Seabury Hall's Ferguson captures girls race
By Christie Wilson
Neighbor Island Editor
KAHULUI, Maui — Seabury Hall's Tia Ferguson shattered predictions of slow times on a tricky course at the Honolulu Marathon/ Hawai'i High School Athletic Association girls cross country championships, held yesterday in blustery conditions at the Dunes of Maui Lani golf course.
Yesterday's Results At Kahului, Maui Girls Team 1, Iolani (Nicole Anderson, Joleen Oshiro, Megan Chock, Lucy Dolly Caires, Kira Tamashiro, Susan Mukai, Tiffany Adachi) 61. 2, Kamehameha-O'ahu 109. 3, Punahou 116. 4, Moanalua 139. 5, Mililani 158. 6, Hawai'i Prep Academy 165. 7, Baldwin 197. 8, Pearl City 218. 9, Seabury Hall 278. 10, Kaiser 284. 11, Waiakea 286. 12, King Kekaulike 307. 13, Kaua'i 337. 14, Hilo 360. 15, Roosevelt 372. 16, Kealakehe 374. 17, Kapolei 383. 18, Ko-nawaena 421. 19, Castle 438. Individual 1, Tia Ferguson (SeaH) 11:46
Ferguson finished in 11 minutes, 46 seconds, outpacing O'ahu Interscholastic Association champion Emily King of Moanalua by 32 seconds. It was the fourth-fastest time since the event was extended to 2 miles in 1978. The only other occasion when the state championships were held at the Dunes was in 1999, when Punahou's Victoria Chang turned in a winning time of 12:27.
HHSAA State Championships
2, Emily King (Moan) 12:18
3, Nicole Anderson (Iol) 12:34
4, Lauren Ho (HBA) 12:40
5, Jessica Domingo (Kam) 12:54
6, Joleen Oshiro (Iol) 12:58
7, Kari Tanimoto (PC) 12:59
8, Katie Craigie (Pun) 13:09
9, Keri Ogden (HPA) 13:12
10, Andrea Leitner (Kohala) 13:13
11, Megan Chock (Iol) 13:15
12, Elisabeth Ertl (Moan) 13:20
13, Alyssa Chun (Kam) 13:21
14, Tanya Lewis (HPA) 13:22
15, Tamarah Binek (Waiak) 13:23
16, Chimene Sienkiewi (PC) 13:23
17, Lucy Dolly Caires (Iol) 13:28
18, Rachel Sokugawa (Roos) 13:29
19, Sara Mitman (Mili) 13:32
20, Maya Coelho (Kam) 13:36
Iolani achieved a three-peat for the team title, easily besting runner-up Kamehameha. Nicole Anderson, Iolani's top runner and the 2002 state champion, edged out Lauren Ho of Hawai'i Baptist Academy by 6 seconds for third place overall, avenging last week's 1.8-second loss to Ho at the ILH championships, held at the Central O'ahu Regional Park.
Ferguson, a 17-year-old senior who finished second in the 2001 state meet on Kaua'i but spent last year in Santa Barbara, Calif., said she knew she was favored to win, but had never run against King and was nervous at the starting line.
Although King dominated the OIA championships, the transfer from North Carolina was considered a bit of a mystery since she had not competed in any other big meets featuring the state's top runners.
The two kept pace with each other until the half-mile mark, when Ferguson surged ahead on a sandy hill and took charge. She said she had been working all season on running a faster second mile, and King never had a chance to catch her.
"The first half of the race was uphill and the second half was downhill with rolling hills, and I was able to pick up speed and keep my rhythm," Ferguson said.
King, a 16-year-old junior, said that when the Seabury runner passed her, she knew there wasn't much she could do to give chase.
"I just tried to close the gap, I didn't want her to get any farther ahead," King said.
Iolani coach Greg Char said his team had to rebuild its confidence after two returnees from last year's championship squad left. He said the Raiders relied on consistency to bring home their third state crown in as many years.
Three Iolani runners finished in the top 11 overall. Along with Anderson (12:34), the team members are Joleen Oshiro, who was sixth overall at 12:58, Megan Chock (13:15), Lucy Dolly Caires (13:28), Kira Tamashiro (13:58), Susan Mukai (14:04) and Tiffany Adachi (14:36).
Iolani scored 61 points, followed by Kamehameha (109), Punahou (116), Moanalua (139) and Mililani (158).
Complete boys and girls cross country results are available online at www.hhsaa.org.
