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Hawaii Beat


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POSTED: Friday, June 12, 2009

Wahine in NCAA finals today

It's been a quarter-century since a University of Hawaii athlete won an NCAA track and field championship. Gwen Loud took first in the high jump in 1984.

Three UH women are in the finals today in Fayetteville, Ark., with high jumper Amber Kaufman possessing the most realistic chance at gold. At one point this season, Kaufman held the nation's best mark (6-feet-4), and she enters today's finals with the second-best height among the finalists.

Emily Sheppard of UH also qualified for today's trials Wednesday.

Annett Wichmann was in eighth place after yesterday's first four disciplines of the heptathlon. She set a personal first-day mark with 3,397 points. She was tops in the shot put at 45-2 1/4 .

Wichmann was sixth in the heptathlon last year. Today's events are long jump, javelin (her strongest) and 800-meter run.

Guro is Gatorade player of the year

'Iolani's Brittney Guro was announced as the 2008-09 Gatorade Hawaii Softball Player of the Year yesterday.

She is the first Raider to be chosen for the award.

The 5-foot-3 senior, bound for the University of Portland, pitched 'Iolani to a 15-3 record and the state semifinals.

Fatongia named an All-American

Wrestling U.S.A. Magazine has named 'Iolani senior Olivia Fatongia to its High School All-American team.

Fatongia, a two-time state champion, won the 220-pound class over Kealakehe's Pomai Barton by pin in February.

Olomana team takes Pro-Am

The Olomana Golf Links five-person team claimed the first of two events of the 2009 Aloha Section PGA Foundation Pro-Am series yesterday.

Norman-Ganin Asao, Darren Akiyama, Derek Toyama, Sean Yamashita and Kellen-Floyd Asao shot a 124 to best the runner-up Kaanapali Golf Resort team by six strokes.

The event benefited the University of Hawaii golf programs.

[ PACWEST PLACE]

BYUH players are all-district

Elwen Li and Jenny Chin of the Brigham Young-Hawaii women's tennis team were named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District At-Large Second Team for District VIII (Western U.S.) yesterday.

The At-Large team comprises athletes of several sports. Li, a sophomore with a 3.76 GPA, was ranked third nationally in singles (22-2) and second in doubles (22-1). Chin, also a sophomore, had a 3.57 GPA and went 22-1 in singles and 27-1 in doubles.