Posted on: Wednesday, December 15, 2004

HOMEGROWN REPORT
Kemoeatu gets 2 more All-America honors

By Leila Wai
Advertiser Staff Writer

Utah senior offensive guard Chris Kemoeatu has been named to two more All-America teams.

Kemoeatu was named to the College Football News first team and to the Rivals.com 54-player squad.

The 6-foot-4, 338-pound Kemoeatu, a 2001 graduate of Kahuku, was earlier named to the Associated Press All-America second team and the Sports Illustrated All-America first team. He was an All-Mountain West Conference first team selection.

Tennessee junior defensive tackle Jesse Mahelona, a 2001 Kealakehe graduate, was also named to the Rivals.com All-America team. Last week he was named to The Sporting News All-America first team.

Colorado freshman linebacker Jordon Dizon was named to the College Football News Freshman All-America Team, after establishing a new school mark for tackles by a true freshman with 78, and becoming the first rookie to ever start at linebacker for Colorado.

Dizon, a 2004 Waimea graduate, was honored as the Big 12's Defensive Freshman of the Year.

Women's Volleyball

• Naomi Lino Meyers (Wai'anae '04) went to New York on a whim, following a friend.

But when she got there, she knew she wanted to be a member of the Onondaga Community College (Syracuse, N.Y.) women's volleyball team.

"My mind-set was on volleyball," Lino Meyers said.

It turned out to be a good choice for Lino Meyers, a freshman outside hitter. She was named the Mid State Conference Most Valuable Player, and was selected to the all-Region first team.

Football

• Two Occidental (Los Angeles) players from Hawai'i were selected to the all-Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference second team.

Junior wide receiver Ric Fukushima (Moanalua '02) was Oxy's second-leading receiver with 34 catches for 362 yards and three touchdowns before he broke his left collarbone in the first post-season game.

Junior cornerback Derek Turbin (Punahou '02 of Ho-nolulu) led the team in unassisted tackles with 44 and was second overall with 52. He led the team in pass interceptions with three.

Occidental (10-2) won the SCIAC championship and had a 10-game win streak before it was beaten by Linfield (Ore.) 56-27 in a NCAA Division III tournament quarterfinal game.

Women's Soccer

• Princeton (N.J.) junior defender/ midfielder Romy Trigg-Smith (Punahou '02 of Kailua) was named to the NCAA Women's College Cup All-Tournament Team.

Trigg-Smith was the only player from Princeton to be named to the team.

Women's Basketball

• Princeton sophomore guard Elyse Umeda (Punahou '02 of Honolulu) scored all of her 10 points in the second half, but Princeton fell 68-46 to Rutgers, Wednesday night.

Signing

• Kalani High senior Keri Hee signed a national letter of intent to play volleyball for the University of Illinois-Chicago.

"Keri is a quick, athletic middle blocker, who does a great job for her size," UIC coach Nancy Mueller said in a press release. "She has a feisty competitive attitude that is infectious and is something this team needs."

The 5-foot-9 Hee was an O'ahu Interscholastic Association Eastern Division second team selection this year.

Reach Leila Wai at lwai@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2457.