The Kuna family may "bleed red and blue" as St. Louis supporters, but the clan's focus this fall will be on a Buffanblu football standout. Kuna trades St. Louis
colors for BuffanbluBy Jason Kaneshiro
jkaneshiro@starbulletin.comNainoa Kuna is spending his summer preparing for his senior season as a standout receiver and running back at Punahou. The 6-foot, 195-pounder is also one of the state's most dangerous kick returners.
Last season, Kuna was an Interscholastic League of Honolulu second-team all-star and had one of his best games against St. Louis. He grabbed eight passes for 163 yards and a touchdown in a 49-28 loss to the Crusaders.
Both his father, Steve, and eldest brother, Tai, played for the Crusaders, while another brother, Keanu, played baseball at Kamehameha.
His mother, Robbie Cabral, is a member of the storied family synonymous with St. Louis football.
"I went to Kamehameha and (Steve) went to St. Louis and we couldn't agree," Cabral said. "So we decided to send (Nainoa) someplace neutral."
Nainoa Kuna opened some eyes at the Colorado and USC football camps earlier this summer with his speed and skills.
At the USC camp, his time in the 40-yard dash was among the 12 fastest in the camp of about 300 high schoolers. The fastest players were then paired for a race-off, with Kuna surprising observers by winning all of his races to emerge as the final survivor.
Juniors claim bronze: The Hawaii Warriors junior 17-and-under boys volleyball team won the bronze medal in the Gold Division at the USA Junior Olympic Volleyball Championships held July 6-9 in Phoenix.
The Warriors defeated Lake County (Wis..) 25-19, 26-24 in the tournament quarterfinals before falling to Club Dinos (Calgary-Alberta) in the semifinals 22-25, 25-23, 12-15. Club Dinos went on to win the tournament.
Members of the team are Ricky Estrada (Kamehameha), Lee Metz (Kamehameha), Kui Tolentino (Damien), Jonathan Gabrio (Punahou), Tyson Takiguchi (Pearl City), Matthew Bninski (Hawaii Baptist Academy) and Jacob Reis (Capital High School, Olympia, Wash.).
Estrada and Metz were named to the All-Tournament team. Tolentino and Reis were honorable mention selections.
The Warriors are coached by Alfred Agcaoili, Dexter Young and Bert "Kanamu" Akana.
Student SID program ready: Hawaii Sports Network has signed up 44 students from 27 high schools for its inaugural student sports information director program.
The program is scheduled to launch Sept. 7.
SIDs will contribute stories, scores and statistics for their school's teams to HSN's site: HawaiiSportsNetwork.com.
Each SID will receive a $1,000 stipend for the school year.
HSN will hold SID training sessions Aug. 3-4 at the Doubletree Alana Waikiki Hotel. The seminars will cover writing press releases, keeping statistics and utilizing HSN's publishing system.
HSN is still seeking SIDs at the following schools: Mid-Pacific (Pac-Five), University, Waipahu, Radford, Waialua, Waianae, Nanakuli, Kapolei, Moanalua, Farrington, Roosevelt, Kalani, Kaiser, Castle, Baldwin, Maui, Kaahumanu Hou, St. Anthony, Kealakehe, Kohala, Hawaii Prep, Pahoa and Waimea.
Those interested should contact Paul Honda at 528-0221 (ext. 14) or paulhonda@hawaiisportsnetwork.com.
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