It's a mix of experience, fun and familiar faces for the Le Jardin kayaking program.

Le Jardin's tight-knit team earned its first-ever varsity victory on Saturday, topping the boys team standings at Saturday's Interscholastic League of Honolulu distance regatta at Ala Wai with 19 points.

Taylor Hopkins finished second individually in 9 minutes, 45.77 seconds, barely missing first place by 1.36 seconds, and teammate Derek Rubenstahl was fifth in 9:56.91 to lead Le Jardin, a small private school located in Kailua. There are no multiple divisions in ILH kayaking like other league sports.

Additionally, Tedd Marr, Kenneth Rupnow, Logan Spencer and Tanner Gillespie placed first, second, fourth and fifth in the junior varsity boys race, leading to another team victory.

The varsity team's six kayakers were on last year's ILH JV championship team, and most of the team has experience in the water. Coach Kathy Erwin has seen most of her kayakers develop and grow, having taught some of them at Le Jardin's preschool and elementary levels. Her hui of young and knowledgeable coaches — Brandon Woods, Kati Erwin and Erik Anderson — all attended Le Jardin (they finished high school elsewhere since Le Jardin didn't have a high school division until 2002.)

"The chemistry, these coaches are really young, and there's a nice relationship between the coaches and paddlers. Practices are fun," coach Erwin said.

Erwin started the kayaking program about six years ago, and it has been built gradually over the years. When there weren't enough kayaks for the team, members of the local paddling community donated equipment. Last year, Hopkins' father built a trailer to transport the kayaks to regattas instead of having them strapped onto cars.

Today's squad is also the key to the future. There aren't any seniors on this year's team, and Erwin hopes her varsity boys can lead and teach the younger kayakers.

Most paddle for the nearby Kailua and Lanikai canoe clubs. Hopkins won his age division at May's Epic Moloka'i World Championships, completing the 32-mile course from Moloka'i to O'ahu in a solo surfski.

"I hope we always have this nice of a group," Erwin said. "These kids are amazing kids."

Even Le Jardin's small size (high school enrollment is about 200) has worked in its favor against bigger ILH competitors like Punahou and Kamehameha.

"In a way, having a small team is an advantage to us," Erwin said. "We have all the kids on the water all the time, and the bigger schools have way more kids and it's hard for them to put all the kids in water at the same time and supervise them."

BASKETBALL

Kamehameha Schools will hold a 3-on-3 basketball tournament to support its girls basketball team. The "Shootout on the Hill" will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 8 at Kekuhaupio Gym. Divisions will be intermediate boys and girls, high school boys and girls and adult males and females. Entry fee is $50 per team (4 players per team). For information, contact Clay Cockett at 341-2969 or e-mail cockettc001@hotmail.com or d1basketballhawaii@gmail.com.

OFFICIALS

Soccer referees are needed for the upcoming OIA and ILH seasons. Interested individuals should contact Debbie Stephenson at 218-3587 or deb75stephenson@yahoo.com for more information.