Royals Improve, Au wins At Kapolei

On a hot, humid day, the Hanalani Royals Cross-Country team improved their marks at Kapolei on September 29.

Due to hot conditions, the Intermediate races were cancelled, but as the sun started going down, the officials determined that Junior Varsity and Varsity races were safe to compete.

For the girls, Junior Jordan Pomeroy led the way for the Varsity Team, finishing the 5-kilometer course in 21:14. Pomeroy has recorded three straight top 20 finishes in ILH meets this season. Junior Emma Toyama was second for the Lady Royals, running a personal best 22:05, good for 27^th overall. Junior Kylie Morisaki (36^th, 23:01), Senior Kayln Kershner (38^th, 23:10), and Junior Andersen Matsusaka (49^th, 24:35) rounded out the top 5. The girls scored 149 points, finishing 6^th overall. Hawaii Baptist Academy was the team winner, with 35 points, while Senior Gianna Sbarbaro was the first finisher in 19:02.

On the Junior Varsity side, Freshman Kylie Castro led the three Royals. Castro finished 2^nd in 21:40, just behind the top JV finisher Myndee Dyer, who won the race in 21:34. Sophomore Mariah Tsuruda finished 24^th in 24:17, while Chanice Kaulili-Duhaylonsod finished in 45^th with a time of 26:02.

“Our girls as a whole ran really well today,” said Head Coach Jeremy Honold. “This heat plays a big factor in race conditions, which affected our strategy. With the goal being to get faster as the race went on, our girls delivered”.

For the boys, Sophomore Ben Hodge led the Varsity runners, finishing third overall in 16:35. Senior Corban Hodge was next, finishing 52^nd in 18:42. Senior Seth Williams (73^rd, 19:45), and Sophomore Nicholas Laurion (100^th, 22:51) rounded out the Varsity runners. With four runners, Hanalani did not have a team score. Iolani Senior Charles Sakamaki was the winner with a time of 16:04.

In the Junior Varsity division, freshman Kevin Au collected another individual victory, crossing the line in a season best time of 18:21, besting the next fastest finisher by over 40 seconds. Au led his boys to a 10^th place finish with 249 points. Hawaii Baptist Academy was the team winner with 47 points. Sophomore Aaryk Iwamoto (98^th, 23:20), Sophomore Ariel Mercado (117^th, 24:18), Junior Jeremiah Dy (122^nd, 24:43), and Sophomore Kyler Okuma (139^th, 26:23) rounded out the top five.

“Guys did a great job today as well,” said Honold. “We stuck to our strategy of being a second-half race, and that’s how our guys ran to season and lifetime bests. Getting guys like Adam, Scully, and Logan back next week, we can be a very dangerous team as we roll into October.”

Next week Intermediate will be at the Iolani Intermediate Invitational on Friday, while the JV and Varsity teams will be at the Hawaii Pacific University Invitational on Saturday.