[ HIGH SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY ]
RONEN ZILBERMAN / RZILBERMAN@STARBULLETIN.COM
Moanalua's Emily King is one of the favorites in the upcoming Oahu Interscholastic Association and state championship meets.
Menehunes in
the runningEmily King, a transfer from
North Carolina, has won every
OIA race so far
OVER the past few years, the Moanalua girls cross country team has had trouble finding five runners to field a team.
This year was no different, until a transfer student from North Carolina showed up and changed everything.
Emily King, whose family moved here last summer after her father was transferred to Ft. Shafter for military purposes, has won every Oahu Interscholastic Association cross country race this season and has the Menehunes poised to make a run in both the OIA and state championship meets coming up the next two weeks.
But almost more importantly than all her individual accomplishments, King's arrival sparked a renewed interest in cross country at the school.
"It's amazing," said coach Earl Kishimoto. "We have struggled to find enough people just to make up a team, but this year, the turnout was real big."
If it wasn't for King enrolling at Moanalua, they might not have had a team to compete this year.
"She came at just the right time," he said. "If she had waited any longer, we might not have had a team this year."
Fortunately, King arrived in time, and the transition from North Carolina to Hawaii has been fairly easy for the outgoing junior.
"Being in a military family, you get used to moving around," she said. "I had to leave a lot of friends back home, but the girls here are awesome."
One drawback to moving to Hawaii has been being without her number one fan.
"My grandfather would come to all of my races," she said. "He would cut out newspaper clippings and everything, and so it has been hard not having him here to watch me."
Even though he may not see her run again until her college days, she hasn't let it affect her ability to run. King has dominated the meets this year, placing first in every event, including the Mililani Invitational, where she finished in a personal-best time of 11:15.
The meets, which are run on 2-mile courses, differ from North Carolina, where the races are all 3.1 miles long.
"I don't know why that is, but it doesn't bother me," King said. "I just go out, run, and concentrate on my breathing no matter how long the courses are."
While coach Kishimoto has helped King on the course and off, coach Sterling Sasaki has been a major help in pushing Emily toward being the best she can be.
"He's been very supportive and helped me with my workouts," she said. "It also helps that he runs with us."
Sasaki, who had retired a couple of years ago, was brought in by Kishimoto after the large turnout he got this year.
"I knew with all the extra runners we had that I would need some help," Kishimoto said. "Fortunately I was able to lure (Sasaki) out of retirement."
The tandem has paid huge dividends for King, who is one of the favorites in the state tournament in two weeks on Maui.
"Going into this year, I looked at the times and my goal was just to do well at states," she said. "I finished fifth in states last year (in North Carolina) so hopefully I can improve on that."
King's desire to succeed in running translates to the classroom as well, where she currently has a 4.0 grade-point average.
"Running isn't what makes me tired," she said. "It's school that wears me out."
Balancing academics and athletics keep her up late at night, but hopefully it will pay off in a couple of years.
"Being from North Carolina, I wouldn't mind going to UNC-Chapel Hill," she said. "I'm also looking at Ivy League schools like Princeton."
And going to college up there means there would be a good chance that grandfather General John Rose would get to see his grand-daugther run once again.
"That would be awesome," she said with a smile.
