It was only fitting, then, that the two athletes each earned titles in their final MIL and state tournament appearances, as well as MIL boys track and field athlete of the year honors.

''We're friends and it's always good to see a teammate and a friend get to share this award,'' said Tesoro, who won the state tournament's boys discus event with a throw of 160 feet, 1 inch, to The Maui News.

Said Amescua: ''It was big, especially our senior year. It was nice that both of us went out with a bang and we had a good time, too. We got the stuff done and we ended up on top.''

Amescua defended his 2007 state title in the boys 800 meters with a personal-best time of 1:55.01, a goal he had in mind from the start of the season despite some early complications.

''I missed the first meet at King Kekaulike because I got caught with the flu and I had a relapse, so I was stuck with the flu for two weeks,'' he said. ''I felt that kind of threw me off the rest of the season because my times had to get faster. If I hadn't gotten sick, I would've been right where I wanted to be.

''I wanted to try for the meet record — that was my ultimate goal. My realistic goal was to defend my title. That was the only real thing I wish could've gone right, but nonetheless, I'm happy.''

Tesoro, who's been with the Bears for four seasons as a field athlete, was caught off-guard when his coaches told him some other exciting news — that he was the first field-event champion in school history.

''It was pretty crazy,'' said Tesoro, who also took fifth in the shot put. ''I was just overwhelmed by it and I'm never going to forget it.''

But while the boys are off to try their hand at collegiate sports — Amescua will join the team at Portland State University and Tesoro is headed off to play football at UNLV — the MIL's girls athletes of the year will be around again next season to see what else they can accomplish.

King Kekaulike rising senior Bailey Massenburg and Seabury Hall rising sophomore Kailea Tracy-Visintainer brought home two state titles each this season — Massenburg in the 800 (2:19.21) and 1,500 (5:17.47), and Tracy-Visintainer in the 200 (25.06) and 400 (56.98) — their first-ever state championships.

'I think I was just shocked that I was actually doing three events,'' said Massenburg, who also took second place in the 3,000 (10:40.75). ''I don't know, for some reason, there's so much hype about states all season long — when I got there, I just thought to myself, 'Just do what you have to do.' ''

Tracy-Visintainer had a similar approach, although she did admit to dealing with a few butterflies before the state finals.

''When we went over to states, I told myself not to expect anything,'' she said. ''My first race in the 400, I was pretty nervous — when the gun went off, I took off a little harder than I wanted to.

''There was a little nervousness, but I settled down.''

She didn't expect quite that much success as a freshman, but it has only made her hungry for more.

''The season went really, really great — I reached all my goals,'' Tracy-Visintainer said. ''I was going for time and then in the 400, I got the time I wanted at the state meet. In the 200, I never expected to excel that much and be up for the state record as a freshman, so yeah, it was exciting.

''Having three more years is actually super-exciting, so I'm hoping to get a shot at some records.''

Massenburg, who also competed for Na Ali'i's girls tennis team while running track in the spring, found the season pretty stellar as well, especially with the continually improving Maui athletes.

''The competition level on Maui has really risen and that's what made the season a great one,'' she said. ''We had such great girls and guys out there — Kailea, Lea (Lunblad), Brittany (Feiteira), Caronne (Rozet) — it made it so much more exciting.''

While the girls prepare for another season with their respective teams, Tesoro and Amescua said they will miss theirs, not to mention Maui.

However, the future looks bright and they're ready to check it out.

''I felt like I had a really good feel with the coach and the team (at PSU),'' said Amescua, who also was considering the University of Southern California. ''Los Angeles is not really my type — I like the kind of family, ohana kind of thing that Maui has and Portland (seemed to have).''

Said Tesoro: ''(I'll miss) just how we all were friends and Maui itself — it's not going to be the same. (But) it'll be a fun experience.''

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