Posted on: Friday, September 19, 2003
Iolani cross country meet making national strides
By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer
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TIA FERGUSON
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The fifth annual event starts at 9 a.m. tomorrow at scenic Kualoa Ranch, with 30 high school teams (including 20 from the Mainland) in perhaps its strongest overall field.
"The girls teams are way stronger this year," said Iolani girls coach Greg Char. "Just from last year to this year, the whole meet has expanded a lot."
In its first four years, the Invitational already made a name for itself as three girls winners went on to win the FootLocker national championships later in the season. Punahou grad Victoria Chang (1999), Sara Bei (2000) and Amber Trotter (2001) each won Iolani and FootLocker titles, and 2002 Iolani Invitational winner Ruth Graham was a FootLocker finalist last year.
| Iolani Big Aloha XC Invitational
• What: High school cross country meet (all distances 5K, except 2-mile girls open and unlimited open) • Where: Kualoa Ranch • When: Tomorrow — Boys JV at 9 a.m.; Girls varsity at 9:30 a.m.; Boys varsity at 10 a.m.; Girls open at 10:30 a.m.; Unlimited open at 10:32 a.m.; Boys intermediate at 11 a.m.; Girls intermediate at 11:02 a.m. Awards ceremony at 11:45 a.m. • Who: 30 teams (15 from California, 10 from Hawai'i, three from Washington and one each from Idaho and Texas) • Top girls teams: Sultana (Hesperia, Calif.; ranked No. 3 in nation); Snohomish (defending 4A Wash. state champ); Iolani (2003 Hawai'i state champion); Peninsula (Rolling Hills Estates, Calif); Mililani (defending OIA champion) • Top boys teams: Eisenhower (Yakima, Wash.; ranked No. 24 in nation); Sultana (Hesperia, Calif.); Snohomish (Wash.); Kamehameha (defending state champion) • Top individual girls: Shelby Leland (Ukiah, Calif.; All-State in 2002); Nicole Anderson (Iolani; 2002 state champ); Joleen Oshiro (Iolani); Tia Ferguson (Seabury Hall; 2001 state runner-up) • Top individual boys: Robby Barany (Eisenhower; 3rd in 2002 Iolani Invitational); Jon Yasuda (Iolani); Jeremy Kamaka'ala (Kamehameha). |
The Sultana (Hesperia, Calif.) girls are ranked No. 3 in the nation by The Harrier High School Cross Country report, according to the Web site DyeStat.com.
Snohomish (Wash.) is the defending state 4A champ in Washington, and California title contenders Peninsula (Rolling Hills Estates) and Ukiah also are here.
One Hawai'i girl, Tia Ferguson of Seabury Hall, got lots of Mainland competition when she moved to Santa Barbara, Calif., as a junior. She has returned to Maui for her senior year. Ferguson, the 2001 Hawai'i state runner-up, should draw heavy attention tomorrow in her first big meet since returning home.
"Her track times last year were very comparable to Victoria Chang's — that's how good she is," Char said.
Iolani's Nicole Anderson, the 2002 Hawai'i state champ, has been pushed by teammate Joleen Oshiro. On the boys side, Eisenhower (Yakima, Wash.) returns as the defending Iolani Invitational champion and is ranked No. 24 in the nation.
The meet, which features a popular Friday night pasta feed at Iolani that includes a hula performance and door prizes, is gaining national attention.
"I've been to a big range of state, regional and national meets, and Iolani's is an up-and-comer," said DyeStat.com founder John Dye, who is here to cover the event for the second straight year. "It's making big gains nationally."
