Rawlins family fuels Moloka'i pipeline

By Brandon Masuoka
Advertiser Staff Writer

For the past two decades, Moloka'i siblings Keahi, Mahealani and Melani Rawlins have turned athletics into a family affair.

Keahi, Mahealani and Melani Rawlins, from left, say family and Moloka'i community support have helped them make the move to O'ahu to play in college athletic programs. Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser

The trio from Kaunakakai follows a tradition of Moloka'i athletes such as Jarinn and Brandyn Akana (UH and Brigham Young-Hawai'i basketball), Solene Duvauchelle (HPU volleyball), Melveena Starkey (Hawai'i-Hilo softball), Keith Luuloa (pro baseball), Peter Pale (UH football) and Kimo von Oelhoffen (Boise State and pro football), who have found success in the college and professional athletic world.

The Rawlinses are easily identified by the amount of fan support they have at athletic events, often bringing their entire family tree, including grandmother Shirley, who makes the 20-minute plane flight from Moloka'i to watch them play in every game and match.

"I try to make every trip down to support them and watch their games," said Shirley, who is the owner of Rawlins Chevron, one of two gas stations on Moloka'i. "I'm happy that they chose to go to college in Honolulu."

"It pumps me up, knowing that they're watching," said Mahealani, who was cheered on by 25 family and friends in Saturday's home volleyball match against Brigham Young-Hawai'i. "It really counts for me. I feel that I'm really supported and I'm happy to see them there."

Support of community

"The people on Moloka'i really backed me up, and my family backed me up with fund-raisers and stuff," Keahi said. "They're behind me whenever I need it. If I do good or bad, I just know that they're there for me, and just doing good would really mean a lot to them. That's what I try to do."

As a freshman last season, Rawlins made 16 appearances, including 11 starts, and went 5-5 with a 4.27 ERA.

"He's capable of doing great things on the baseball field," UH coach Mike Trapasso said. "He's a quality person who you want in your program. That's what drew us to him. All you have to do is meet his family and know where he gets it from."

This season, Rawlins is recovering from an arm injury he suffered playing summer league ball. Rawlins said he was diagnosed with a slight tear in his medial collateral ligament and will be sidelined at least a month.

"Right now, I'm doing rehab, all the stuff I need to do," said Rawlins, who hopes to begin throwing in December.

This fall, Shirley Rawlins watched Mahealani play volleyball and her grandson Kapono Rawlins Crivello play football for Kamehameha. In the spring, she'll do the same for Keahi and his UH baseball games, and Melani's HPU softball games.

"If you want them to succeed you have to support them and at least meet them halfway," the grandmother said. "I'm proud that they made it to college. That's the main thing. If they work hard now, it pays off later."

Mahealani said she's thrilled that her sister and brother are living with her in Honolulu. The siblings only see each other for a few hours because of busy schedules, but they make the most of their time when they meet after games, she said.

"We talk story on how the game was and we listen and we laugh," Mahealani said. "We tend to give each other pointers, like what you did wrong, and what you can work on. We know ourselves, too, but it's better to hear it from somebody else."

For the past two seasons, Mahealani, a 5-foot-6 sophomore setter, has become one of the Sea Warriors most durable athletes, playing in a team-high 174 games. She was second on the team in assists (186) and digs (362) the past two seasons.

The Sea Warriors will play Cal State Bakersfield tomorrow in the first round of the NCAA Division II tournament at RIMAC Arena on the UC San Diego campus.

"Mahea leads by example," HPU volleyball coach Tita Ahuna said. "She's not a vocal person. She's a quiet person. But when you want to get the job done, you ask Mahea."

Learning the city life

Like her siblings, HPU softball player Melani said it was difficult to adjust from the country style of Moloka'i to Honolulu's city life and heavy traffic.

"At home there's no stoplight, no nothing," Melani said. "I'm kind of used to the country life. I used to go home every weekend. It's still like that."

Melani said she has a fondness for Molokai's well-known athletes such as the Akana brothers, Duvauchelle and Starkey. Occasionally, she'll see one of them on Moloka'i and they'll provide her some pep talk.

"When I go home, they all say, 'you're doing good, just stay in school and you're almost done,' " Melani said. "They're very encouraging."

Last season, Melani played in 12 games in a utility role. HPU head coach Howard Okita said he's looking at plugging the 5-foot-7 sophomore into a role that would take advantage of her hitting.

"She comes from a very athletic family," Okita said. "She puts out her best effort every day. She tries and tries, and she's getting better every day. She swings a very good bat. Her biggest asset for us would be her offensive production for us."

Reach Brandon Masuoka at bmasuoka@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2458.