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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, May 4, 2008

TRACK
Radford boys just edge Mililani for OIA crown

Photo gallery: OIA Track and Field Championship

By Stanley Lee
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Kahuku freshman Zhane Santiago won the girls long jump. She also won two hurdle events to help Kahuku win its first team title.

Photos by JOAQUIN SIOPACK | The Honolulu Advertiser

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Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Nathan Blue of Radford, center, won the boys 110-meter hurdles. Radford held off Mililani, 83-82.

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MILILANI — Radford showed off its speed and even more resiliency in winning last night's O'ahu Interscholastic Association track and field championship.

The Radford boys edged Mililani, 83-82, to win its 18th OIA title and first since 1998 at John Kauinana Stadium.

Both teams were forced to rally and pull together during the meet with Radford suffering a key disqualification and the Trojans missing key runners who attended the school's senior prom.

"They have been in big meets, been together before, but you don't find out a lot about your team until adversity," Radford co-coach Sid Patton said.

Radford senior Christopher Rainey, who was first in Thursday's OIA trials, was disqualified from the 100-meter dash because of a false start. That only set the tone for the rest of the meet.

"I had to go hard on the next race," Rainey said. "Maybe it was meant for me to happen."

He helped the Rams win the 4x100 relay and break the meet record with a time of 42.58 seconds along with Ikaika Kamaka, Donniqtay Campbell, and Jonathan Atangan.

Right after the 4x100, he won the 400 in 50.14 seconds. But it came down right to the end for the Rams. Rainey pulled out from the 200 and 4x400 because he said his stomach felt woozy after the 400.

Campbell and Kamaka finished second and third, respectively, in the 200 to score key points for the Rams. Andrew Atangan then finished sixth in the 3,000 run to score one point for Radford in the second-to-last running event.

"We work hard in practice and this is just what we work for all year," Kamaka said.

In the 4x400, the final running event, Campbell, Kamaka, Jonathan Atangan and Christopher Nichols teamed up to edge Mililani by one second for the win. Radford was first in 3:29.95 while Mililani was second in 3:30.98. Nichols found out he was running the relay 10 minutes before it started.

"He stepped in and ran a great leg," Patton said.

Mililani's Cameron Daugherty won the pole vault by breaking the OIA record of 14 feet 6 inches and teammate Eric Roth was fourth at 10 feet.

"It feels good with the amount of competition here," Daugherty said. "Radford has good sprinters and Leilehua is always a big challenge."

Kawika Ornellas won the boys 100 for Mililani in 11.12 seconds, helped the Trojans finish second in the 4x100, then left midway through the meet for the senior prom. He was one of several Trojans who missed the meet over the prom, but runners like Fred Culp, Ryan Nupen, Ryutaro Matsushita, Aaron Ibaro and Kristopher Ornellas nearly helped Mililani pull through.

"It could've gone either way," Mililani coach Marshall Ochi said. "I'm proud of the guys we had. They stepped in every single event and competed."

Leilehua's Paul Williams broke the boys 1,500 record with a time of 4:09.27 and Kailua's Chauncy Makainai won the shot put with a throw of 55-2, missing the record by 3 1/4 inches.

"It feels good but I can still get better," Makainai said. "Today, I didn't feel as good."

KAHUKU GIRLS TRIUMPH

Meanwhile, Kahuku jumped and threw its way to its first girls title with a bulk of its 86 points coming early in the meet's field events. Radford was second with 55 and Mililani was third with 51.

Freshman Zhane Santiago won Kahuku's only events in the triple jump, 100 hurdles and 300 hurdles. But the Red Raiders scored points in bunches in the shot put with a third-place finish from Juleesa Kawaauhau and fourth from Tela Schwenke. Kawaauhau was also third in the discus.

Alysha Cummings was fourth in the triple jump while teammate Lani Speer was sixth. Santiago finished second in the long jump while Cummings placed fourth and Speer finished fifth. Ashley Burt was second in the high jump.

"We work hard and the hard work paid off," Schwenke said. "Our coaches push us."

Santiago said the team title was a "big accomplishment."

"It was tiring but I just had to push and not give up," said Santiago, who credited her family, coaches and friends.

Kaiser's Sarah Clapp broke the girls record in the 3,000 with a time of 11:03.71. She also won the 1,500 and was second in the 800 to Leilehua's Mariama Lane by 0.12 seconds.

"I never had to run that hard this season," Clapp said of the 800. "She's a fantastic runner and she had a good kick at the end."

One of the state's top distance runners, Clapp thanked her coach Dennis Swart, who she called "fantastic."

Kapolei's Tamara McGee won the girls 100 and 200 and Kaimuki's Vaioleti Mikaele won the girls shot put and discus.

"It took a lot of hard work," McGee said of defending her 200 title. "I'm ecstatic that I made it."

Reach Stanley Lee at sktlee@honoluluadvertiser.com.