Macdonald wins fourth
By Pat Bigold
straight HHSAA crown
Star-BulletinLIHUE, Kauai -- Eri Macdonald of Punahou won the 26th Hawaii High School Athletic Association girls' cross-country championships at Kauai Community College today, becoming the first island prep runner of either gender to win four straight titles.
Macdonald broke away from junior teammate Victoria Chang with about 100 meters to go to finish in 11 minutes, 44.3 seconds. Chang, who was the runner-up for the second year in a row, finished in 11:46.84.
Third was Lisa McManus of Hawaii Prep Academy at 12:28.56.
"Victoria was just very strong today," said Macdonald, who was tied for the most girls' wins with Kaiser's Nina Liahjell, who won in 1983, 1984 and 1985.
Macdonald won in 1995 at Waiheu Golf Course on Maui, in 1996 at the Hawaii Preparatory School course on the Big Island and in 1997 at Waiakea High School's course. Her father, Duncan, won the first two boys' state meets on the Pali Golf Course (1965-66). He went on to star in track at Stanford and broke Steve Prefontaine's U.S. record at 5,000 meters.
Chang led the the race for much of the way but never had more than a two-step lead on Macdonald. Macdonald would surge ahead of Chang on the downhill run of the two-mile course, but Chang would regroup to retake the lead on the incline.
"At about 800 meters to go, I started to wonder when Eri was going to come up with me," said Chang, who returned from a three-week illness last weekend to finish within one second of Macdonald in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu championships.
Chang also finished second to Macdonald in the 1997 state meet and has been second to her every time she competed in a scoring race in the ILH.
In the girls' team championships, Iolani won its first-ever state crown.
The Raiders finished with 53 points to Kamehameha's 66. Punahou was third with 69, Hawaii Prep fourth with 81 and Hilo fifth at 198.
In the boys' race, Radford's James Googe made a near miraculous comeback from what appeared to be exhaustion with about a quarter mile to go and held off a surging Robbie Philipp of Mililani at the finish.
Googe's time was 15 minutes, 47.84 seconds. Philipp finished at 15:50.12 and Villanueva at 15:14.55.
"I thought I had him (Googe) and I pulled even with him (with about 300 meters to go)," said Philipp.
Googe admitted he was hurting.
"Oh yes, I hurt.'' said the burly 5-7, 160-pounder. "My lower back was sore and I had a slight groin injury. But God pushed me through."
Googe is the first Afro-American to win the HHSAA boys' championships.
Hilo's Josh Villanueva, who once preferred boxing, finished third. Villanueva, won the 1997 boys' race at Waiakea.
The state cross-country meet is sponsored for the third year by the Honolulu Marathon Association.
The defending boys' team champion was Kamehameha and the defending girls' team champion was Punahou.
Surprising Bulldogs
By Catherine E. Toth
meet Warriors
Special to the Star-BulletinIt was a Cat and Dog fight last night at the Nissan Hawaii High School Athletic Association girls' volleyball tournament.
And the Kaimuki Bulldogs came out alive, defeating the Konawaena Wildcats, 16-14, 5-15, 16-14, in front of a standing-room only crowd at Kekuhaupio Gym.
"It was like going into labor," said Kaimuki coach Toni Nishida-Chock, who is eight-months pregnant with twins. "It was exciting and we knew Konawaena was going to take us to three sets. We knew it was going to be an offensive game and it was just a matter of who was going to play defense better. They're scrappy and I'll take nothing away from them. They're a great team."
The third-seeded Wildcats burst ahead of Kaimuki in the beginning of the first two sets, with offensive help from seniors Mi Suk Lee and Napua Kamoku, who combined for 32 kills on the night. Their tough serving (eight team aces) and quick backcourt challenged Kaimuki's net-oriented offense.
"(Kaimuki's) got big girls and they hit the ball well," Konawaena coach Ben Casuga Sr. said. "They've got a good blocking team and they run their plays pretty well. Our girls were looking up at them."
After edging the 'Cats in Game 1, the 'Dogs fell apart in the second set, recording only five kills.
"I told them it was really embarrassing the way they played in Game 2," Nishida-Chock said. "That's probably the worst they've played in the tournament. But they realized how important this game was. I said, 'You be intense and get out there and work.' And they did. They really stepped up and played fired up, finally."
Behind the arm of junior Chantilly Maiava, who led the team with nine kills, and the blocking of seniors Cheriesse Shiroma and Nicole Ka'aina, who combined for 11, the Bulldogs pulled off the upset against the Big Island Interscholastic Federation champions.
"That was best game of our whole lives, probably," said senior middle blocker Ranel Asuega, who put away five kills. "That was the toughest team we've played so far. When we were down (in Game 2), we started talking and realized that this could be our last game and we just got confident."
Today's semifinal match against top-seeded Kamehameha, which defeated Molokai, 15-5, 15-5, is just what Kaimuki has been waiting for.
"We were looking forward to playing Kamehameha and I'm glad we went this route," Nishida-Chock said. "It'll be a challenge for us. Tomorrow will be a game of composure and playing smart. I think we're peaking at the right time. It's been perfect timing."
"We've been wanting to play them for awhile," Maiava added, "so we'll try our best. It'll take confidence."
Confidence is what helped Punahou, a team nowhere near the top seeds, advance in the tourney by beating Kaiser, 15-8, 15-7.
"The team's attitude was positive," Punahou coach Diana McKibbin said. "I think they've now come to a point that they're gallant and focused. You can see it in their eyes, it's in their actions, it's in their relationship with each other. They're very much together."
It's this togetherness that senior outside hitter Mia Moe credits her success to.
"I felt really good out there," said last year's MVP in the state soccer championship, who led the Buffanblu with 13 kills and 11 digs. "We were having fun. The whole team was playing well and we were just ready to win."
Kaiser coach Wilette Andrade was proud of how well her team played despite the loss.
"They played with a lot more emotion than I expected," Andrade said. "Punahou is a great team. They just ran different things and the girls didn't know where to hit. But we're in the top eight in the state. I told the girls don't hang their heads, walk out nice and proud because they did a lot better than last year."
Punahou will face University High, which walked over Waimea, 15-3, 15-2.
"They're a scrappy team, they're disciplined and they've got nice ball control," McKibbin said.
Plus they've got senior outside hitter Margaret Vakasausau, who earned Interscholastic League of Honolulu first team honors last year.
"Margaret pretty much runs the show," McKibbin said. "She's just a real solid all-around player that adds that balance and leadership and strength."
Girls' state tournament
Today At Kekuhaupio Gym
Kamehameha vs. Kaimuki, 2 p.m.