Sunday, April 15, 2001
[ HIGH SCHOOL TRACK ]
THAT BOARD. That stupid board. Battle of board
frustrates Sacred Hearts
long jumperPunahou's Rania wins 4 events
By Kalani Simpson
Star-BulletinKelly Figueira stands, at the end of the long jump runway, staring down the horizon at her nemesis. It taunts her there. The board.
She bounces up and down on her toes, the last few seconds before takeoff. The board. One long stride backward, collecting herself. The board. And then, she begins striding down the track: Board, board, board, board, board, board! She accelerates: Board, board, board, board, board, board! BOARD!
She soars through the air, floating, all grace and height and power and perfection.
"Total force," says Sacred Heart jumps coach Cyril Pires. "She's got tremendous springs in her legs."
Finally, the Sacred Hearts junior, the April 4 Star-Bulletin girls prep athlete of the week, returns to earth in a spray of sand. And then, ecstatically: "Heyyyyyyyy! You hit the board, Kelly!"
But the bystander's celebration is moot. Pires leans forward. "Wrong foot," he confides.
And Figueira's battle with the board continues.
The outburst is no surprise. Everyone in track circles is familiar with her problem. Everyone is rooting for her. Everyone wants to see Figueira's foot plant squarely on that painted piece of wood.
"I'll try to hit it, but I still don't hit it," she says. "I don't know, something's wrong."
And the paradox continues.
She does everything but fly through the air. She wins meets. She wins them by a lot. No one is even close.
"Kelly is probably one of the best ILH jumpers to come along in a good five years plus," Pires says.
But the board is the long jumper's launching pad, where, ideally, athletes want to take flight from at full speed. And the best example of Figueira's ability is this: She's winning while battling the board.
Figueira is winning meets while missing her mark.
She takes off anywhere from two to six inches behind the back of the board. Jumps are measured from the front of the board. Which means
Figueira is losing about a foot or more of official distance per attempt. And still winning meets and setting records.
"Amazingly, yeah," she says. "I wish they measured from where I jumped instead of the board."
If they did? "She would have went 19-5 today, easy, a meet official says during yesterday's ILH All-League meet.
But they don't. And so she didn't. And so Shari Fox's state record of 19 feet, 212 inches, set for Leilehua in 1979, is still safe.
And everyone knows it's Figueira's for the taking. If only she can conquer that board.
"We've done everything," Pires says. "No matter what, she always misses the board.
"We've moved her up from our previous spots. We've changed her run stride. ...
"It's like having some magnet. The north in her shoe and the north of the board, they repel each other, for some reason. No matter what we've done, we just ... we can't hit the board."
"He tells me move back so much (each time)," she says. "But ... it doesn't work."
Figueira's jumping practice is a study in frustration. Her form is beautiful. Her leaps are fantastic.
"She's got natural jumping ability," Pires says. "Springs like I've never seen. I don't think anybody's really seen springs like that."
But then Figueira takes off from three or four inches behind the board, a good foot behind the measuring mark, and she knows it.
Sitting in the sand, her face says she knows it. It's the same story, one she goes through every time she jumps.
"When I hit the sand, like the rakers, they're all like, 'You didn't hit the board' " she says. "I'm like, 'I know.' "
Maybe it's a mental thing. Maybe she thinks about it too much. Maybe she thinks about not thinking about it too much. Maybe she should just relax, and forget the whole thing. Maybe that's what she's trying sometimes, and that doesn't work, either.
"I think that's what I was thinking about," she says. "But I still didn't (hit it)."
In yesterday's meet, her first jump was at least three inches behind the back end of the board, well over a foot behind the measuring mark. It was good for 18-212. Her next jump was also more than 18 feet, also about three inches behind the board's back end. Later, she would take off from six inches behind the board. One of her last jumps was behind the measuring mark by almost two feet.
She wins, of course. And she owns the state's best jumps this season.
But the frustration, the battle, the taunting by her nemesis continues.
"I wanted to hit the board!" she says after the meet, her hands forming fists, her feet doing a little hop. But then she adds, "I wasn't thinking about it."
It's easy, sometimes, for her and for us to let the frustration overshadow the rest. We want to see her succeed. We want to see history made. She just wants to hit that stupid board.
But Kelly Figueira is still winning. And still doing the best she's ever done. She's a hard worker with a quick smile, and everyone you talk to likes her. Track aficionados watch her speed down the runway and marvel at her jumps. That's the way to do it, they say.
She's still a joy to watch when she takes flight, no matter where she takes flight.
"She takes off, I have her accelerate, and then speed, I let the momentum carry her in the air with her force pushing her off the board," Pires says, describing it perfectly.
And until she finally beats the board, that will have to do.
Charles Rania of Punahou won four events at yesterday's Interscholastic League of Honolulu meet at the Punahou School track. Punahou’s Rania
wins 4 eventsStar-Bulletin staff
Rania won the 300 high hurdles, the long jump and the triple-jump. He also tied Taualai Fonoti of St. Louis for first in the 110 high hurdles.
Other multiple winners were:
Kelly Figueira of Sacred Hearts, 100 meters and long jump; Natalie Fujimoto of Punahou, shot put and discus; and Daniel Inferrera of St. Louis, the 100 and 200 meters.
At Punahou School track ILH Track
VARSITY GIRLS
100 meters: 1. Kelly Figueira, SHA, 12.75. 2. Ashley Dutro, Pun, 13.05. 3. Raine Arndt, Kam, 13.10. 4. Noelle Yempuku, SHA, 13.25. 5. Stacey Higa, Iol, 13.26.200 meters: 1. Ashley Dutro, Pun, 27.10. 2. Stacey Higa, Iol, 27.7. 3. Angela Fargo, SHA, 27.89. 4. Carly Killam, Pun, 28.14. 5. Nicole McInerny, Kam, 28.17.
400 meters: Lauran Dignam, Iol, 58.46. 2. Carly Killam, Pun, 1:02.93. 3. Kaily Lam, Pun, 1:03.65. 4. Tiffany Taylor, Pun, 1:04.95. 5. Adrienne Sakamoto, Pun, 1:06.02.
800 meters: 1. Anna Berger, P5, 2:31.25. 2. Annie Kawasaki, P5, 2:32.39. 3. Pippa Macdonald, Pun, 2:33.04. 4. Becki Jones, Iol, 2:33.43. 5. Tiffany Taylor, Pun, 2:32.53.
1,500 meters: 1. Annie Kawasaki, P5, 4:53.59. 2. Christal Cuadra, P5, 4:56.32. 3. Jessica Domingo, Kam, 5:06.27. 4. Becki Jones, Iol, 5:12.00. 5. Cori Hanagami, Pun, 5:26.25.
3,000 meters: 1. Christal Cuadra, P5, 10:51.25. 2. Kristin Shinkawa, Iol, 11:57.57.
100 high hurdles: Chanel Zeisel, Pun, 16:60. 2. Tiffany Taylor, Pun, 17:60. 3. Lindsay Mae Beimes, Kam, 17:70. 4. Kaily Lam, Pun, 18.7. 5. Blair Nonaka, Iol, 18.7.
300 Inter Hurdles: 1. Melanie Pearson, Pun, 53.7.
4x100 relay: 1. Sacred Hearts, 51.8. 2. Iolani, 52.4. 3. Kamehameha, 52.63. 4. Punahou, 52.85. 5. Punahou B, 53.64.
4x400 relay: 1. Punahou, 4:25.11. 2. Iolani, 4:27.65. 3. Pac-Five, 4:35.14.
High jump: 1. Kelli Copeland, Pun, 4-10. 2. Mia Munroe, Pun, 4-10. 3. Tiare Salassa, Pun, 4-08. 4. Laurie Williams, Pun, 4-06.
Long jump: 1. Kelly Figueira, SHA, 18-2.5. 2. Ashley Dutro, Pun, 16-02.5. 3. Noelle Yempuku, SHA, 15-09.75. 4. Heather Lee, Iol, 15-00.75. 5. Garin Freitas, Kam, 14-10.
Shot put: 1. Natalie Fujimoto, Pun, 37-01. 2. 2. Katherine Loui, Pun, 31-4. 3. Tracee Suetsugu, Iol, 27-04.5. 4. La'akea Campbell, Iol, 27-02.
Discus: 1. Natalie Fujimoto, Pun, 126-10. 2. Tracee Suetsugu, Iol, 120-03. 3. Genia Linear, Iol, 114. 4. La'akea Campbell, Iol, 112.01. 5. Nani Loui, Pun, 101.11.
VARSITY BOYS
100 meters: 1. Daniel Inferrera, StL, 11:31. 2. Keahua Bowman, StL, 11:47. 3. B.J. Murakami, Pun, 11:49. 4. Scott Botelho, Dam, 11:5. 5. Kellen Lopez, Dam, 11:58.200 meters: 1. Daniel Inferrera, StL, 23:06. 2. B.J. Murakami, Pun, 23:79. 3. Jon Lee, Iol, 23:92. 4. Toby Caldwell, P5, 23:94. 5. Jason Ching, Pun, 24:15.
400 meters: 1. Nicholas Frazier, Kam, 51:61. 2. Tamatoa Hackney, Pun, 52:62. 3. John Yamane, Pun, 52:63. 4. Richard Carlile, Iol, 52:92. 5. Michael Fujioka, Pun, 53:29.
800 meters: 1. Peter Lee, Pun, 2:04.69. 2. Justin Salvador, Dam, 2:06:08. 3. A.J. Wilson, P5, 2:06.43. 4. Jordon Kimura, Pun, 2:07.53. 5. Nick Chang, Pun, 2:08.77.
1,500 meters: 1. Kevin Lemahan, Pun, 4:24.91. 2. Daniel Han, Pun, 4:27.72. 3. Nicholas Chang, Pun, 4:28.39. 4. Jean Colburn, Pun, 4:31.57. 5. A.J. Wilson, P5, 4:36.8.
3,000 meters: 1. Todd Incovelli, Pun, 9:10.68. 2. Phillip Ho, Pun, 9:40.13. 3. Patrick Morrisey, Iol, 9:51.44. 4. David Sakoda, Iol, 9:49.02. 5. Kevin Shimmon, Pun, 10:01.83.
110 High Hurdles: 1. (tie) Taualai Fonoti, StL, and Charles Rania, Pun, 14.8. 3. Troy Nakamatsu, Pun, 15.8. 4. Terry Slattery, Dam, 16.0. 5. Matthew Beimes, Kam, 16.6.
300 high hurdles: 1. Charles Rania, Pun, 41:08. 2. Matthew Beimes, Kam, 42:7. 3. Derek Turbin, Pun, 43.18. 4. Terry Slattery, Dam, 43.57.
4x100 relay: 1. Damien, 44.45. 2. Punahou, 45.09. 3. Iolani, 45.7. 4. Iolani B, 46.91. 5. Iolani C, 53.15.
4x400 relay: 1. Punahou, 3:34.25. 2. Kamehameha, 3:34.44. 3. Pac-Five, 3:38.45. 4. Damien, 3:42.63. 5. Punahou B, 3;47.95.
High jump: 1. Jason Ching, Pun, 5-10. 2. Shawn McAnulty, Dam, 5-10. 3. Chris Driscoll, Pun, 5-08. 4. Alex Fergus, Pun, 5-08. 5. James Malins, Iol, 5-06.
Pole vault: 1. Brent Young, Pun, 13-06. 2. Jay Hanamura, Pun, 13-0. 3. Brian Sanders, Pun, 13-0. 4. William Sullivan, Dam, 13-0. 5. Donald Kaulukukui, Kam, 12-0.
Long jump: 1. Charles Rania, Pun, 20-11.75. 2. Daniel Inferrera, StL, 20-05.25. 3. Jason Ching, Pun, 19-11. 4. Nikolas Clay, P5, 19-03.25. 5. Bryson Metz, Kam, 19-02.
Triple jump: 1. Charles Rania, Pun, 42-03. 2. Derek Turbin, Pun, 42-01. 3. Jason Ching, Pun, 41-03.05. 4. Patrick Chung, P5, 39-11.5. 5. Bryson Metz, Kam, 37-01.5.
Shot put: 1. Dane Uperesa, Pun, 47-10.75. 2. Chris Caughorn, Dam, 44-11.5. 3. Brian Valdez, Pun, 44-11. 4. Joseph Lobendahn, StL, 43-03.5. 5. Jordan Akamu, Iol, 43-01.75.
Discus: 1. Jordan Akamu, Iol, 158-11. 2. Joseph Lobendahn, StL, 147-01. 3. Chris Caughorn, Dam, 138-0. 4. Dane Uperesa, Pun, 133-06. 5. Ryan Belaski, Dam, 132-07.
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