[ HIGH SCHOOL REPORT ]
Lorin Milotta's skills as an equestrian jumper made her a natural for the hurdles.
Top ’Dog
State champion Lorin Milotta makes
track and field popular at numbers
-challenged Waialua
Sterling Carvalho positions a hurdle that looks older than Edwin Moses on the unlined dirt track at Waialua High School. Then, in three quick glances, the head track and field coach gets a good view of his entire team for the afternoon -- one high jumper, one thrower and one hurdler.
"We don't have much, but we do our best with what we do," Carvalho tells a visitor.
The coach speaks only of the facilities and equipment, not the talent. Yes, there are more coaches than athletes at practice today. But this is the week of the state meet, and Carvalho is pleased to have a reason to hold workouts at all.
Waialua is a school with a small enrollment but a huge heart. In football, the undersized and short-rostered Bulldogs spent decades tackling future NFL players from Leilehua and Waianae before the Oahu Interscholastic Association went to classification.
Lorin Milotta
Favorite book: The Bible, now reading "Catch-22" for Advanced Placement EnglishFavorite TV shows: "Alias," "CSI"
Favorite food: "Anything mom makes, especially salad and chicken."
GPA: 4.0
Best time in 100 hurdles: 15.24
Best time in 300 hurdles: 48.45
Family: Father David, mother Sandy, brother Makena
This week: Milotta, defending state champion in the 100 hurdles, and teammate Cheyenne Opiana (discus, shot put) compete at the HHSAA/Island Movers State Track and Field Championships tomorrow and Saturday at War Memorial Stadium on Maui. Kamehameha's boys and Iolani's girls are the defending team champions.
The death of the island's sugar industry didn't help Waialua's enrollment, and the Bulldogs stutter and putter along athletically, trying to avoid forfeits in some team sports.
Waialua managed to win three girls soccer games this year, a major accomplishment for a team with many players who had never kicked a ball before.
"It can get frustrating," says Lorin Milotta, a senior who played soccer and volleyball. "You feel like your team has potential, but there's not too many of us. Like our football team. Some of them make the second-team All-Stars for both offense and defense. That tells you something. You don't see that too often."
You don't see many state track and field champions at Waialua, either. There's one: Milotta, the hurdler. Tomorrow she begins defense of her crown in the 100-meter hurdles at War Memorial Stadium on Maui and also runs in the 300. She won both events at the OIA championships last week.
They are appropriate events for Milotta, considering the figurative hurdles she has already cleared. When she was a freshman, she was hampered by a condition called Osgood-Schlatter disease; a growth spurt caused painful irritation to her knees. That was only part of it.
"Freshman year was a tough one for me," she says. "I had a back injury playing volleyball, at the beginning of soccer I started having the trouble with my knees. Then, when I went back to soccer, I tore my ACL."
Well, maybe for a smart girl like Milotta (she graduates this spring as one of three valedictorians) with a hobby (she's an award-winning equestrian), life without school sports would be OK.
"Not at all," she says. "I started playing soccer when I was 5. Pretty much all my life I've played some sport, they've been my life. I was completely miserable."
When she RECOVERED and joined track as a sophomore, Carvalho quickly learned he had an experienced hurdler in Milotta, even though she'd never run them before."It was like she already knew how to do it because of her horse riding," he says. "Actually, we had to tame her. She was galloping like a horse, not sprinting like a runner."
The coach and the athlete laugh.
"It's funny, because I jump my horse, too. A lot of the things (Carvalho) gets on me about are things my trainer gets on me about," she says.
Carvalho and Milotta say the lack of numbers at Waialua translates into more direct coaching, and hence, better technique. Cheyenne Opiana, the senior shot putter and discus thrower headed to her third state meet, agrees. Opiana -- goalkeeper by default -- also credits Milotta with helping her to learn soccer on the fly.
"I was lost," Opiana says. "But she got me to be more vocal and confident. And for someone so good in so many things, she's really humble."
Opiana is an interesting and inspirational story herself. She competed in volleyball, soccer, paddling, judo and basketball in addition to track and field this year. One day this spring, she had a judo match in the morning, a track meet in the afternoon, and a basketball game in the evening. A foster child with four other high schools in her rearview, Opiana has found a home at Waialua.
"I'm thankful to be here," she says. "Because there's so little bit people here, there's less tension than at other places."
Opiana has joined the Air Force and will train to be a firefighter after graduation.
Milotta's future is at UC Davis because of its equestrian program. With her grades, she could go Ivy League. But Milotta chose the college instead of it choosing her, like she did with high school. Her father was a basketball and volleyball player at Iolani -- the school that has won the last two girls state track and field team championships.
"He asked me if I wanted to go there," she says. "But I love Waialua. I've lived here all my life. There was no reason to go anywhere else."
She credits the coaching at Waialua for her success.
"I was broken when they (the track coaches) got me," she says. "Just 13 months post-op, I was the JV hurdles champion."
Milotta is THE editor of the school newspaper and her favorite subject is English. Carvalho, her math teacher, says she is outstanding in that subject, too.
"She's very disciplined, focused on the task at hand. When we're in the classroom, it's math. When we're on the track, it's all track. She's very organized.
"As a math teacher, I always talk about formulas," he says.
"She has the formula for success. Dedication plus sacrifice plus hard work equals success. In school, and on the playing field."
As in math, the right formulas lead to the right numbers. Two years ago the Waialua boys and girls track and field teams had a combined membership of five. This year it was 21. The intermediate boys even had a relay team.
"She's been very good for our school and our track team," Carvalho says. "The bug is catching, the kids know we can produce success."
The coach looks around the field again at his three pupils for the day. There are the two seniors headed for the state meet. And there is Raechelle Pereira, a sophomore high jumper whose season is over, but who dreams of medals in future years. She says she is practicing months ahead of her next meet because of Milotta.
"She's our biggest recruiter," jumps coach Dennis Sanchez says of Milotta. "She's a popular girl, and she got others from the other sports to come out. Even after she's gone, she'll still be getting points for us."
Athletes of the Week
» Nick Frazier, Kamehameha track and field: Won the 100- , 200- and 400-meter runs at the ILH championship meet.
» Marina Gusman-Brown, Pearl City track and field: Won the 100- and 200-meter dashes, the long jump and the triple jump at the OIA championship meet.
Honor Roll
BASEBALL
» Shaun Kiriu, Punahou: Pitched a two-hitter and hit a home run at Aloha Stadium in an ILH tournament win over Kamehameha.
» Chris Goya, Mid-Pacific: Hit a two-run single to beat Saint Louis in an ILH tourney game.
» Anthony Ganigan and Rex Yamaguchi, Pearl City: Ganigan pitched a three-hitter with 12 strikeouts and Yamaguchi hit the go-ahead two-run single in a 4-2 OIA first-round win over Kalaheo.
» Matt Haasenritter, Hilo: Pitched a three-hitter as the Vikings clinched a state berth in a win over Keaau.
» Kanekoa Texeira and Dayne Ogawa, Kamehameha: Texeira pitched a four-hitter and Ogawa had the winning hit to beat Mid-Pacific in an ILH tournament game.
» Aaron Sato, Aiea: Went 3-for-3 with four RBIs in an OIA tourney win over Waianae.
» Corey Giammalvo, Pearl City: Drove in two go-ahead runs in the top of the eighth inning of 6-2 OIA tourney win over Kalani.
» Ricky Eusebio, Roosevelt: Hit a three-run homer to push the Rough Riders past Pearl City in the OIA tourney.
» Ransen Sylva, Waianae: Hit a two-run double to put the Seariders up for good in an OIA tourney win over Moanalua.
» Jacob Cockett, Kamehameha: Retired all 10 batters he faced in relief of an ILH tourney win over Punahou.
» Andrew Ontai and Jesse Matsuura, Leilehua: Ontai went 5-for-6 and drove in the winning run to clinch a state berth for the Mules against Waianae. Matsuura went 4-for-5 with four RBIs.
» Blake Lamug, Aiea: Pitched a three-hitter to beat Roosevelt in the OIA title game.
» Thomas Yamasaki, Pearl City: Hit two doubles and drove in four runs in the OIA third-place win over Kaiser.
BASKETBALL
» Ginger Gravelle, Iolani: Scored 22 in a win over St. Francis.
» Eryn Chun and Sophie Merrifield, Punahou: Chun led the Buffanblu on defense during a 9-0 fourth-quarter run in the ILH title-game win over Iolani. Merrifield had a combined 14 points, 15 rebounds, seven steals and five blocks in wins over Maryknoll and Iolani.
» Tati Beasley, Roosevelt: Scored 22 in an OIA D-II tourney win over Waipahu.
» Sierra Nakea, Nanakuli: Scored 22 in a D-II loss to Kalani.
TENNIS
» Chloe Bihag, Waipahu: Won the OIA girls singles title.
» Mark Ilagan, Farrington: Captured the OIA boys singles championship.
WATER POLO
» Tarah Maruyama, Kaiser: Scored 10 goals in an OIA tourney win over Kapolei.
» Valerie Kaahanui, Kapolei: Scored six in a loss to Kaiser.
» Paloma Vigden, Hawaii Prep: Scored in the fourth overtime to beat Kealakehe.
» Stephanie Emery, Kahuku: Scored three late goals to break a 4-all tie in the OIA championship win over Roosevelt.
GOLF
» Mari Chun, Kamehameha: Shot a 144 to capture the ILH girls individual championship at Ko Olina.
» Travis Toyama, University: Won a four-hole playoff against Lance Hirai to capture the ILH boys individual title.
TRACK AND FIELD
» Kealoha Pilares, Damien: Won the long jump and triple jump at the ILH meet.
» Careena Onosai, Word of Life: Won the shot put and discus at the ILH meet.
» Meghan MacLeod, Punahou: Won the 100- and 200-meter dashes at the ILH meet.
» Lauren Ho, Hawaii Baptist: Repeated as 1,500-meter champion and also won the 3000-meter race at the ILH meet.
» Lorin Milotta, Waialua: Won the 100- and 300-meter hurdles at the OIA meet.
» Kari Tanimoto, Pearl City: Won the 1,500 and 3,000 at the OIA meet.
» Rosela Faaiu, Farrington: Won the OIA's discus and shot put.
» Nathaniel Nasca, Pearl City: Won the OIA's 110-meter hurdles, 100-meter dash and long jump.
