Gatorade names Werner
state’s best football player

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McKinley quarterback Abel Werner was named the Gatorade Thirst Quencher High School Player of the Year in Hawaii yesterday.

Werner completed 67 percent of his passes for 1,656 yards and 12 touchdowns in the regular season this year. His selection as Hawaii's player of the year makes him eligible for national player of the year honors, which will be selected Dec. 12.

"Abel has been a tremendous player," McKinley coach David Tanuvasa said. "He is the ideal type of student-athlete that a coach would drool over. He shows great leadership on and off the field. Just his presence is a motivation for all of us to be better at what we do."

Past winners of the honor include Emmitt Smith, Peyton Manning and Tim Couch.

Peters named region's athlete of the week

Kahuku volleyball player Tuli Peters was named the West Region's athlete of the week by Student Sports Inc. for leading the Red Raiders to their first state championship.

The senior was named an All-Powerbar Team Regional Athlete of the Week after earning most outstanding player honors at last week's Nissan State Girls Volleyball Tournament in Hilo.

Mililani's Wiedemann signs with Rice: Mililani captain Amber Wiedemann has signed a national letter of intent to play volleyball at Rice.

Wiedemann has been starting for the Trojans the past three years.

"Amber is a fast, mobile middle blocker," Rice head coach Julio Morales said. "She can attack from different areas and will give us more versatility than in the past. She is a highly regarded athlete coming out of high school, and was also recruited by Hawaii, so we are excited that she's coming to Rice."

Seasiders move up 3 spots in national poll

The Brigham Young-Hawaii volleyball team moved up to No. 3 in the AVCA Division II coaches poll yesterday.

The Seasiders, who beat Cal State San Bernardino to reach the elite eight of the NCAA tournament, passed the Coyotes along with Minnesota-Duluth and Grand Valley State. BYUH was ranked No. 6 last week.

New Haven, BYUH's first opponent in the tournament, made its debut at No. 25.

Zakharova returns for Honolulu Marathon

Six top Russian women have signed on to compete in the Honolulu Marathon on Dec. 8, including 1997 winner Svetlana Zakharova, who also finished second five other times here.

Joining Zakharova will be countrywomen Silvia Skvortsova, Alevtina Ivanova, Lyubov Denisova, Albina Ivanova and Tatiana Khmeleva.

Mbarak Hussein of Kenya is the men's favorite.