Childrens Center, where he works with at-risk children.
— Dennis Anderson
SOCCER
• UH's Kai honored: Rainbow Wahine soccer player Natasha Kai has been selected to the Soccer Buzz National Team of the Week for her performance last week.
Kai, a Kahuku High graduate, began her week by recording her second hat trick of the season, scoring three goals in a, 5-1, win over Boise State.
Later, Kai scored twice against Nevada in a 5-0 victory.
With her scores, Kai set new Hawai'i season records for points (31) and goals (14), and tied the program mark for season game-winning goals with four.
BASKETBALL
• UH teams to get national air time: The University of Hawai'i basketball teams will appear on national television at least four times this season, including three by the men's team.
The Rainbow Warriors, the defending Western Athletic Conference champion, will appear on ESPN2 on Feb. 27 at Tulsa. Two other games will be televised on Fox Sports Net: UH at SMU on Jan. 23, and UH at Rice on March 1.
The Rainbow Wahine will appear on Fox Sports Net when they travel to defending WAC women's champion Louisiana Tech on Jan. 11.
In addition, the WAC Tournament championship games on March 15 will also be televised. The men's championship will be on ESPN2; the women's title game will be on Fox Sports Net.
PADDLING
• Colin at Summit: Kailua's Kathy Colin, who kayaked in the 2000 Olympics, will take part in "Summit 2004 — Riding the Wave to Athens" next month.
Athletes participating in the summit represent half of the 28 sports on the 2004 Olympic Games program. Only athletes regarded as medal contenders "by virtue of their results in what are considered Operation Gold events" are eligible to attend the summit, according to a release.
