Hawaii Beat
Star-Bulletin staff
|
Coach departure lands Onosai at UH
She dug deep to find the will.
Leaving home was not going to be easy, but Careena Onosai thought about her future, and it belonged at UCLA. The state's top track-and-field athlete, with three discus titles among her feats, wanted the coaching and training that would propel her to the highest level.
Then, one event changed everything. Her mentor-to-be, Seilala Sua, left UCLA. The reason was simple. UCLA could only have her on staff as a volunteer coach. Cal State Northridge welcomed Sua, a former Olympian, with a full-time coaching position.
Onosai, who had spurned Punahou to stay at Word of Life Academy as an eighth-grader, knew she would stay home once again. Once she received a release from UCLA, she contacted UH through her father, Joe.
"My dad talked to coach Carmyn (James). She was shocked," Onosai said yesterday. "When (Sua) told me, she felt really bad."
Her father, once a standout lineman at UH, believes Careena will succeed without being in an elite program like UCLA.
"She's stronger than she's ever been. She told me, 'Dad, I wish I was this strong when I was in high school,'" he said. "The way things turned out, it was a good excuse for her to stay home. It was a very tough decision for her. We all cried."
Winter League starts fundraising program
Hawaii Winter Baseball is starting a "Welcome Back, Give Back" program for nonprofit groups, including schools and school groups, to raise funds by selling HWB tickets.
For the first five games of the season, groups can sell tickets at $5 each and fill those seats to receive 100 percent of the funds raised. After the Oct. 6 game, groups receive 50 percent of the revenues from their ticket sales. The season starts Sunday.
For more information, call Kalowena Komeiji at 371-6679.
Bonney is PacWest's volleyball player of week
Hawaii-Hilo's Morgan Bonney, a 6-foot-2 freshman middle blocker, is the Pacific West Conference volleyball player of the week.
Bonney had 12 kills on 14 attempts with one error for a .786 attack percentage in leading the Vulcans to a 3-1 win over Grand Canyon University. She also had six block assists and four digs.
Vulcans edge Sea Warriors in soccer
Hawaii-Hilo beat Hawaii Pacific 3-2 yesterday in a Pacific West Conference soccer game yesterday.
Karen Weatherby scored the game-winning goal in the 72nd minute to break a 2-2 tie and Kelly White and Healani Leite-Ah Yo added goals for the Vulcans.
» Four goals in the opening 20 minutes helped the Hawaii Pacific men's soccer team defeat Hawaii-Hilo 5-2 yesterday.
Keisuke Sasada and Ryan Neil each scored late in the first half for the Vulcans.
Seasiders tennis players roll in regionals
No. 1 seed Julia Ustyuzhanina and second-seeded Ramona Husaru of Brigham Young-Hawaii dominated their opening-round matches in yesterday's singles in the Wilson/ITA West Regionals in La Jolla, Calif.
Ustyuzhanina wasted little time in disposing Sonoma State's Amy Belsher 6-0, 6-1, and Husaru knocked off Princess Manasseh 6-2, 6-0.
In addition to continuing in the singles draw, Ustyuzhanina and Husaru will also compete as the top-seeded doubles team.
Gov. Lingle approves football configuration
Gov. Linda Lingle has signed into law rule changes that will lock Aloha Stadium in football configuration and double the admission fee for the swap meet at the stadium to $1, stadium officials said today.
The proposals were sent to Lingle after the Aloha Stadium Authority held public hearings and approved them earlier this year.