Villoria aims for OIA’s
100-meter title

Find a willing accomplice with the other point of view, and you can debate forever whether track and field is a team or individual sport.

Farrington sprinter Joshua Villoria knows the right answer.

"Both," Villoria said yesterday, between races at the OIA championship trials at Mililani High School.

"It is a team sport because you train with the other guys and you work together. But once you get on that track in a meet, it's all about you, the individual."

Track is also a team sport because star performers are often asked to compete in many events in order to score points for a contending squad. That sometimes takes away from an athlete's ability in his or her best event.

Villoria doesn't face that dilemma because the Governors are not expected to contend for the team title in tomorrow's finals at Mililani.

But individually, Villoria might steal the show, even though his participation will be limited to one event -- and it's the shortest race.

He cruised to the second-best qualifying time in the 100 meters with an 11.36.

"I have a little knot (in his right hamstring) I got at Punahou Relays (last week)," Villoria said, so I didn't want to push it too much. Got to stay healthy."

That's also why he scratched from the 200 meters yesterday.

Villoria's best electronic time in the 100 is 11.19, and the OIA meet record of 10.4 (hand-held) by Koldene Walsh more than 20 years ago is probably out of reach.

"He works very hard," Farrington coach and former 400 champion Darren Weaver said of Villoria, a former Governors junior varsity quarterback. "He stopped playing football a year-and-a-half ago, just to concentrate on track."

Teamwise, the host Trojans are strong contenders for both titles, although defending champion Kahuku is poised for a repeat performance in the boys meet.

Mililani is led by Jonovan Santos, who qualified third in the 100 (11.38) and leads the long jump with a leap of 21-11 1/2.

Redmond Tutor and Spencer Hafoka -- both expected to score heavily in four events -- are the heart of the Red Raiders.

Sophomore sprinter Britney Stephens is among the Trojan girls' top competitors. She qualified second in the 100 (at 12.88 to 12.78 by Moanalua's Tasia Thomas) and anchors Mililani's 4x100 relay team that had yesterday's best time (51.44).

Tomorrow's first event starts at 2:45 p.m.