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Hawaii golfers drop to third

Hawaii's team in the Boys Junior America's Cup dropped to third place after yesterday's round at the Powder Horn Ranch in Sheridan, Wyo.

The team led after the first round but posted a score of 221 yesterday for a two-day total of 437, seven strokes behind first-place Washington and three behind Oregon.

Honolulu's Tadd Fujikawa led Hawaii with a 72. Jacob Low (Hilo) followed with a 74. Sean Maekawa (Paauilo) finished at 75 and Thomas Robertson (Pukalani) had a 76. The top three scores make up a team's total.

The tournament concludes today.

» Damien graduate Kurt Nino shot a three-under 141 to win Tuesday's U.S. Amateur Sectional Qualifier at the Honolulu Country Club and advance to the U.S. Amateur.

Nino was tied with Ryan Perez after the first round and shot a 70 in the second to take the lead. Kauai's Casey Watabu finished second at 145 with Perez and Doug Williams following at 147.

Watabu is the first alternate and Perez is the second alternate.

The U.S. Amateur will be held Aug. 22-28 at Ardmore, Penn.

Softball field improvement funds approved

Gov. Linda Lingle has released $2,083,400 for softball field improvements at Kapaa High School and Kaiser High School to meet gender equity guidelines.

Kapaa, which will receive $1,786,400, will have a new softball field with restrooms by August 2007. The field at Kaiser will receive a restroom facility by October 2006.

No'Ao wins tournament: The No'Ao U18 softball team from Kailua won the high school division at the Summer Slam 11.5 Tournament in Torrance, Calif. on Sunday.

No'Ao defeated Santa Ana (Calif.) in the championship game. Pitcher Carolyn Fisher was named tournament MVP. The team will play at another tournament in Santa Fe Springs, Calif., this weekend.

Hawaii players lose at World Championships

Water polo teams with current and former University of Hawaii players all lost yesterday at the World Championships in Montreal.

In the semifinals, former UH player Marie-Luc Arpin scored one goal in Canada's 9-7 loss to Hungary.

Rainbow Wahine Iefke Van Belkum scored two goals in the Netherlands' 11-10 loss to Cuba for ninth place in overtime. UH players Anna Sieprath and Amy Logan's New Zealand squad fell to Spain 12-3 in the 11th-place match. Sieprath scored one goal.

Monika Kruszona didn't score in Germany's 9-4 loss to Greece in the consolation semifinals.

The tournament finishes tomorrow.

Mililani earns berth in Pony World Series

Mililani scored two runs in the top of the seventh inning to break a tied game and defeat Chula Vista (Calif.) 5-3 to win the Pony West Zone Tournament yesterday in Fullerton, Calif., and advance to the Pony 13 World Series.

Brett Kakugawa batted 3-for-4 while pitcher Keanu Carmichael gave up four hits in six innings.

The World Series starts Friday in Chino Hills, Calif.

» At the Pacific Southwest Regional Tournament in Taylorsville, Utah, the Oahu Babe Ruth 15's team defeated Reno 17-6 yesterday in their opener.

Paul Snieder batted 3-for-3 with three RBIs in the win.