[ HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETICS ]
|
On the right track LAURAN Dignam did something at Saturday's Punahou Relays she had never done at a track meet since she first laced up her first pair of spikes -- leave early.
Iolani's dignified Dignam wins
two events, leaves early and
makes it to her senior promBy Jason Kaneshiro
jkaneshiro@starbulletin.comAfter skipping out on the major social events of her high school years to compete in Iolani's track and field events, Dignam wasn't about to miss her senior prom. But not before winning two events at Saturday afternoon's meet.
"I kind of don't want to leave, because track is more important to me," she said. "But it's senior prom and that only comes once."
Dignam led Iolani to wins in the girls distance medley and the 4x100-meter relay and hopes to add to her crowded trophy case at this week's Interscholastic League of Honolulu championships.
The meet starts with event trials at 3:30 p.m. tomorrow at Punahou's Alexander Field. The finals are 1 p.m. Saturday for the field events and 1:30 for the running events.
Dignam won the 400-meter dash at last year's ILH Championships and is the two-time defending state champion in the 200 and 400. She is scheduled to compete in five events this week -- the 100, 200, 400 and the 4x100 and 4x400 relays.
|
The Raiders finished second to Punahou in both the ILH and state meets last year and hope Dignam can help them break through for a championship."Track and field is so hard because we have so many different things, and for the last two years she's really tried to keep the team together," Iolani coach Earl Hedani said. "We've been trying to gear up for the ILH and state. I think right now everything is coming into place and hopefully nobody gets sick and nobody gets hurt."
Dignam started running at age 7 in the Kaneohe Wildcats youth program. But running wasn't exactly her favorite after-school activity.
"I hated it, but my parents made me keep with it," she recalled.
She eventually warmed to the sport when she began to excel in physical fitness competitions in elementary school. Dignam joined the Iolani program four years ago and immediately impressed the coaches with her smooth stride and tireless work ethic.
"She came out and started working and we were saying, 'wow, this girl get tired or what?' " Hedani said. "But she just kept running and running. So we were kind of delighted that she came in and said 'boy, what a find.'
"Her work ethic is unbelievable," he added. "Never complains, never misses practice. It's that concept she brings that in track if you work hard you'll be rewarded. And I think she's getting rewarded right now, her times are getting better. ... When she comes out to practice, the practice just picks up a little.
Dignam is still mulling her college options. She has scholarship offers from Cal State Fullerton and Oregon and is planning to take a recruiting trip to Colorado State after the state championships.
If Dignam decides to attend CS Fullerton, she would join friend and adversary Kelly Figueira, who signed with the Titans last month.
Dignam finished second to the Sacred Hearts standout in the 100 at last year's ILH and state championships. Figueira also won the ILH 200-meter final, but Dignam edged her in the state meet.
Dignam actually got her start in athletics in youth soccer and she capped her high school career by being named the ILH girls player of the year this winter.
"This year I started enjoying it a lot, because I thought the team worked a lot better together," she said.
The track team is Dignam's primary focus this season as she has grown into a leader for a young group of Iolani runners. And her influence was felt at the Punahou Relays even in her absence.
Dignam left the track -- with the blessing of the coaches and her teammates -- shortly after running in the 4x100. Despite having their anchor runner in the 4x400 relay on her way to the prom, the Raiders scrambled to put a team together for the final girls event of the meet.
And they ended up winning the race in 4 minutes, 12.30 seconds to give the entire team a lift.
"It just so happened that my young kids said, 'let's give it a try,' " Hedani said. "And then they won it and they were so happy. That was a nice ego booster for all the kids.
While winning without their captain gave the Raiders a shot of confidence, they still look to her for reassurance as they prepare for the season's major meets.
"We have a lot of young kids, a lot of ninth graders and 10th graders and everybody kind of went under Lauran's wings," Hedani said.
Hawaii School Web Sites