ILH powers favored
at state track

The Punahou girls and Kamehameha boys
have the depth to finish on top

Punahou is a good bet to win its 28th girls championship and Kamehameha's boys go in as slight favorites over the Buffanblu for their third title since 2000. And barring a mishap in today's trials, Lauren Ho of Hawaii Baptist will be the runner to beat in three events (the 800, 1,500 and 3,000 meters).

State track Where: Mililani High When: Trials today (noon), finals on Saturday (3:30 p.m.) Defending champions: Pearl City boys, Punahou girls Admission: $7 for adults, $5 for grades K-12 and age 62-over

Other than that, the HHSAAIsland Movers State Track and Field Championships look to be a case of sharing the wealth.

The winning teams will probably have few individual event winners in Saturday's finals.

"This is shaping up to be one of those kind of meets," Kamehameha boys coach Sam Moku said. "I don't think you'll see many schools have more than one first place."

Going strictly by best times and marks this season, Kamehameha would score around 63 points, Punahou 59 and Mililani 47 in the boys meet.

"You've got to watch out for Maui, too," Moku said. "They're pretty balanced. They're strong in the weights, hurdles, and they've got a sprinter (Gilbert Fune)."

On paper, the Buffanblu girls figure to successfully defend their 2004 title with 99 points, with Baldwin coming in second with 64. Punahou's best event is the triple jump, with Samantha Cabreros (35-6), Talitha Liu (35- 1/2) and Kari Chong (34-7 1/2) owning the best marks in the state.

Defending champions from 2004 include Careena Onosai (Word of Life, discus), Jennifer Lindsey (Kapaa, high jump), Lauren Amano (Baldwin, 100 meters) and Fran Weems (Kealakehe, 200) among the girls, and Brashton Satele (Word of Life, discus), Donovan Lim (Punahou, high jump) and Joseph Locey (Kapaa, 200 and 400) in the boys meet.

Satele in the discus has the best chance to break a meet record. Kahuku's Jerrod Avegalio flung it 186 feet in 2003, and Satele has reached 190-3 this season.

Other than distance runner Jeremy Kamakaala, Kamehameha's strength is concentrated in the field events. That means some anxious moments, Moku said.

"I think the running events are more predictable, especially the longer races," he said. "In the field events, a guy can be No. 1 and foul and not even score. And the wind can have a huge effect."

Last year on Maui, torrential rain forced cancellation of the boys pole vault. Pearl City's boys became the first public school team to win either meet since 1995.

This might be the final year that athletes may enter up to six events instead of four. Four is the National High School Federation rule. Most Hawaii high school leagues limited entries to four per meet this year, and the issue could be addressed at next month's athletic directors conference.

Mililani's Jonovan Santos is in five events (100, 200, long jump, 4x100 and 4x400 relays) this week. It's nothing new for him.

"I burn a lot of energy and I'm exhausted after meets," Santos said. "I guess I might have better times and I wouldn't be so tired if I was in (four) events. But I've been doing six events since freshman year and my body is used to it."

Trojans coaches Chad Miyamoto and Dane Matsunaga, as well as Moku, prefer having the option of putting an athlete in up to six events, especially since there is almost always a day off between trials and finals in Hawaii meets.

"I can understand why they want to cut it down. But if you come from a small school and have a very talented athlete, it can increase your chance of having a good team score (if the athlete is in six events)," Matsunaga said. "It's our responsibility to make sure we don't overextend the athletes we do put in. We know Jonovan's future goals are in football and we wouldn't endanger that."

Moku agreed that coaches, trainers and the athletes themselves should be allowed to use their judgment.

"I think you can be pushing it by going into five or more, but I think it should be left open. There are some guys who can do it, and coaches aren't going to kill their own athletes," Moku said.