[ HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETICS ]

DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM Kahuku's Krisha Kai leaped 36 feet and 834 inches to win the girls long jump at the Punahou Relays yesterday.

Turbin’s toughness takes over

---

By Jason Kaneshiro
jkaneshiro@starbulletin.com

When Derek Turbin rolled out of bed at 6 yesterday morning, his body aching and his temperature hitting triple digits, running in a track meet didn't seem nearly as desirable as hitting the snooze bar.

But the Punahou senior gathered up the strength to get to the track and at the end of the day he took home the Robert Paris Award as the outstanding boy performer at the 57th annual Punahou Relays.

"I've been sick this whole week and it was awful this morning," Turbin said. "I woke up in a cold sweat and like a 100-degree fever.

DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM Roosevelt relay anchor Jerry Perreira beat out Kamehameha's Nick Frazier to win the 4x100-meter relay yesterday.

"But I thought the hurdle team really needs me, they need me for the jumps and I've been looking forward to this. So I said I gotta just show up, warm up and see if I can sweat it out and get my adrenaline to overtake it."

Turbin competed in four events in the meet. He won the triple jump with a leap of 44 feet, 2.50 inches and helped Punahou win the 4x180-yard low hurdle shuttle relay with a time of 1 minute, 24.6 seconds. He also led the Buffanblu to a second-place showing in the 4x120-meter high hurdle shuttle relay and finished eighth in the long jump.

Mililani's Chun Mei Nickles won the Mary A.P. May Award as the outstanding girl performer. The junior won the girls pole vault, clearing 9 feet, 6 inches, and led the Trojans to a win in the 4x100 high hurdles shuttle relay.

Nickels said the meet helped the Trojans prepare for this week's Oahu Interscholastic Association championships and the upcoming state meet and gave them a chance to measure themselves against the best the private schools have to offer.

"It's good to see I can actually compete within the ILH system," Nickles said.

Punahou prepped for the Interscholastic League of Honolulu championships by winning eight of the meet's 30 events.

Todd Iacovelli, a Punahou co-captain along with Turbin, anchored the Buffanblu's winning teams in the distance medley and the 4x800 relay.

"Punahou Relays is really a point where we start to come together as a team," Iacovelli said. "It kind of signifies who we are and that we're going to be together. You can't win the state meet with individuals, you have to win it as a team."

DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM Sean Butts, second from right, won the annual Hawaii's Fastest Human race at the Punahou Relays yesterday with a time of 10.84 seconds. Defending champion Kelsey Nakanelua, left, was second in 11.05, Chad Miyamoto, second from left, was third in 11.06 and Daniel Inferrera, right, was fourth in 11.09.

Iacovelli's performance in the 4x800 was among the highlights of the afternoon. Iacovelli took the baton after Pac-Five had opened up a sizable lead. He used his long strides to catch and pass the Wolfpack anchor runner about 50 meters from the finish line and won by less than a second.

"The four-by-eight was great," Turbin said. "It showed that Todd can really come through and carry us. He might not be the fastest runner on the track, but he's got the most heart and guts."

In one of the meet's signature events, Kamehameha won the football power relay. The Warriors' team of Enoka Lucas, Abu Maafala, Brandon Ala and Kanoa Ing won the 100-meter race with a time of 48.78 seconds.

"We never ran together as a team in along time, we're just out here to have fun," said Ala, who also won the discus with a toss of 176 feet, 5 inches.

Sean Butts won the Hawaii's Fastest Human race with a time of 10.84 seconds to edge five-time champion Kelsey Nakanelua.

Hawaii School Web Sites