Hawaii Beat
Star-Bulletin staff
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Marathon times reveiwed manually
The finishing times of up to 3,000 runners in Sunday's Honolulu Marathon weren't recorded because of multiple glitches with the race's new automated, computerized timing system, officials said yesterday.
To resolve the gaffe, marathon officials have decided to undertake the painstaking process of manually reviewing video from four cameras that were stationed at the finish line to verify participation and determine official times.
Marathon president Jim Barahal said the review could take weeks to complete, but he was confident every finisher would be certified. The split times of many runners were also "wildly inaccurate," but that issue will most likely be left unresolved.
However, the times of the winners and other elite runners were accurate.
Of the 27,827 runners registered for the race, 21,000 were recorded as finishers, a shortfall of about 25 percent. Usually, about 15 percent of marathon participants do not finish.
Heavy rains at the start of the race caused power generator failures and glitches with the timing system administered by Michigan-based SAI Timing and Tracking.
"We had equipment failure all day long," said David Simms, a co-owner of SAI. "It was totally our fault."
Jones generous to assistants
Hawaii coach June Jones says he will pass along to his assistants the more than $100,000 pledged to him by local donors.
A group of business leaders and football supporters has raised at least $114,000 to support and thank Jones for the Warriors' unprecedented undefeated season and invitation to the Sugar Bowl.
Jones said he will give the entire amount to his nine assistant coaches and to improve the athletic department's deteriorating facilities.
"I want the money to go where it's needed," he said.
Defensive line coach Jeff Reinebold said Jones' gesture says a lot.
Jones, 55, the winningest coach in school history, is in the final season of a five-year, $4 million contract. Half of his $800,000 annual salary is paid by donors.
He is the third highest-paid coach in the WAC, behind Fresno State's Pat Hill and Boise State's Chris Petersen.
Girls added to Iolani tournament
Girls competition will be added for the first time to the Iolani Classic basketball tournament.
The girls play Dec. 13-15 and the boys tourney runs Dec. 17-25 for the boys.
The girls tournament features five Hawaii schools and three California schools. The boys tournament has 14 Hawaii schools, seven mainland schools and a team from China.
Admission is $8 for adults and $4 for students.
UH swimming team lands recruits
The Hawaii swimming team signed eight recruits yesterday during the early signing period for 2008.
The newcomers include five All-Americans and an Olympic Trials Qualifier. Swim coach Victor Wales signed six swimmers for the men's team (John Ariens, Colin Coombs, Matt Denton, Jonathan Jones, Andrew Muller and Sean Reilly) and two swimmers for the women's team (Taylor Fletcher and Valerie Pagett).
The Rainbow Wahine swim team hosts Oregon State on Dec. 19 at the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex.
Herring named player of the year
Kamehameha's Kanani Herring was named the 2007-08 Gatorade Hawaii Volleyball Player of the Year yesterday.
Herring is now a finalist for the Gatorade National Volleyball Player of the Year award.
The award adds to the long list of accolades for Herring this season, including a third Division I state championship and the state tournament MVP honor for the third year in a row.
She had 351 kills and 223 digs and led the Warriors to a 43-2 record.
Herring joins previous Kamehameha winners Uila Crabbe and Lily Kahumoku as Gatorade players of the year for Hawaii.
[ PACWEST PLACE ]
BYUH moves up to number 11
The BYUH men's basketball team jumped five spots in the National Association of Basketball Coaches Division II poll yesterday.
The team received 100 points this week following a win over Henderson State last week. This is the second highest the Seariders have been ranked in the Division II poll.