Kaua‘i Winter Team Sports Results
Kapaa boys soccer team celebrates its Division 2 state championship | Andrew Lee, HHSAA, phoito
I don’t know if that statement is 100 percent true, but it’s commonly used and gives me a great excuse to recap all the exploits of our high school athletes from the just-completed winter seasons before we move our attention to the spring. With all of the Hawaii High School Athletic Association winter team sports and championship tournaments in the books, here is how all your Kaua’i representatives fared:
* Kapa’a boys soccer team took home its second HHSAA Division 2 championship with a 2-1 victory over Mid-Pac in the title contest. Head coach Kevin Cram pocketed his second state title while watching his son, Joshua, take home Most Outstanding Player honors for the D2 tournament. Joshua, a midfielder, along with forwards Daniel and Michael Alonzo, and defenders Tanner Henry and TJ West all were selected to the D2 All-Tournament Team.
No. 2 seeded Kapa’a boys needed double-overtime in the quarterfinals to secure a 4-3 win over Hawaii Prep, with Cram notching the game-winner in the 97th minute. They followed that up with a 5-2 win over No. 3 seed Kalaheo in the semifinals before the 2-1 championship victory. Michael Alonzo had four goals in the tournament, Tanner Henry scored three and Cram, Daniel Alonzo, JB Goode and Edsel Lactaotao all found the net once.
* Kapa’a girls and Kaua’i girls soccer squads each qualified for the D2 tournament and ended up facing off in the tournament’s third-place match. The Raider Wahine came away with a 4-0 victory behind a pair of goals from Cascade Mayer. Kaua’i High started in the first round with a 5-0 crushing of Seabury Hall and followed that with a 7-0 wipeout of No. 4 seed Radford. Mayer had three goals in those two contests, with Malu Vegas scoring twice, Joni Hashizume netting a pair and Caitlin Cantorna, Kayla Chang, Wailana Gandeza, Marissa Ruiz and Kyren Ishikawa each scoring once.
Kapa’a Lady Warriors entered as the No. 2 seed and opened with a 2-0 victory over Nanakuli in the quarters, but were on the wrong side of a 3-2 final score against Hawaii Prep in the semifinals. Taylor Alani-Kanekua, Madisson Hinkel, Kekai Gonsalves and Casie Wilson each scored once for Kapa’a.
Kapa’a defenders Mia Cabulisan and Taylor Foster made the D2 All-Tournament Team, while Mayer (midfield) and Vegas (forward) each earned a spot for Kaua’i.
* Kapa’a girls swimming team had a great showing at states and earned fifth place overall among the 16 teams competing. Yasmine Ware grabbed a gold in the 50 Yard Freestyle event, touching the wall in a time of 23.75 seconds. The sophomore also took silver in the 100 Yard Backstroke (58.31 seconds).
The 200 Yard Freestyle Relay team, composed of Kate Machorek, Kaitlin Santos, Sophie Britzman and Ware, took second place in its championship heat, touching the wall in 1:40.13.
Machorek swam a pair of individual finals, as well, taking fourth place in the 200 Yard Freestyle (1:55.72) and fifth in the grueling 500 Yard Freestyle (5:13.61).
The team of Machorek, Tambrina Fairbanks, Ware and Britzman placed fifth in the 200 Yard Medley (1:54.20).
* Kapa’a girls paddling team finished in sixth place with a time of 4:45.29 in the final heat after having taken first place in the semifinal (4:35.44). The group was the only Kapa’a team to reach a final heat, after the Kapa’a boys and Kapa’a mixed crews did not advance out of their semifinal heats despite strong times, each just missing the final cut.
* Kaua’i girls basketball squad took third place overall in the D2 tournament, knocking off Hanalani 49-42 for that honor. Kaua’i entered as the No. 2 seed and handled Kailua 51-42 in the quarterfinals, thanks to 30 points from Kristle Henry. But Honokaa put an end to the Raider Wahine win streak with a 58-55 win in the semifinals. Henry again led the way with 21 points, while Casey Anacleto had 17 and Rianna Ralston added 12. Henry’s 24 points in the third-place contest gave her a 25.0 points per game mark for the week and a spot on the D2 All-Tournament Team.
* Kapa’a boys basketball squad had a tough go of it on Oahu, dropping its opening game 68-36 to No. 4 Hawaii Prep. Lance Miyashiro and Kealii Colipano led the Warriors with eight points apiece. Kapa’a then battled with Waianae in the consolation bracket, but ultimately fell 50-39, despite 16 points from James Stevens.
Baseball, softball, tennis, golf, track and field and boys volleyball are all on tap as we bring in the spring season, so to quote the forever quotable Terrell Owens, “Get your popcorn ready.”
