HIGH SCHOOL TRACK & FIELD
Piotrowski, Markowitz lead Punahou to a sweep
Punahou got the most out of hobbled star sprinters and scored in all 32 events as the Buffanblu successfully defended their Interscholastic League of Honolulu boys and girls track and field championships yesterday at Kamehameha.
The host Warriors were second in both meets. The Punahou girls won their sixth straight league title handily with 186 points to Kamehameha's 141. The boys meet went down to the last few events, with the Buffanblu scoring 151.5 to 138.5 for the Warriors.
Joy Piotrowski captured firsts in the long jump (16-8 1/4 ) and triple jump (35-6 1/4 ) and Abe Markowitz doubled in the discus (158-3) and shot (55-2 1/4 ) as Punahou had two of the three multiple first-place winners in individual events -- Pac-Five's Javen Correia was the other, taking both hurdles with 15.26 in the 110 and 39.78 in the 300.
There were no records broken in the meet.
But the real story was the incredible depth of the Buffanblu and the ability of Lahaina Zoller and Zach Coronas to win despite injuries.
Kamehameha's boys led late in the meet, and all eyes were on Micah Swain of the Warriors as he tried to break a decades-old meet record in the pole vault. But Swain maxed out short of Kawika Dowsett's 1975 mark of 15-3, settling for 14-6 and first place.
But this was the final turning point of the boys team scoring, as Swain's 10 points for first were dwarfed by Punahou's 20 for Dave Walden, Dane Tamayori, Ryan Terao and Christopher Lau placing second through fifth.
Punahou then won the meet-closing 4x400 to clinch it, with Tobie Reeuwijk anchoring instead of Coronas, who sat it out.
"It's really important that we have really good depth in all our events," said Reeuwijk, who was second to Coronas in the 400. "Everyone's been pr'ing. We're at that perfect point getting close to states. I think the coaches did a really good job."
Kamehameha led early on the strength of its hurdlers and jumpers.
Coronas, state champion in the 400 last year, gave the Buffanblu a boost as he won his signature event in a personal-best 49.98, despite a strained foot joint that has been bothering him the past month.
"We couldn't slip. We slip and it's gone," Punahou boys coach Mike Pavich said.
"We did the best we can with what we had," Warriors coach Sam Moku said. "(Punahou is) all-around and they had quality in every event."
The Buffanblu girls did, too.
Zoller, a petite freshman, won the 200 meters (26.72) and anchored Punahou's winning 4x100 relay despite a groin strain that had her limping off the track after Wednesday's trials.
"My uncle (Hawaii football player Keao Monteilh) took me to UH to get some electro treatment, and I had shiatsu," said Zoller, when asked how she recovered enough to compete yesterday.
Still, Punahou girls coach Duncan Macdonald didn't want to risk Zoller's health by entering her in too many races. She was held out of the 100 meters.
"I don't think she liked that, but I thought it would be good for our morale to have her in the 4x100," Macdonald said.
Macdonald said "a lot of little things" helped the Buffanblu, also. One example was Karli Look sprinting past Kamehameha's Courtney Honda for third at the end of the 800 (won by Punahou's Mari Carmichael) for a four-point swing.
Pac-Five freshman Chaylene Guinto won the 1,500 meters, completing her season with a 4:57.12 run. She would be a contender in next week's state meet at Mililani, but chose to attend her sister's graduation from college on the mainland, instead.
"Sports never come ahead of family," she said. "I have three more chances to run in the state meet."
