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COURTESY TONY AVELAR FOR MENLO COLLEGE
Waianae alumnus Duane Miller set Menlo College records in carries, yards and touchdowns.
Miller ends his
record run
For the record, Menlo (Calif.) running back Duane Miller finished his career with 561 carries for 2,730 net yards, and 27 touchdowns -- all school records.
This season, Miller carried 205 times for 1,064 yards and a Menlo season-record 14 touchdowns. He also set the single-game record of 198 yards.
Miller, a 1999 Waianae graduate, set the school season rushing-yardage record of 1,081 yards last year.
"Duane is the epitome of a running back that any coach would want," Menlo coach Mark Ka'anapu said. "Not only his running ability, but his blocking and pass protection are the best of any back I have ever been around."
No pro teams are going to be coming for Miller, who is 5-feet-7, but he is satisfied with his accomplishments. "I love my overall career," he said last night. "I had a great time. My run was good."
He will graduate in May 2005 with a degree in sports management, and wants "to come back to Hawaii and work with kids."
"Menlo's leading me in the right direction," he said.
At New Mexico Highlands, there were not many silver linings as the team suffered through its second straight 0-11 season.
One bright ray, however, was sophomore receiver Ikaika Neizman (Lahainaluna '02), who led the Rocky Mountain Conference in average per catch at 25.2 yards.
Neizman had home-run catches of 88, 80, 79 and 70 yards.
He caught a total of 39 passes for 981 yards and eight touchdowns.
He also was a special teams standout and "an all-round solid kid," said special teams coordinator Aaron Pelch.
Sophomore Tuika Tufaga (Kahuku '02) started all season at defensive tackle and contributed 46 tackles for the Cowboys. He will be gone on a church mission the next two years, Pelch said.
VOLLEYBALL
The hottest volleyball team in the PacWest Conference down the stretch was Western New Mexico, which closed the season with 10 straight victories and five of its 13 players from Hawaii.Former St. Francis teammates Liz Narkon ('02 of Hawaii Kai) and Kim Tano ('01 of Kaneohe) were 1-2 in kills and digs for the Mustangs. Narkon, a transfer from Northern Arizona, averaged 3.55 kills and 3.17 digs per game and Tano averaged 3.32 kills and 3.03 digs.
Narkon, a redshirt freshman, led the PacWest in aces with 45.
Senior Malia Kauhi (Kahuku '00 of Hauula) was the starting setter, averaging 8.93 assists per game.
In the final two matches, Tano had 40 kills and Narkon contributed 21 kills and 28 digs.
Freshman Meghan Watson (Kalaheo) played in 107 of 114 games and freshman Melanie Tang (Maryknoll) played in 79.
After Brigham Young-Hawaii forfeited all of its PacWest matches, Western New Mexico finished 18-13 and tied for second place in the PacWest at 4-6.
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Pearl City High graduate Terry Ayers is on the Washington State roster.Ayers, the OIA West scoring champion in 2001, played in 2002 at Southern University in New Orleans, but transferred to Washington State "to be closer to home" and did not play last season.
He said he decided to play this season because new coach Dick Bennett "is pretty cool." Iolani senior Derrick Low has signed to play at Washington State next season.
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Suzuki happy she
found her niche
Shelly Suzuki started six soccer games for San Diego State as a true freshman four seasons ago, but her college experience was not what she wanted.
So Suzuki, a 2000 Punahou School graduate from Kailua, turned her back on NCAA Division I soccer and transferred to Division III Claremont-McKenna in Southern California.
COURTESY PHOTO
"Our games are challenging. A lot of the kids could play D-I. --Shelly Suzuki, On playing soccer for Division III Claremont-McKenna
She is among a small group of student-athletes who eschew the glamour of the highest division in college sports for what they feel is a more fulfilling overall experience.
"Coming out of high school, I felt like I wanted to play Division I. Most of my teammates were," Suzuki said.
"But when I got there, the school wasn't what I thought it would be; I thought I probably could be getting a better education."
"(Claremont) is smaller. You get more personal attention and the classes are a lot more challenging," Suzuki said.
Soccer at Claremont had no weight training and no offseason program. Most games draw small crowds and very little attention from local media.
Suzuki stood out. Conference coaches selected her as an all-conference defender three years in a row and this year added the title Southern California Conference Player of the Year.
She was elected team captain the past two seasons.
"I'm pleased that I actually played for all four years," Suzuki said. "It's a rare opportunity to be able to play a sport during college and especially to be able to experience both Division I and III."
While she acknowledged Division I is a higher level, she said, "Our games are challenging. A lot of the kids could play D-I."
And, Suzuki said, "going to San Diego State was a really valuable experience." It helped her decide what was most important to her.
She will graduate in May with a dual major in economics and psychology and "hopefully, get a job."
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Unten finds success,
not happiness
Kim Unten was such a stay-at-home that when she was younger, she wouldn't even sleep over at her friends' homes in Waipio Gentry.
She had only been out of Hawaii once, for a brief soccer trip to California.
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"Coming up here makes you appreciate things at home. ... I'm not miserable, but it's not like home." --Kim Unten, On playing at New Mexico Highlands
Unten was chosen first-team all-state last season in her senior year at Pearl City, but perhaps because she didn't get the exposure of playing in club tournaments on the mainland, the only college offer she got was from remote New Mexico Highlands.
"My family was amazed that I took it," Unten said. "The only reason was for soccer. I like soccer that much that I would give up being at home."
She was a big success at New Mexico Highlands -- chosen second-team All-Rocky Mountain Conference, scored three game-winning goals, one in a second overtime, and was a candidate for conference Freshman of the Year.
But it wasn't an experience that Unten wants to repeat.
"This environment is really difficult for me to play in," Unten said. "It's really cold (the high yesterday was 29), and the air is so thin."
"It's stressful on your body," she said. "When you have free time you just want to sleep.
"Coming up here makes you appreciate things at home and not take things for granted. ... I'm not miserable, but it's not like home."
In Las Vegas, N.M. -- population 14,223 and altitude 6,470 feet -- "Wal-Mart is the biggest thing in town," Unten said. "Arby's, Wendy's and Burger King are the major restaurants."
But the team is "cool, good people," she said. And the experience has "made me more mature."
Unten's six goals and eight assists helped Highlands win a school record eight games (8-10-1 overall).
"She's extremely quick, with and without the ball, and versatile," coach Ron Blue said. "She finds ways to shoot (64 times, second on the team) despite extra marking. She was our field general as attacking midfielder."
Unten wants to continue college soccer, but closer to home -- perhaps on the West Coast.
Coach Blue will be disappointed to lose her, "but he understands," says assistant athletic director Tim Gotto.
