[ PADDLING ]
The Kaneohe Canoe Club won the boys 18 1-mile event yesterday to advance to the state championships.
A little luck helps
KaneoheThe club captures its third
Hui Wa’a title in five years
by edging Manu O Ke Kai
by one point
Sometimes, it's just better to be lucky than smart.
Kaneohe Canoe Club staved off a brilliant master plan by Manu O Ke Kai to capture its third Hui Wa'a Championship in five years yesterday at Keehi Lagoon. Kaneohe outpointed Manu 70-69.
"I'm proud of the club. We were up early, then down by seven points," Kaneohe head coach Clint Anderson said. "We just focused on doing the best we could do, one race at a time."
Kaneohe now turns its attention to the state championships, which will be held in two weeks at Keehi. "We'll focus and try our best," Anderson said.
It was yet another runner-up finish for Manu, a club that has come so close to winning championships. "Close is only good in horseshoes and grenades," Manu O Ke Kai head coach Randy Sanborn quipped. "Everybody did an awesome job today. Our kids did great, and our (men's) freshmen, sophomores and seniors --we won all three for the second time this year."
Unbeaten in official Na Ohana O Na Hui Wa'a events this summer -- last week's Waikiki regatta was nothing more than a "fun race" that did not count toward season point totals --Kaneohe was on the ropes midway through the day.
Kaneohe trailed by as many as seven points before rallying late and getting over the hump in event 33: the mixed senior masters.
Trailing 66-65, Kaneohe's crew of Naomi Higuchi, Bob Chang, Jonel Smith, Faauuga To'oto'o, Rene Smith and Ben Smith won the half-mile race with a time of 4 minutes, 22.49 seconds to earn five points. Manu O Ke Kai placed second (4:43.36) and gained three points, but Kaneohe took the lead.
Neither club entered a crew in the ensuing women's open 4 race, dominated again by the Waikiki Beachboys. That set the stage for the men's open 4 and the mixed open 6 -- races Kaneohe and Manu had not entered throughout the entire season.
Manu needed to place at least fifth in one of the final two races to tie Kaneohe for the AAA Division (25-36 events) lead. However, Manu placed seventh in both events, while Kaneohe came in eighth, and then ninth. That left Kaneohe with a hard-earned victory.
"We just don't have the personnel," Sanborn said about stretching out his paddlers for two more events.
Anderson, who has guided the club to three titles since returning in 1999, was sympathetic. "My hat's off to Randy. They're balanced. They have the adults, the kids," Anderson said. "Their future is bright."
Kaneohe's keiki had a solid day, with wins in the girls 13 and 14, and boys 13 and 14 races. The girls 15 also won, setting a course record (4:21.46), breaking its previous mark by more than eight seconds.
"Some of the girls were crying before the race," first stroker Lehua Tabadero said. "We really wanted to win it for Coach (Anderson). He takes a lot of (grief) from us."
Lokahi, which competed in the AAA Division this summer, whittled its force down and won the AA Division (13-24 events) title with 49 points. Koa Kai, which had dominated the division during the regular season, placed second with 38 points. Alapa Hoe placed third with 14 points.
The Beachboys, as expected, captured the A Division (1-12 events) crown with 37 points. Na Keiki O Ka Mo'i placed second with 27 points.
The 11 crews that went through the Hui Wa'a season undefeated are: Koa Kai men's novice A; North Shore women's master's 40; Waikiki Beachboys women's freshmen and mixed open 6; Manu O Ke Kai's women's golden 55 and men's golden 55; and Kaneohe's girls 13, girls 15, boys 13, boys 18 and mixed golden 55.
The association presented Coach of the Year honors to Sanborn, one of the mainstays among coaches in the sport, and Alapa Hoe's Daniel Sanford. The handsome trophy, a paddle engraved with the islands, went home with Sanford.
"We should let him have the paddle. He has a smaller club," Sanborn said during the presentation.
Sanford, founder and head coach of Alapa Hoe, is in his 12th year at the helm. "I'm surprised. Randy turned his program around, too. I still feed off him; the coaching, the knowledge and perpetuating the culture," Sanford said. "In my club, we want to stay small. Everyone gets to paddle and we have fun."
Complete results were not received.
