Coach Al's Iolani School and Photography Blog

December 1, 2008 - Thoughts from Anonymous - Cross-Country

2008-12-01T05:55:00.005-10:00

From Anonymous:

After coming back from the state meet I had many mixed feelings about the meet and high school cross country in hawaii in general. And it had to do with some of the players. The one incident that really got my attention was Seabury Hall coming in second after losing their number 2 and 5 runners.

Over the last three years or since hawaii moved from the two miles to the three miles some factors have become evident. Schools with large enrollment do have a distinct advantage over schools with small enrollments. That is a no brainer.

I just watched the California state meet from Fresno Woodward park.

California has 5 divisions based on school enrollment. For example if

Seabury Hall was in California they would be in division 5 with under

500 students, they have only around 300. Punahou would be in Division 2 or 3 with a much higher enrollment. If Hawaii had divisions 1 and 2 high school cross country, Seabury Hall would have just celebrated it's second girls cross country state championship.

I believe it is time to split into two divisions so as the smaller

schools can compete against schools in their enrollment division. I

believe Hawaii is the only state still without divisions in cross

country. My suggestions would be to hold four races on the same

course the same day so you can compare times. California runs ten

races starting early in the morning. Just like changing from two

miles to three miles it is time to split it up into two divisions. In

the long run it will encourage the kids and help the sport grow. See

you next season.

The Road to HPA - Girls XC - 10/21/08 - by Anonymous

2008-10-21T17:13:00.002-10:00

"I run to see who has the most guts" Steve Prefontaine

It all started some time in July. And now hundreds of miles later and a lot of sweat and a few tears we have arrived at the end of the season. And what a season it has been with the fastest of times ever recorded in the state since moving from two miles to three! It will all end on October 31st at HPA. Each week I have been ranking the 1-10 top girls and the 1-5 top teams. This week I'm going to give you my personal picks on who I think will come in the top 10, or as I would like to say the "Super Top Ten". Here we go.

1. Bailey Massenburg

Why: She is a senior, there is no tomorrow. She also is the reining state 800,1500 champ and 2nd in the 3000. The course is suited for her. She has the advantage of already raced on this course. Massenburg will use well timed surges to win this race.

2. Sara Clapp

Why: It will be tough to beat Massenburg on this course. She has not run on anything this hilly all season. Sara has great endurance but is she fast enough?. She will need to take it out fast and try to burn Massenburg off in order to have a chance and then be able to withstand the surges.

3. Hailey Grossman

Why: She races against Bailey Massenburg all the time. Is also the 2006 state 3000 champ. That would make anyone good. Grossman has been very consistent all season. Her latest outing at the Punahou invite resulted ina tied course record. If the above two falter, look for Grossman to win.

4. Tia Greenwell

Why: This is almost like her home course. She has probably trained on it every weekend all season long. Wouldn't you?. She also possesses the fastest time of the season, 18:18, but has never faced a group like this. Greenwell might try to run away from this group like she tried to do last year. It will be hard.

5. Kristin Ali Keith

Why: She is probably glad I put her at # 5. The last guy who did that probably inspired her to go on and win the state title. This year is no way like last year but she could dial it up and finish much higher or even win again.

6. Jenna Wong

Why: Jenna is coming off a disappointing 2007 cross country season where she ran well all season only to be injured right before States. This one is about redemption. Has run consistently well all season. She also has the ability to finish much higher.

7. Julie Besenbruch

Why: Julie has got to be called the "come back runner of the year." Has run mostly flat courses and has done very well. HPA is far from flat. She will need to dial it way up to be in the top ten.

8. Haley Abing

Why: She is also a senior. Always runs tough. Is very good at big meets. I believe she could run higher than 8th. It all depends on how fast the field goes out. I predict the first mile will be under a 6 minute pace.

9. Athena Oldfather

Why: I'm taking a chance here. She is Tia Greenwell's teammate. Also trains on HPA every-weekend.

10. Nicole Painter

Why: Has run great times all season. She is also Kristin Ali-Keith's teammate. She will have her hands full with this group. Again it comes down to how well she runs the hills.

I would like to take this time to thank all the runners, coaches and parents for a great season. I will see you all at HPA.

Yours truly, Anonymous

The Road To HPA - 10/19/08 by ANONYMOUS

2008-10-19T08:17:00.003-10:00

A lot of people run to see who is fastest. I run to see who has the most guts, who can punish himself into exhausting pace, and then at the end, punish himself even more.

Steve Prefontaine

We are only two weeks away now from one of the most exciting girls cross country races in the history of the state of Hawaii. This week I'm going to talk about the HPA course itself. The first 1200 meters is relatively flat. Then you hit the hill. Gradual at first but then steep at the end. How steep? Very steep. It is right about now you will notice something else, the DUST. If you are at the front it will not be a problem, but in the back it will.

The second mile is not as bad as you traverse across the hill and then hit the downhill. For those of you who run the down hill well this will be a time to pass and make up ground as you prepare to start the final 3rd mile.

Here is the last bit of info on the HPA course. It sits at 3000 ft elevation. This will favor some runners who train all the time at this elevation. At 3000 ft there is only 18% Oxygen oncentration. Some runners it will not effect but others it will. Now you are heading up the hill the last time and across the hill again. It is almost over. As you head down the hill the last time you are heading toward the finish. Next week I'm going to give you my personal picks and why on what I call the "Super top ten".

Boys XC Ranking - 10/13/08 - by OBSERVER

2008-10-13T12:13:00.001-10:00

Bryce is back! The defending state champion, Bryce Jenkins of Leilehua, ran 16:34 at the OIA Western Championships on Saturday. This puts him back in the hunt at HPA where it's unlikely he'll be walking the course on Halloween. At Punahou, Matthew Nakamoto, HBA, continued his domination of the ILH while the Kamehameha boys were outstanding as their first five ran between 17:46 and 17:56. On the Big Island Jake Shiraki, Honokaa, ran 16:27 and the Iolani boys team validated their number 1 ranking with a close victory over Hilo, HPA and Honokaa. Iolani's first 4 were 17:03 to 17:42. Hilo, HPA and Honokaa were not far behind and should be a factor at HPA. King Kekaulike's Reid Hunter has not raced for a couple weeks but he was seen training hard on the hills near Makawao on Maui. Here are the individual rankings and team rankings: 1. Iolani; 2. Kamehameha-Oahu; 3. Hilo; 4. HPA; 5. Leilehua; 6. Honokaa 1. Reid Hunter, King Kekaulike; 2. Jake Shiraki, Honokaa;  3. Matthew Nakamoto, HBA; 4. Bryce Jenkins, Leilehua; 5. Mark Turner, Hilo; 6. Margarito Martinez, Leilehua; 7. Tyler Mulloy, Iolani; 8. Chris Mosch, Honokaa; 9. Borys Pleskacz, Iolani; 10. Miura Tomoyuki, Roosevelt

The Road To HPA - 10/11/08

2008-10-12T08:34:00.004-10:00

"You have to wonder at times what you're doing out there. Over the years, I've given myself a thousand reasons to keep running, but it always comes back to where it started. It comes down to self-satisfaction and a sense of achievement."

Steve Prefontaine

With the Punahou invitational and the O.I.A. Western and Eastern championships in the record books and league championships only weeks away, it is time to look at each of the top 5 teams and their personnel heading toward
the state meet.

#1 Mililani: 6th at state meet last year.

The most improved team from last year. Led by Kristin Ali Keith, last year's state champ, and Nicole Painter. Pros: Kristin now has a supporting cast to back her up. Cons: Mililani is hard to beat on a flat course, but it will be interesting to see how they run on the very hilly HPA course.

#2 Kamehameha: 4th at last year's state meet

Lost to Mililani by one point at the Kaiser invite. Are led by Ashlee Jimenez and Noelani Mikami. Pros: They run in a tight pack, so far that has worked. Cons: Last year they started off the same way but in the end had trouble with injuries. Will they be able to hold it together till the end.

#3 Seabury Hall: 2nd at last years state meet.

I call this team the little giant. Why? Little because of their high school size, only 300 students. Giant, they have the most talented group of female runners in the state for the size of their school. Led by Hailey Grossman, 5th at states last year, and a much improved Lea Lundblad. Pros: They have the ability to dial it up at the state meet. Cons: Their 3,4 and 5 are question marks.

#4 Punahou: 1st at last year's state meet. Their coach, Duncan Macdonald, was an Olympic runner and broke Steve Prefontaine's 5k record, need I say more. Led by Julia Brand, a hurdler turned distance runner. Pros: Their coach. Cons: Lost their 1,2 and 5 from last year but have depth. Could surprise at sate meet.

#5 Pac-5

Even though they will not be running at states I'm giving Pac-5 the nod as the 5th best team in the state. They are led by Julie Besenbruch of Maryknoll.

Individual Rankings for this week for this week.

1. Bailey Massenburg
2. Sarah Clapp Kaiser
3. Hailey Grossman Seabury Hall
4. Jenna Wong Iolani
5. Tialana Greenwell Honokaa
6. Julie Besenbruch Pac-5
7. Haley Abing Pac-5
8. Nicole Painter Mililani
9. Kristin Ali Keith Mililani
10. Ashlee Jimenez Kamehameha

The Road To HPA by Anonymous

2008-10-06T14:16:00.003-10:00

" What I want is to be number one"

Steve Prefontaine.

There has never been a year in Hawaii history where so many girls have recorded so many fast times as this year. The latest being Honoka'a Tialana Greenwell posting an 18:18 at Waiakea. It has been many years since Tia Ferguson of Seabury Hall or Lauren Ho of HBA posted times this fast. And not just one, there are around 10. With the next ten being not so far back. It will be a major achievement for any girl to break into the top ten at this year's state meet.

In the team Rankings, we still have Mililani firmly in the #1 position but with 4 teams all able to challenge. Again it will come down to who wants it more on October 31st. Here are this weeks' team rankings.

1.Mililani

2.Kamehameha

3.Punahou

4.Seabury Hall

5.Iolani

Individual Rankings for this week.

1. Bailey Massenburg
2 Sarah Clapp Kaiser

3. Tialana Greenwell Honokaa

4. Julie Besenbruch Pac-5

5. Haley Abing Pac-5

6. Jenna Wong Iolani

7. Kristin Ali-Keith Mililani

8. Hailey Grossman Seabury Hall

9. Ashlee Jimenez Kamehameha

10. Julia Brand Punahou

Latest Boys XC Rankings from "observer"

2008-09-28T15:31:00.001-10:00

Here are "one observer's" latest boys cross country rankings based on the Sept. 27 meets on the Big Island, Oahu and Molokai:

Individuals:

1. Reid Hunter, King Kekaulike; 2. Mark Turner, Hilo; 3. Matthew Nakamoto, HBA; 4. Jake Shiraki, Honokaa; 5. Scott Hunter, Hilo; 6. Shannon Cosey, Leilehua; 7. Eric Pak, Castle; 8. Margarito Martinez, Leilehua; 9. Borys Pleskacz, Iolani; 10. Jordan Lerma, Kamehameha HI.   

Team Rankings:

1. Iolani; 2. Kamehameha Oahu; 3. Hilo; 4. Honokaa; 5. Maui High; 6. Leilehua

The Road to HPA - by Anonymous

2008-09-28T12:35:00.006-10:00

"Somebody may beat me, but they are going to bleed to do it". - Steve Prefontaine

That is maybe what it will take to either win the individual or team championship at this year's Hawaii State Cross Country Championship with yet another #1 being beaten at the Kaiser Invitational at the CORP course.

Mililani High defeated Kamehameha by a mere 1 point, 54 to 55. On the individual front it will come down to who wants it the most and who can run the HPA course the best. At the moment it looks like either Kaiser's Sara Clapp or King Kekaulike's Bailey Massenburg. Both ran on hilly courses this past weekend. Massenburg recorded a 19:09 at the Ironwood hills golf course on Molokai. Clapp ran a 19:19 at CORP. This week the nod goes to Massenburg.

This week's team Ranking (Pac-5 will not run at the state meet as a team.)

Mililani
Kamehameha
Punahou
Seabury Hall
'Iolani

Individual Rankings for this week.

1. Bailey Massenburg

2. Sarah Clapp Kaiser

3. Julie Besenbruch Pac-5

4. Haley Abing Pac-5

5. Jenna Wong Iolani

6. Kristin Ali Keith Mililani

7. Hailey Grossman Seabury Hall

8. Ashlee Jimenez Kamehameha

9. Julia Brand Punahou

10. Noelani Mikami Kamehameha

Boys XC Analysis

2008-09-24T15:30:00.003-10:00

As with the girls, please understand that this is not my opinion, but an interested contributor.

-------------------

Aloha Coach Al, Here's "one observer's" opinion of the boys for your blog: Once again the girls seem to be receiving all the attention this cross-country season, therefore, here's one observer's opinion of how the boys are shaping up.

Individually, Maui's Reid Hunter of King Kekaulike HS appears to be the dominant male runner after convincing victories at Kapalua and HPA. Hilo's Mark Turner and Hawaii Baptist's Matthew Nakamoto followed Hunter at HPA. Defending champion, Bryce Jenkins of Leilehua is recovering from injury and walked the HPA course. Iolani's Borys Pleskacz ran well the Iolani Invitational as did several other Oahu runners.

Heres my top 10 boys but another 10-15 could easily be here next week. 1. Reid Hunter, King Kekaulike; 2. Mark Turner, Hilo; 3. Matthew Nakamoto, HBA; 4. Borys Pleskacz, Iolani; 5. Margarito Martinez, Leilehua; 6. Tyler Mulloy, Iolani; 7. Jake Shiraki, Honokaa; 8. Scott Hunter, Hilo; 9. Shannan Casey, Leilehua; 10. Alvin Ringor, Molokai.

Team-wise, Iolani looked very good at their invitational and so did Kamehameha. Honokaa ran well at HPA after losing to Hilo earlier in the month. Leilehua is a mystery but has the potential to repeat. On Maui, the Maui High boys have been a surprise dominating the MIL this season. Heres my ranking: 1. Iolani; 2. Kamehameha Oahu; 3. Honokaa; 4. Leilehua; 5. Maui High

Girls XC - New Poster

2008-09-22T15:43:00.006-10:00

Hi all,

We welcome a new analysis from someone who'd like to be known as "The Coach." Again, this is not me!

-----------------------

Rankings are tough given the course differences and having meets on outer islands. I.E. this past week many of the top teams and runners were at either the Iolani or HPA meets which had vastly different course conditions. With that said I can't argue with these rankings, but I do think the HPA course will make handicapping the State meet extremely difficult. I also believe that the teams that ran on the HPA course will have an advantage.

I think the team title will be exciting and is up for grabs. As always, but even more so this year given the course difficulty at HPA, it will come down to which team can get its runners to run as "normal" as possible. In other words, teams with runners that have "off" days are going to suffer and that could happen easily at HPA.

Kamehameha (Oahu) certainly looks impressive after the last two weeks. And they are doing it with four new runners in their top six! A gap time of just 1:22 at the HPA Invitational is quite impressive. Seabury Hall had a gap time of 2:09 while Mililani had a gap time of 1:56 at the Iolani Invitational. If either of those teams can close their gaps they will makes it closer with Kamehameha.

Punahou lost some key runners to graduation last year, but always seem to re-load. Their JV squad looked impressive at the Iolani meet and could provide even greater depth by the end of the season.

One key area to look for is missing runners. Were all of the teams running at full strength this past weekend? I heard Iolani has the injury bug right now, and if they recover in time, then they will be in the mix especially given they have a frontrunner (Wong), and, supposedly, a mainland transfer who is faster than their frontrunner.

And don't forget Seabury Hall's Tracy-Vinsintainer who finished just 6th on the team this last week but was 16th at the State meet last year. If she returns to form they may be the favorite going in.

In all, there appears to be no clear cut favorite and it should be an exciting team battle.

Individually, Clapp had a big race at the Iolani meet, but don't forget that that course was flat. As a relative newcomer to the running scene does she have enough experience for the grueling HPA course? I'll be watching her closely at her own Kaiser Invitational this week to see how she handles the hills, although the course is still not nearly as tough as HPA. It's tough to compare her run to Massenburg's at HPA. I don't think we will get to see the Oahu girls race the outer island girls until States unless they come over for the Kaiser meet. The individual battle looks to be a heated one as well.

The Road To HPA

2008-09-21T17:07:00.005-10:00

A note from Coach Al - Just reminding you that the following is NOT my opinion so please throw your daggers somewhere else.:)

FROM ANONYMOUS (Sept 21, 2008)

To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift" - Steve Prefontaine

Iolani Invitational

Sophomore Kristin Parry of Dana Hills won the girls varsity cross country race yesterday morning. Parry led the girls over the 3-mile course in 17:59.81. More than 1,000 runners competed in six races that featured intermediate and high school teams from Hawai'i and California. The event is now in its 10th year.

Parry pulled away from Meghan Marvin of Clovis (Calif.) with about a half-mile remaining on the flat, grassy and hot course that crossed through several fields at Wheeler. Parry and Marvin led through two miles, followed closely by three Dana Hills runners and Clovis' Saylah Barserian. Following in the second group was Kaiser's Sarah Clapp and 'Iolani's Jenna Wong. Clapp was the first Hawaii runner to finish in 7th place with a time of 18:47 followed by Jenna Wong in 18:56.

HPA invitational

King Kekaulike's Bailey Massenburg won yesterday's Hawai'i Prep Invitational on the Big Island. Massenburg won the girls 3-mile race with a time of 20:37, 18 seconds ahead of Seabury Hall's Hailey Grossman in 20:55. Kamehameha placed five girls in the top 11 to win with 32 points to 48 for Seabury Hall. This is the second time in a week the Kemehameha has beaten a #1 in the same week.

Based on Information and results from this week here is the team ranking for this week. And remember as we get more information and results this list will change.

Kamehameha Kapalama
Mililani
Punahou
Seabury Hall
Iolani

Girls individual Ranking for this week based on times and results.

1. Sara Clapp 11 Kaiser

2. Bailey Massenburg 12 King Kekaulike

3. Jenna Wong Iolani

4. Hailey Grossman Seabury Hall

5. Hailey Abing 12 Pac 5

6. Julie Besenbruch 12 Pac 5

7. Kristen Ali Keith Mililani

8. Chaylena Guinto Pac 5

9. Ashlee Jimenez Kamehameha Kapalama

10. Savannah Lowrie Leilehua

Who knows?

2008-09-16T16:27:00.002-10:00

Hi all,

Last Thursday in the 'Iolani vs Punahou intermediate football game, 'Iolani had a female quarterback, Saphyre Rezentes, for a few series. She did pretty well too! My question, have there been any other female QB's in Intermediate or Varsity football in the ILH? In the OIA? Outer islands? In the state?

If you know of any or know the answer, please email me at coachalphotos@gmail.com

Thanks, Al

The Road to HPA

2008-09-15T05:43:00.003-10:00

THE ROAD TO HPA

" Cross Country is like poker, you always have to be holding five good cards all the time"

ILH

#1 goes down!

Keaau, Hawaii. At the Kamehameha Invitational #1 ranked Iolani school girls cross country team ran into a buzz saw. Iolani was soundly defeated by Kamehameha Schools of Kapalama 32 to 59. Kamehameha Kapalama sent the message to the rest of the state they are for real. Winning the race was Honokaa High's Tia Greenwell in 20:21 followed by Iolani's Jenna Wong in 20:58.

OIA Mililani continues to win

Aiea. It seems Mililani girl’s cross-country team is letting someone different from their team win each week or they are just showing their depth. Well, OK, so this week it’s Gabby Jerkins at the Preseason meet at Aiea. Her time of 20:59 beats Dayna Domingo of Pearl City who took second in 21:26. Mililani wins by a landslide.

MIL Seabury Hall Idle

PUKALANI – With Seabury Hall idle and most likely training through, Maui High School girls cross country team took first place at the Maui Interscholastic League's meet.

King Kekaulike's Bailey Massenburg won the girls race with a time of 20 minutes, 21 seconds.

Based on Information and results from this week here are the team ranking for this week. And remember as we get more information and results this list will change. Just a note. If you're ranked #1 and you lose, you drop down until you can work your way back up.

At this week's Iolani Invitational at Wheeler army base all ILH and OIA teams and Mainland and Neighbor schools. Also the HPA invitational will host all BIIF and some Neighbor island schools on the state championship course. Here are this week's Team rankings.

Seabury Hall
Mililani
Punahou
Kamehameha Kapalama
Iolani

Girls individual Ranking for this week.

1. Sara Clapp 11 Kaiser

2. Hailey Grossman 11 Seabury Hall

3. Kristin Ali Keith 11 Mililani

4. Hailey Abing 12 Pac 5

5. Bailey Massenburg 12 King Kekaulike

6. Julie Besenbruch 12 Pac 5

7. Tia Greenwell

8. Gabby Jenkins Mililani

9. Jena Wong Iolani

10. Dayna Domingo of Pearl City

Anonymous promises new rankings by Monday!

2008-09-14T20:19:00.001-10:00

Anonymous has had a busy weekend but you can expect to see new rankings sometime on Monday.

Some football pics for you!

2008-09-08T11:19:00.008-10:00

What a week in girls cross-country!

2008-09-07T12:17:00.024-10:00

New rankings from Anonymous!

Please remember, this is just for fun and to create interest. Anonymous is NOT COACH AL!

In the OIA, whose #1 now?

Kristin Ali Keith showed who’s #1 in Hawaii by defeating Sara Clapp, our former #1 in the girls ranking at the Campbell Invitational. Keith's time of 19:17 was good for 2^nd place to winner Alex Dunne from San Clemente, California who won in 17:38!! Wow!

In the MIL, Seabury Hall rolls at Lahainaluna Invitational

Grossman and Lundblad go 1 and 2

Kapalua - Seabury Hall junior Hailey Grossman won her second race in a row on the hilly Kapalua golf course, the site of last year's state meet. Her time of 19:58:9 was the fastest time of the day, followed closely by teammate Lea Lundblad in 20:03. The Seabury Hall girls cross country team put all five of their top runners in the top ten and won their 3^rd meet in a row.

In the ILH, Welcome back Julie!

“In the varsity girls division at Waipio, Julie Besenbruch won in a time of 19:32. Julie ran smoothly and looked very strong after her time off last year. She's definitely back and should be put into the top 10 somewhere.” The above a quote from Al Linsky.

The Ranking will change as we receive more results and times. So here is your top ten ranking for this week.

1. Kristin Ali Keith 11 Mililani

2. Sara Clapp 11 Kaiser

3. Hailey Grossman 11 Seabury Hall

4. Julie Besenbruch 12 Pac 5

5. Savannah Lowrie 12 Leilehua

6. Bailey Massenburg 12 King Kekaulike

7. Haley Abing 12 Pac 5

8. Jenna Wong 11 Iolani

9. Maile Scarpino 12 Iolani

10. Lea Lundblad 10 Seabury Hall

Based on Information and results from this week here is the team ranking for this week. And remember as we get more information and results, this list will change.

1. Iolani

2. Seabury Hall

3. Punahou

4. Mililani

5. Leilehua

New Girls XC Prediction

2008-09-03T08:18:00.006-10:00

Hi Girls XC Fans,

Well, our anonymous poster is back again after seeing the results from the meets held this last Saturday and doing some sleuthing. Of course, he remains anonymous and leaves me to take the HEAT!

I repeat, this is not my prediction. I disagree with a lot of what's in there, especially the top 10, but I will continue to keep my opinion to myself. I do believe that there is more talent in girls XC this year than ever before with 20-30 girls capable of running very good times and that would have been considered top 10 shoo-ins in the last few years. A top 20 would probably be better to have so that more of the top runners are included. Anyway, it should be a very exciting season!

Coach Al

Here is the new prediction from Anonymous!

---------------------------------------------

Old names and new faces ring in 2008 XC season!

She is back! Seabury Hall junior Hailey Grossman made clear that no matter what happens in any other Maui Interscholastic League race, the Spartans' home meet is all hers.

Grossman finished first at the Seabury Hall cross country race for a third consecutive year on Saturday with a time of 20 minutes, 4 seconds on the hilly Seabury course, beating last weekend's winner, Bailey Massenburg of King Kekaulike by just over a minute. After taking the 2007 track season off for personal reasons, Grossman beat the two time defending state track champion Bailey Massenberg convincingly.

Over at Pearl City, more of the same, as Savannah Lowrie of Leilehua, I stand corrected, won a preseason race in a fine time of 19:43 beating last years XC state champ Kristin Ali Keith of Mililani, who ran a 19:57. Here is this week's revised top ten. As we get more times and results this list will change.

Sara Clapp 11 Kaiser
2. Savannah Lowrie 12 Leilehua
3. Hailey Grossman 11 Seabury Hall
4. Bailey Massenburg 12 King Kekaulike
5. Haley Abing 12 La Pietra
6. Gabriella Jenkins Mililani
7. Kristin Ali Keith 12 Mililani
8. Jenna Wong 11 Iolani
9. Maile Scarpino 12 Iolani
10. Chaylene Guinto 10 St Francis

Based on information and results from last week here is the team ranking for this week. And remember as we get more information and results this list will change.

Iolani
Mililani
Seabury Hall
Punahou
Leilehua

090108 - Some Pics For You

2008-09-01T19:37:00.019-10:00

Hi all,

Since I've been bombarded with comments about the girls XC prediction, please let me restate THAT THE PREDICTION IS NOT MINE! My policy has been to not make predictions because of my close relationship with the 'Iolani girls team. You are free to make your own predictions by either adding a comment or send me a writeup and I'll post it for you. You may either remain anonymous or if you have enough courage, you may sign it.

Anyway, I thought I'd post some photos from my last few events. I covered in order, the Hawaiian Invitational Water Polo Tournament, the Ann Kang Invitational Volleyball Tournament, the 'Iolani JV Black Girls Volleyball match against Punahou Blue, the 'Iolani JV Red Girls Volleyball match against MPI, and the 'Iolani varsity football game against Kaimuki. If you like my photography, feel free to invite me to one of your events. If there is enough interest showed I will try to work you into my schedule.

Enjoy the photos!

2008 Cross Country Around The Corner

2008-08-22T13:58:00.007-10:00

Hi running fans,

Coach Al here. Yes, I've been very derelict in updating this blog. I've had a good excuse though as I've been having health issues. Unfortunately, they are not over yet, although I hope that they will be over soon. I "may" do some updates on this blog, but I'm not making any promises as I really need to stick to my business as I have a limited amount of energy these days.

BUT, I will post articles of interest from anyone who wants to post something. What follows is a prediction for the upcoming girls XC season. IT IS NOT MY OPINION, I'm just the messenger. I may agree with parts of it but I'm not saying. Like last year, I'm too close to the Iolani girls team and don't feel it is right for me to publicize my thoughts.

So, without further ado, the first blog post in quite a long time:

FROM ANONYMOUS (not the same Anonymous as last year):

It might be a tad premature to label the 2008 girls' cross-country season as "The Year of the Transfer", but it is interesting to note that three of the better teams in the state -- including two of the finer squads -- are beneficiaries of school-to-school movement during the off-season. The biggest transfer would have to be Sara Clapp of Kaiser. Clapp exploded onto the Hawaii running scene last track season claiming the 3000 meter state title with a time of 10:30:82, then coming in 6th in the 3000 meters in 10:36 at the National Junior Olympics Final.

The next big move sees Kimberly Pugliese going from Iolani School to Mililani High. Iolani added Breanne Ball 2 years ago and who dominated the intermediate scene in 2007. She is now in 9th grade. Seabury Hall picked up an age group runner via Newport Beach, California by the name of Gracie Peck to help out an already strong squad. Keep in mind that girls' preseason team rankings are infinitely trickier to forecast thanks to the common arrival of 'impact' freshman, as well as the physical maturation the female athlete often experiences at this level of their running careers. I'm only going to rank the top 5 teams based on last year's performers, who they have from last year and who they gained. This list is subject to change.

1. Iolani

2. Seabury Hall

3. Punahou

4. Mililani

5. Leilehua

On the individual side I'm going to list the top 10 girls. Please keep in mind that the order is subject to change at any time just like last season. I based the order on last years CC and track finishes.

1. Bailey Massenburg 12 King Kekaulike

2. Sara Clapp 11 Kaiser

3.Haley Abing 12 La Pietra

4.Kristin Ali Keith 11 Mililani

5. Hailey Grossman 11 Seabury Hall

6.Jenna Wong 11 Iolani

7. Maile Scarpino 12 Iolani

8. Chaylene Guinto 10 St. Francis

9. Savannah Lowrie 12 Leilehua

10. Lea Lundblad. 10 Seabury Hall

Final Girls XC Prediction From Anonymous

2007-10-31T14:29:00.000-10:00

2007 Girls State XC: Show Me, Don’t Tell Me

League champions:
BIIF: Tialana Greenwell, fr, (Honokaa)
ILH: Haley Abing, jr, (La Pietra)
KIF: Caralyn Broyles, jr, (Waimea)
MIL: Hailey Grossman, so, (Seabury)
OIA: Kristen Ali-Keith, so, (Mililani)
Where are all the seniors???

Consistency, that’s why I have Haley Abing (La Pietra) ahead of Kristin Ali-Keith (Mililani). This was no easy decision to make and I mean no disrespect to Ms. Keith.
In head to head competition it’s Keith 3, Abing 1. If you include the ILH/OIA combined championship results, it’s 3-2, Keith. However, Keith’s victories have come in the early part of the season, while Abing’s have come in the later part.

Either way, the race at Kapalua won’t be decided until the very end and don’t forget about Bailey Massenburg (King K). She fell ill just before the MIL championship and the question now is, is she 100% healthy and race sharp? She ran 19:48 at Kapalua waaay back on Sep. 15 and the course has since been redesigned to be a little more “friendly.”

I totally understand if you don’t agree with my rankings. Every course is different, every race is different and that is why we run the races. Bottom line, this is just one person’s opinion.

1. Haley Abing, jr, (La Pietra)
2. Kristin Ali-Keith, so, (Mililani)
3. Bailey Massenburg, jr, (King K)
4. Hailey Grossman, so, (Seabury)
5. Amanda Tamanaha, jr, (St.Andrews)
6. Jenna Wong, so, (Iolani)
7. Tialana Greenwell, fr, (Honokaa)
8. Claire Hann, so, (Maryknoll)
9. Dayna Domingo, jr, (Pearl City)
10. Maile Scarpino, so, (Iolani)
Again, where are the seniors???

From the start, Iolani was my #1 pick for the team honors but without Kimberly Pugliese (Iolani) in the line up I’m going with Punahou. Without any front runners Punahou must rely on packing, keeping the spread from their 1 – 5 runners to a minimum which they successfully did (<60s) at the ILH Championship. For the #2 spot I’m leaning towards Kamehameha (Oahu) with Leilehua right behind while Iolani drops to #4, but their future is looking really good.

What more surprises are in store come November 2? Can the Leilehua girls run the race of their lives and upset Punahou to win the team honors? It would be a first for a public school since 1980!!! Will the Leilehua boys become the first public school to win the team honors since 1982?

Boys XC Update from Anonymous

2007-10-30T09:42:00.001-10:00

The league championship meets are now completed so here is an update on Hawaii boys cross-country. Bryce Jenkins’ and Paul Williams’ performances on a tough CORP course were impressive. They looked poised to finish 1-2 for Leilehua on an even tougher Kapalua course this Friday on Maui. The Big Island boys were also impressive at the BIIF championship meet held on the Kamehameha course near Hilo. Garrett Prinslow, Kealakehe, Mark Turner, Hilo, Jake Shiraki, Honoka’a, and Nick Ucker, Christian Liberty, all ran fine times on a course that may be a bit easier than CORP. A week ago on Maui at Kapalua, Reid Hunter, King Kekaulike, looked comfortable running 17:10. He hasn’t been pushed all year and he’s running at home. Reid could pull off the upset.

TOP 10 PICKS

1. Bryce Jenkins, Leilehua
2. Paul Williams, Leilehua
3. Mark Turner, Hilo
4. Garrett Prinslow, Kealakehe
5. Nick Ucker, Christian Liberty
6. Jake Shiraki, Honoka’a
7. Reid Hunter, King Kekaulike
8. Chris Burniske, Punahou
9. Dawnons Vorderbruegge, Kaiser
10. Matthew Nakamoto, HBA

OTHERS TO WATCH

Preston Vierra, Honoka’a
Nick Haggemann, Kea’au
Jordan Lerma, KSH
Eli Hart, HPA
Kensuke Taylor, Kailua
Patrick Understellar, Kea’au
Christian Putegnat, Campbell

The boys from Leilehua are the odds-on favorite to win the team title. They have 2 top runners plus their 3rd, 4th and 5th runners all appear on paper to be faster than anyone else's. If they can handle the pressure and Kapalua, they should run away with the trophy. Honoka’a from the Big Island is my pick for team runner-up. They also have 2 top runners and an excellent 3rd with their 4th and 5th guys the equal to any other teams’. ILH powers Punahou, Iolani and Kamehameha will round out the top 5 teams.

Comment from Coach Al - Girls XC

2007-10-18T11:46:00.000-10:00

Please remember that these posts predicting the XC States are really only someone's opinion, for fun and to create interest in the sport. Although I'm asked constantly to publish my thoughts on what is going to happen, I am not going to do that. I've been coaching at Iolani this year and don't feel it's fair or right for me to talk about this possibly knowing some things that aren't really public knowledge.

I do want to say, though, that it is my understanding that out of the 7 Maryknoll varsity runners, 3 are not Maryknoll students, including Haley Abing. I will say that I wouldn't be surprised at all to see Maryknoll win the ILH championships. They really are an awesome team right now, and I keep thinking to myself, what would they be like if Julie had run this year. Wow!

The point is, though, that Maryknoll will not have a scoring team for States so they will not be in the mix in the team championships.

Update from Anonymous - 10/18/07 - Girls XC

2007-10-18T11:43:00.000-10:00

2007 Girls State XC: Fire at Punahou

Impressive! Five (5) girls under the old course record at the Punahou Invite and another group of three (3) within 10 seconds of the old record!. Haley Abing (La Pietra) sets the new standard at 19:31 while super soph Claire Hann (Maryknoll/19:40), runs to a new sophomore class record and lets everyone know she’s a contender for the individual honors. Also under the old record of 19:51 were, Jenna Wong (Iolani/ 19:47), Amanda Tamanaha (St. Andrews/ 19:48) and Dayna Domingo (Pearl City/ 19:49).
Congrats and a high five to all those girls mentioned above and the best part, none of them are seniors!

Meanwhile, a little over 200 miles southeast of Oahu a young frosh by the name of Tialana Greenwell (Honokaa) has been running unchallenged on the Big Island. Her most recent performance;19:56 at Waiakea. What can she do when challenged?

It’s league championship time for Maui and Kauai this weekend and Bailey Massenburg (King K) has been very quiet since her 19:48 run on Sep. 15 at Kapalua while Hailey Grossman (Seabury) has gained confidence with her 19:24 on Sep 29. Also, not to be overlooked are Kaahumanu Rozet (KSM) and Leah Lunblad (Seabury).

For the team honors I’m staying with Iolani but the #2 spot between Kamehameha (Oahu) and Punahou is now dead even with huge improvements by Chelsea Oda (Punahou/ 20:07) and Kristi Torkildson (Punhaou/ 20:29), but let’s not forget that little school called Maryknoll. Who?

Bottom line: Maui, Nov 2, be there or you’ll be sorry.

Top 10 Individual: (Subject to change at anytime)
1. Bailey Massenburg (King K)
2. Haley Abing (La Pietra)
3. Kristin Ali-Keith (Mililani)
4. Hailey Grossman (Seabury)
5. Claire Hann (Maryknoll)
6. Jenna Wong (Iolani)
7. Amanda Tamanaha ((St. Andrews)
8. Dayna Domingo (Pearl City)
9. Kimberly Pugliese (Iolani)
10. Maile Scarpino (Iolani)

Looking to move up: (in no particular order)
Tialana Greenwell, fr (Honokaa)
Amelia Linsky, jr, (Iolani)
Chelsea Oda, sr (Punahou)
Emma Broderick, sr, (KSO)
Kaahumanu Rozet, sr, (KSM)
Chaylene Guinto, fr, (Maryknoll)
Dara Pagaduan, sr, (KSO)
Lea Lundblad (Seabury)
Malia Kagawa, sr (Maryknoll)
Kelly Opedal, jr, (KSO)
Savannah Lowrie, jr, (Leilehua)

Outlook for Hawaii Boys Cross Country 2007

2007-10-16T09:13:00.000-10:00

Hi running fans. Hot off the presses from a knowledgeable cross-country fan. This was NOT written by Coach Al, so you are welcome to make comments on the blog, but please don't inundate me with emails!

HAWAII BOYS CROSS COUNTRY RANKINGS

I’ve read so much about Hawaii girls cross-country that I felt it only fair to write about the boys who have been running some excellent times largely unnoticed by the running community.

The Big Island and Oahu boys are the class of Hawaii cross-country in 2007. Maui has one quality runner, Reid Hunter of King Kekaulike, but he has run so infrequently that it’s hard to judge him. I have not seen any Kauai boys who look like they can crack the top 20.

Mark Turner, Hilo, and Jake Shiraki, Honoka’a have both run 16:06. Two more Big Island boys have run in the 16:20s—Nick Ucker, Christian Liberty and Nick Hagemann, Kea’au. Bryce Jenkins, Leilehua, is the defending champ and won at Punahou last week in a fine time of 16:28. All in all 11 boys from the Big Island and Oahu have gone under 17 minutes.

I have a feeling that the course and conditions at Kapalua will favor the Big Island so my top 10 picks are as follows:

1. Mark Turner, Hilo
2. Bryce Jenkins, Leilehua
3. Jake Shiraki, Honoka’a
4. Nick Ucker, Christian Liberty
5. Chris Burniske, Punahou
6. Nick Hagemann, Kea’au
7. Nathan Nakatsuka, Kamehameha, Oahu
8. Preston Vierra, Honoka’a
9. Matthew Nakamoto, HBA
10. Paul Williams, Leilehua

Others:
Garrett Prinslow, Kealakehe
Reid Hunter, King Kekaulike
Scott Motobu, Mid Pac
Dawson Vorderbruegge, Kaiser
Juan Miguel Silva, Leilehua
Jordan Lerma, Kamehameha, Hawaii
Patrick Understellar, Kea’au
Craig Kandler, Kaiser

The team championship should be very close with the 4th and 5th runners deciding who brings home the hardware. Leilehua looks like a close group of guys who have the team concept dialed in, and they look to have the best 4th and 5th runners plus Bryce. Nevertheless, you can’t count out the boys from Kamehameha who always rise to the occasion. Finally there is Honoka’a from the Big Island with two guys in the 16s and 2 more in the 17s. Here’s my top 5 team picks:
1. Leilehua
2. Kamehameha, Oahu
3. Honoka’a
4. Punahou
5. Iolani

Update from Anonymous - 10/2/07 - Girls XC

2007-10-02T18:35:00.000-10:00

2007 Girls State XC Update

This is tough, really, really tough. The top 6 girls are evenly matched and for me to rank one above the other leaves me feeling rather uncomfortable. Clearly there is no dominant leader in the state this year, which makes for a very exciting race in November.

Who has the better sprint speed among the top 5 girls? I lean towards Bailey Massenburg (King K) 4:54.69/ 1500 but Haley Abing (La Pietra) has the better 800 time. But then, without endurance, speed means nothing and who’s the State 3k champ? Hailey Grossman (Seabury), but hey, Jenna Wong (Iolani) did most of the work in that 3k race and this is XC, not track so who finished 2nd in cross country last year? Kristin Ali-Keith (Mililani), who looks really cool with her shades.

With the individual race being so close this year will the one week break the MIL have prior to the State race make a difference? Will the top girls from the ILH/ OIA back off somewhat during their league championships (with the blessing of their coach, of course)?

I say Iolani by a thump, not a squeak anymore, for the team honors but their #5 runner must perform up to her capability on race day. Kamehameha (Oahu) takes over the #2, spot by a squeak over Punahou but it’s still early enough and every course is different so don’t get mad if you don’t agree. This is just one person’s opinion and with the Kamehameha and Punahou Invites coming up some questions could be answered.

Top 10 Individual: (Subject to change at anytime)

1. Bailey Massenburg (King K)
2. Kristin Ali-Keith (Mililani)
3. Hailey Grossman (Seabury)
4. Haley Abing (La Pietra)
5. Jenna Wong (Iolani)
6. Claire Hann (Maryknoll)
7. Lea Lundblad (Seabury)
8. Kimberly Pugliese (Iolani)
9. Maile Scarpino (Iolani)
10. Amanda Tamanaha (St. Andrews)

Looking to move up: (in no particular order)
Emma Broderick, sr, (KSO)
Kaahumanu Rozet, sr, (KSM)
Amelia Linsky, jr, (Iolani)
Dara Pagaduan, sr, (KSO)
Dayna Domingo, jr, (Pearl City)
Tialana Greenwell, fr (Honokaa)
Kelly Opedal, jr, (KSO)
Savannah Lowrie, jr, (Leilehua)
Chelsea Oda, sr (Punahou)
Malia Kagawa, sr (Maryknoll)

Salinas, California

2007-09-09T08:34:00.000-10:00

Lea shown here training on Maui, Spring 2007.

Lea Lundblad, the freshman from Seabury Hall, opened her 2007 cross country season not in Hawaii, but in Salinas, California. She ran at the Earlybird Invitational, one of the most competitive, early season cross country meets in the state. With nearly 60 teams and 2,500 runners, Lundblad covered the hilly, 3 mile course, in 20:27 to earn her a second place individual medal. She was 4th overall. We will see Lundblad on Oahu when she will be competing at the upcoming Iolani Invitational.

From ANONYMOUS!

2007-09-06T15:59:00.001-10:00

Hi all,

I've been asked numerous times to make a prediction on the girls' XC season. Because I am so close to the Iolani team, I have felt very uncomfortable doing it. Yes, I have my opinions, but they will remain unpublished.

But, that doesn't stop anyone else from giving their opinions. What follows is a prediction from an anonymous soothsayer. I don't know who wrote it. All I know is they are from the outer islands. Coach Al

-----------------------------

2007 Girls State XC Outlook

Underclass women rule!!! The two lone seniors with a shot at the top podium are Kaahumanu Rozet (KSM) and Chelsea Oda (Punahou) with a huge bunch of juniors, super sophs and frosh in the hunt. Big names missing from last year are defending State XC champ Julie Besenbruch/ Maryknoll and Katie Pelliteri/ Iolani.

It’s going to come down to who’s “on” come race day. Race strategy, pacing and sprint speed will become a tremendous factor. This is one race I don’t want to miss come November 2!!!

Seniors
Kaahumanu Rozet (KSM): injured during the 2006 xc, 4:51.46/ 1500. Made a huge improvement on the track from 2006 – 2007. Gave Chelsea Smith-Wishard (Kauai) a scare in the state 1500 race, so we know she has speed.

Chelsea Oda (Punahou): 9th/ 2005 State xc but was not 100% at the 2006 State xc, 5:07.16/ 1500, 10:48.66/ 3k. Has been hampered with injuries the last 2 xc seasons so her performance has been very erratic. On the track in 2007 we finally got a glimpse of the real Chelsea Oda. Has patience but a little more speed would help. Chelsea, stay healthy!

Juniors
Haley Abing (La Pietra): 4th/ 2005 State xc but was not 100% at the 2006 State xc,
1500/ 4:56.91, 11:02.86/ 3k, 2:28.30/ 800. She’s good and with a bit more speed it could put her on the top podium.

Bailey Massenburg ( King K): 19th/ 2005 State xc as a frosh, was not 100% in 2006, 4:54.69/ 1500, 11:24.00/ 3k, 2:30.2/ 800. Can this girl make it to the top podium? Oh yeah!!! It would not surprise me if she dominated the xc/track season.

Maile Scarpino/ Iolani: 4:58.67/ 1500, 2:26.75/ 800. Needs more endurance but has enough speed to be a threat. If she did her “homework” over the summer she will challenge for the top spot.

Sophomores
Hailey Grossman/ Seabury: 8th/ 2006 State xc, 5:06.63/ 1500, 10:47.62/ 3k. The state 3k champ on the track and battling Kaahumanu Rozet (KSM) and Bailey Massenburg (King K) every weekend is a win/win/win for all three girls. With the MIL having a 2 week break before the State race this could be the deciding factor.

Kristin Ali-Keith/ Mililani: 2nd/ 2006 State xc, 10:56.76/ 3k, This girl fears no one and has no fear of pain, will this comeback to haunt her or help her?

Jenna Wong/ Iolani: 6th/ 2006 State xc, 5:04.68/ 1500, 10:50.81/ 3k. Needs more speed but makes up for it with patience and guts! Not afraid to take charge and go for it!

Frosh
Kimberly Pugliese/ Iolani: She was always “up there” in the intermediate division but has been overshadowed by the other two frosh below.

Lea Lundblad/ Seabury: No stranger to xc/track racing as she dominated the intermediate division. With 62.41/ 400 speed, you don’t want to get into a sprint finish with this girl, unless your name is...

Kailea Tracy Visintainer/ Seabury: 58.73/ 400, How fast is 58.73? She would have won the State 400m race, as an 8th grader! This is the last person you want near you with 100m to go.

Top 10 Individual: Subject to change at anytime

1. Kaahumanu Rozet (KSM)
2. Chelsea Oda (Punahou)
3. Bailey Massenburg (King K)
4. Hailey Grossman (Seabury)
5. Kristin Ali-Keith (Mililani)
6. Haley Abing (La Pietra)
7. Maile Scarpino (Iolani)
8. Lea Lundblad (Seabury)
9. Kimberly Pugliese (Iolani)
10. Jenna Wong (Iolani)

Looking to move up: (in no particular order)
Dara Pagaduan, sr, (KSO)
Amelia Linsky, jr, (Iolani)
Malia Kagawa, sr, (Maryknoll)
Dana Domingo, jr, (Pearl City)
Farrah Madanay, jr, (Punahou)
Amanda Tamanaha, jr, (St. Andrews)
Kristi Torkildson, sr (Punahou)
Mari Carmichael, jr (Punahou)
Cheyane Kamai, jr, (KSO)
Emma Broderick, sr, (KSO)

For the team title, I say Iolani by a squeak. They have 4 good runners but their #5 could make or break their state title hopes. With Punahou’s depth and Chelsea Oda being a patient front runner don’t be surprised if Chelsea wins and Punahou repeats. Seabury Hall has 2 good runners but their #3, #4 and #5 is no match for Iolani’s #3, #4 and #5.

September 2007 - 1

2007-09-03T10:30:00.000-10:00

ILH Cross-Country

On September 1, the ILH cross-country season opened with a practice meet at Waipio soccer peninsula. This meet is always very casual with no scoring. It is a good way to get everyone reacquainted with running and competing in the meets each week.

Weather-wise we were lucky. Yes, the course was wet, muddy and slow from torrential rains the night before, but at least the rain stopped before the 9am start.

There were 5 races - boys intermediates (2 miles), girls intermediates (2 miles), girls open (2 miles), jv/varsity boys (3 miles) and varsity girls (3 miles).

I admit that I pay much more attention to the girls races. Sorry guys. But, when you have 2 daughters running that tends to happen.

There has been a lot of anticipation on the girls' side of cross-country this year. Probably on the boys side too but I don't really know about it.

Some big things have happened on the girls side since last year. Julie (Maryknoll) is not running this year. Last year she was the dominant runner in the state. Also, Katie (Iolani) moved to the mainland due to a family relocation. Katie was a promising runner who will be missed greatly by Iolani.

There are also some new faces in the varsity ranks this year. Kimberly Pugliese, a top intermediate runner, is now a 9th grader and has transferred to Iolani. Kimberly will be a force. Also, Lea Lundblad, last year's Iolani Invitational winner at both Intermediate races, is now a varsity runner. Some think she will win States this year. She just might. Then there is Maile (Iolani) who is new to the running world. She had a very good track season last year and will also be in the mix at the top.

So, what happened on Saturday? A veteran of the running world, Haley Abing (Maryknoll, La Pietra), held off Maile in the closest finish of the day to win by about 1 yard. Kim and Jenna (both of Iolani) were close on Maile's heels. Maryknoll and Iolani dominated the top 20.

But, and this is a big but, Punahou did not run in the varsity race as they elected to run their varsity in the 2 mile open. Also, Kamehameha looked like they were just using this race as a normal training run.

In other words, some of the girls who I expect to be there at the end of the season, weren't in the varsity race, either at all or because they weren't really trying. There will be many changes as the season progresses.

August 2007 - 4

2007-09-03T10:15:00.000-10:00

Varsity Football

On August 25, the Raiders took on Kalaheo in a pre-season, inter-league match up.

I love shooting football, but only when the light is good. Most varsity games are at Aloha Stadium this year, at night. Aloha Stadium's lights are not very photographer friendly. They are not very bright, and to make things even worse, they are inconsistent as some parts of the field are brighter than others.

So, I will try to do varsity football when the lighting, schedule and location work for me. I wish it were different, but that's the way it works out. The Intermediate football team will probably see me more as they have some games on weekdays in the afternoon which work much better for my schedule.

So, how about the game?

It was a hard fought game with Kalaheo dominating until late. Kalaheo's quarterback, Cody Von Appen, is an excellent athlete who gave our defense fits, especially with turning broken plays into substantial gains with his superb running.

The Raiders did make a game of it late and put themselves in a position to steal this game at the end, but Kalaheo held on for a 28-25 win.

August 2007 - 3

2007-09-03T09:53:00.000-10:00

Volleyball

The water polo tournament was 6 days in a row. I also had 3 photographers working for me so the amount of photographs to process was incredible. I had 2 days to catch up on all the water polo work before jumping right into the Ann Kang Invitation Volleyball Tournament.

The Ann Kang Tournament is a wonderful, pre-season volleyball tournament that attracts some of the best volleyball teams in the country. This year there were 20 teams, 10 local, 10 from the mainland. The tournament is held at Iolani school, using both the upper and lower gym constantly.

I enjoy doing this tournament because it gives me a good idea of how good my beloved Lady Raiders are in relation to many other very good teams. This year it looks like Kamehameha (Oahu) has the State Championship firmly in it's grasp. A lot of things can happen between now and States, but if they stay healthy they are going to be very, very tough to beat.

Indoor volleyball is one of the toughest sports to photograph, especially when the light is marginal. There are really only 2 venues where I like to shoot indoor sports, Stan Sheriff (UH) and Kamehameha. There may be others that are this good but I haven't seen them. Most indoor high school gyms have very marginal lighting. If you've tried to shoot volleyball or basketball in marginal lighting, you know what I'm talking about. I've had a lot of practice so am able to get quite a few very good photos, but it sure would be more fun if the lighting was better.

Kamehameha, by the way, won this tournament with a pretty dominant victory over Redondo in the final. Redondo is ranked in the top 20 in the nation. Kamehameha is now ranked number 5. Wow!

August 2007 - 2

2007-09-03T09:34:00.000-10:00

Water Polo

From August 7-12, I covered the Hawaiian Invitational Water Polo Tournament. This is a huge tournament played at 3 locations (Punahou, Iolani and CORP) with over 100 teams participating. There were a bunch of local teams, but many from the mainland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Water polo is a fun sport to cover photographically. The light is usually very good and there is constant action. The blue of the water gives the shots some really nice backgrounds and the splashes can look quite spectacular when caught just right.

August 2007 - 1

2007-09-03T08:27:00.000-10:00

Fiddler on the Roof and Youth Basketball

Many people might not realize that I do cover some things besides sports. Not much, but there are a few things I do enjoy covering, like musicals that have nothing to do with sports. On August 1, I had a chance to cover the Fiddler on the Roof production at Hawaii Theatre. The kids did a great job and I had a great time shooting it.

A few days later I had a request to cover a youth basketball game. I usually only cover intermediate through varsity, but I have been getting quite a few requests from parents that get much coverage for one of their children, but none of their other because that child goes to a different school or participates in club sports. I do try to accommodate these requests if I can.

This game was held at Palolo gym - the Bulls vs the Heat. This was a U12 game with both boys and girls on the teams. The lighting was very, very strange. I never saw anything like it. Yellow? Green? Kept changing? The lighting level was pretty good, though, just the color hue was tough to deal with.

These event galleries can be reached at this link.

So where have you been Coach Al?

2007-09-03T06:09:00.000-10:00

I had planned to take it easy the last few weeks. This is the only time of the year when there aren't a lot of big high school athletic events. Most teams are just practicing with games and matches just starting now.

So, what happens? I have 3 computers in the house, 2 of which are devoted to my business. One of those computers does 90% of the work. That computer died. I was able to remove the disk drives and copy them onto a giant external drive so I didn't lose any data. But, as anyone who has gone through setting up a new computer knows, there is a lot of work to do.

Just shopping for a new computer takes time. I bought a close to top-of-the line Dell which was delivered in a few days. I decided to get lots of memory, but only one huge disk drive (500 gig). Everything is very easily expandable. I just ordered another 500 gig internal drive. My plan is to have all programs on the C: drive, all data on the D: drive, and another 500 gig external drive for backup.

Another thing I learned through this challenging time is that USB external drives can not be plugged into a USB hub with other devices if you want them to perform well. I couldn't understand why my USB drive was just moping along when that same drive really hummed on my older, slower computer. When I read about how USB 2.0 works, I realized that I had about 8 devices already plugged into the hub and they all were competing for bandwidth. So, along with the 500 gig internal drive, I ordered a PCI USB 2.0 card. I will only plug the external drive into this card, nothing else, so it will have it's own "pipe". I don't expect the external drive to run as fast as the internal ones, but it should now be useable as a backup drive and occasionally for processing.

Currently I'm doing all processing on the internal C: drive. It's very fast but I don't like to mix programs and data on the same drive. As soon as the drive arrives I will move all data over.

I also hope to rebuild my dead computer. It is still very useable, at least it will be if I can get it running again.

I have done a few jobs in the last month to tell you about. Be back soon, I hope.

Coach Al

July 30, 2007 Update continued...

2007-07-30T10:17:00.000-10:00

I've always wanted to cover a rodeo, but never had the chance, until this past Saturday. I noticed a listing for a rodeo put on by the Hawaii Women's Rodeo Association at the DK Ranch in Waimonalo. It was as much fun as I thought it would be and I hope to do more rodeos in the future. The women have a very nice website with lots of information, but I haven't found anything on the men's side. Please send me information if you have it. The photo galleries can be found here. Here's a few photos from the barrel racing competion.

It was then over to the CORP pool to cover the Aloha State Games swim meet. This meet really grew over last year's. A few photos from the meet follow. To reach the full gallery, please click
here.

July 30, 2007 Update

2007-07-30T09:48:00.000-10:00

The last 2 weeks have been different from my usual hectic pace. I still covered quite a few events, though, and had a lot of fun doing them.

First, it was the Hawaii International Cup Soccer tournament held at Waipio, sponsored by the Honolulu Bulls. The photo galleries can be found here. The tournament ran from a Thursday through Sunday. We were there Thursday, Friday and Sunday.

On Saturday, the summer track Relay Championships were held at Punahou School. It rained constantly. The kids didn't seem to mind the rain that much, but I did. Ugh... The track and field galleries for the whole summer can be found here.

The next week, it was the Aloha International Cup Soccer Tournament. This is another big soocer tournament held at Waipio, this time sponsored by Leahi. Photo galleries can be reached through this link.

Again, we couldn't stay the whole time at the soccer tournament because of another track meet, this time the Aloha State Games Track and Field Meet.

One thing that is really nice about the Aloha State Games track meet is there are some events that we don't see very often, namely javelin and hammer throw. I only get to see the javelin a few times a year, during the girls' heptathlon and the boys' decathlon, in addition to the Aloha State Games. But, the hammer throw has only been once a year, at this meet. Here's a photo of one of our few hammer throwers.

2007 Hawaii International Cup Soccer

2007-07-15T17:44:00.000-10:00

This summer has been quite varied so far. Some Iolani baseball, some Iolani basketball (boys and girls), a lot of USATF summer track meets, the Aloha State Games diving meet, the Keo Nakama swim meet, and the just completed Hawaii International Cup Soccer Tournament.

The HIC games either myself or my assistant covered were:

Thursday:

U11 Girls Bulls Red vs Ka-oi Cobras
U17 Girls Abbotsford Hurricanes vs Skovlunde IF
U19 Girls Bulls vs Ka'oi Laulina
U12 Boys Black vs Kona Heat
U12 Girls Ha'aheo vs Real Hawaii

Friday:

U12 Boys Bulls Black vs Bulls White
U12 Girls So Cal Blues vs Ha'aheo
U14 Boys Honolulu Bulls vs Hawaii Rush B94 Nike
U11 Girls Honolulu Bulls Red vs Hawaii Rush
U17 Girls Abbotsford Hurricanes vs Real Hawaii

Sunday:

U16 Boys Bulls Red vs LJSA
U11 Girls Bulls Red vs Real Hawaii
U14 Boys Motiv-8 vs Hawaii Rush B94 Nike

On Saturday, we covered the USATF Relay Championships in Track and Field.

I will probably be covering some Aloha Cup soccer games. If you have interest in me covering your team, please email me.

All photos can be reached from my smugmug galleries. Please email me if you have any questions about my photos, collages or posters, or anything else about my business.

So, where have you been?

2007-07-04T16:13:00.000-10:00

Hi all,

I know I've been terribly negligent in posting to this blog. Hey, it's not like I've been lazy! But, yeah, I know there are a lot of you that want me to keep the blog up-to-date, and I really would like to also.

Doing the State Championships was really fun, but I really got tired by the end. I looked at the Track and Field Championships as the biggest event of the year for me and, ugh, I got sick. It might not have been so hard except that I had just done a bunch of State Championships right before it, girls basketball, baseball and girls water polo! I felt it coming as I stepped off the plane in Maui. I still enjoyed the meet tremendously, but it would have been much nicer doing it healthy.

Then I had so many orders for collages and posters to complete that I've been working straight out (with my daughter) to complete them all. The backlog is almost whittled down now, enough so I felt I could write a bit on the blog.

I've had quite a few requests to give my predictions for the top 20 in cross-country this year. I don't really know the boys well enough, and in most cases, I feel I know the girls too well, at least a bunch of them. I'm just not unbiased enough to do it and I'm in trouble no matter what I do. The Iolani team potentially has quite a few girls that will be top 20 this year. I just can't rate them. If I rate them high, everyone says I'm just biased. If I rate them low then they might be upset with me. So, I'm going to take the coward's way out and say, you want a top 20 list? Either send it to me in an email and I'll collate it with everyone else's or you can just post it on this blog. It must be reasonable, though, or I will ignore it.

I just added a new page to the USATF website displaying the home page photos from the summer track meets. I will continue this practice into the future. I may even go back to last year's meets, but I'm not promising anything.

One other thing, I get quite a few comments on what I do. Almost everyone of them is complimentary. I did get one a few weeks ago from an anonymous emailer (he/she used one of those websites that allow you to send an anonymous email) who felt I didn't give Punahou enough photographic space on the State Championship Track and Field pages. Since I couldn't answer the email because this person didn't have enough guts to sign his name, I'll answer it here. I cover Punahou all through the ILH season. They are the largest team we compete against and I think you'll find that if you go through my USATF website there are many more Punahou athletes than any other team, probably more than every other team combined, for that matter. Going to States finally gave me a good chance to see the athletes from the outer islands and other leagues. So, I tried to feature the athletes that I don't see every week.

In the future, I won't even acknowledge emails where the writer won't sign their name.

That's all for now.

Al

Huh? You crazy?

2007-05-04T10:34:00.000-10:00

Sorry I haven't updated the blog for a while. "Busy" is a huge understatement and there are just so many hours in the day. Besides the time you see me at events taking pictures, you may not realize that processing those photos takes more time than the actual photography. Then there are all the websites that depend on my photography:

www.sportshigh.com www.hi50sports.com www.usatf-hi.org www.iolani-events.org www.iolani.org

When I'm done with all that, I work on collages and posters. That backlog is pretty large right now, but as they say, that's a lot better than the alternative.

So, to answer all of you that are asking me why I did not cover the hugely important Varsity Girls Basketball game last night against Kamehameha, here goes:

First of all, I desperately wanted to see that game. It's no secret that I have favorite teams. I'm not only a photographer, I'm a fan. And this varsity team has captured my heart. It's not the first team that has done that, and it won't be the last, but I really enjoy watching this team play. Anyway, I (like everyone else) didn't know about this game until 2 days before. I already had other games that I had planned to cover during that time. Combine that with the fact that St. Louis' lighting is, well, awful. Also, I knew that win or lose, this varsity team was going to continue playing, either at the ILH tournament or at States or both, but I knew this wasn't their last game.

The 2 games I covered were the Intermediate 1 game and the JV game, both against MPI. Both those games were the last games I could cover for those teams.

So, it came down to going to the game at St. Louis as a fan (the lighting is so terrible that I figured my photos wouldn't be up to my standards, so why even try?) or cover 2 teams that were finishing their season and have been very supportive of my work. Well, you know what I decided.

I hope to cover the varsity basketball team at States. But I'll let everyone know right now, I will not be able to cover the last 2 days of States in basketball. I have already made my travel arrangements and will be covering States in Track and Field on Maui that Friday and Saturday. I wish the schedule was such that the different sports didn't overlap, but I imagine there just isn't enough time to do it that way.

In the meantime, I will continue to have to make very tough decisions.

That's all for now.

Al

March 26, 2007 through March 31, 2007 Recap

2007-04-02T14:54:00.000-10:00

Sorry I haven't been blogging for a while. I thought I was busy before, ugh, some things have changed which increased my work load even more. I now have a few assistants to help me with track meets. I really need the help as it's impossible for one person to cover a track meet so the coverage has been greatly expanded. Of course, that means that I have many more photos to process now. It is currently 3pm on Monday and I still have 3 galleries to go from Saturday. I need to think about this when I get a chance.

Last week I covered the following events:

Tuesday - JV Baseball vs Maryknoll - 9-2 win

Wednesday - Int Black Baseball vs St. Louis - Great comeback for an 8-7 win

Thursday -

1. Varsity Girls Tennis vs Punahou - 5-0 loss to the always formidable Puns

2. JV Baseball vs Pac-5 - A roller coaster, fun game that ends in a win, 6-5

Friday - Intermediate Track and Field Meet held at Iolani (with official results)

Saturday - JV/Varsity Track and Field Meet held at Iolani (with official results)

All the above events are covered with photos and stories at www.iolani-events.org

I'm still working on my schedule for this week, but I can say, if all goes well, I will be covering the Var II and Var I Girls Basketball games on Tuesday, along with the Intermediate ILH Championships on Thursday and Saturday, and the JV/Varsity Track meet on Saturday. I was hoping to do the girls basketball games at Kamehameha on Wednesday but that isn't going to work out, sorry.

Last week I announced that I would be doing cropping on all photo orders, free of charge. I also will do some photo retouching in certain instances. For example, I had an order today where the photo, although good in all other ways, was tilted a bit to the right. This is an easy fix using photoshop, so I modified the original and replaced it in the customer's order. You may still do your own cropping, actually, I prefer you do. But, if I see an order where there is no cropping done, I will assume that the customer isn't aware that they can crop or just didn't want to try. Those are the orders I will concentrate on, but I will look at every photo purchased and will make improvements if they are needed.

New Product Announcement!

I have had many requests to do end of season team slide shows. But, except for teams that my kids were on, I've always declined them because they were just too much work and I couldn't offer them in a way that made business sense for the team and me. I now have acquired a new product that allows me to create slide shows much more quickly and the final product is really nice. I do believe that I can offer slide shows now that will be affordable. So, if you want me to create a slide show using my photos (or yours if you want to add some), please let me know. My price will be based on how extensive a slide show you want (length, number of photos, text, etc.).

That's all for now.

March 12-17 Recap

2007-03-18T16:08:00.000-10:00

This past week was a normal, very busy week.

Monday, it was girls varsity tennis overpowering a combined UH/La Pietra/ St. Francis team 4-1.

Tuesday, I covered the Varsity Girls II basketball game as they dominated HBA, 55-40.

Then it was the marquee game as the Varsity I team took on number 1 ranked Kamehameha. This was a shocking game as the Lady Raiders took no prisoners, running to a big lead from the start and never looking back. Final score was 49-33, Raiders. I don't think the Warriors played very well and I expect that the next time around will be a much tougher game.

Wednesday, it was a comeback 5-3 win for the Intermediate Red baseball team. Excellent game for the Raiders.

Thursday, it was 3 events.

First it was the JV Baseball team vs MPI. Not everything was clicking on this day for the Raiders as they fell 6-2 to the Owls.

Then it was over to the pool to see some girls water polo. The first game was our Varsity II team taking on Kamehameha. This was no contest as the Lady Raiders beat the Warriors, 15-1. It could have been much more but Coach Look showed mercy and stopped the team from scoring.

The Varsity I team then took on the Varsity I Warriors who were state champs last year. This, as expected, was a close game with the Raiders pulling it out in the end, 13-11.

Friday it was over to Kamehameha to cover the Intermediate track and field meet. The weather was awful. I spent at least half the meet under the scorer's tent but still managed over 1000 photos.

Saturday it was the always-fun Ralph Martinson track and field meet at Punahou. This year the format was changed so that only the girls would compete at Punahou. The boys competed at Kamehameha in a different meet. I covered the girls, sorry boys. The weather was much better on Saturday, about 2000 photos worth. The problem with morning meets at Punahou is I have to shoot into the sun for all the field events until the sun gets pretty high, but I'll take that any day over rain!

All stories and track meet results are posted on:

www.iolani-events.org

March 12-17 Tentative Schedule

2007-03-11T16:18:00.000-10:00

Monday - Girls Varsity Tennis
Tuesday - Boys Varsity Baseball (for a little while)
Priority Girls Varsity II Basketball and Girls Varsity I Basketball
Wednesday - Intermediate Red Baseball
Thursday - JV Baseball (for a little while)
Priority - Girls Div II Water Polo and Girls Div I Water Polo
Friday - Intermediate Track at Kamehameha
Saturday - Girls JV/Var Track at Punahou

March 5-10, 2007 Recap

2007-03-11T12:16:00.000-10:00

On Tuesday, I covered the ILH opener in varsity baseball as the Raiders took on a strong Kamehameha team. The Warriors have been spoken of as favorites this year since they have their whole pitching staff back from last year's squad. The Raiders didn't back down an inch, though, and pulled out the win with a 5-4 score.

Wednesday, I saw the Intermediate Black Baseball team take on Punahou Blue. I believe it was 5-1 going into the last inning. I had to leave, figuring the game was pretty much over anyway. The Raiders then scored 5 in the last inning, winning a very exciting 6-5 game against the Puns!

Thursday, it was the JV Baseball team vs. Damien. This was a blowout that only got worse as the game went on. Final score, 10-0 for the Raiders when the mercy rule kicked in.

Friday, I covered the Intermediate Track and Field meet at Iolani. There are certainly a lot of Intermediates this year! We haven't been able to get through all the events yet, so the officials have been switching around the order in each event.

Saturday, it was over to Kamehameha. First, I covered the Intermediate Girls water polo team as they faced Pac-5. This, too, was a blowout, at least it was at the end of 3 quarters, when I left, with the score at 9-2.

I then walked 100 yards over to the track to cover the JV/Varsity track and field meet.

All these stories are covered at:

www.iolani-events.org

For all you track and field fans, you might want to take a look at my track and field and cross-country only website at

www.usatf-hi.org

I'm still looking for some team representatives to help with event stories. When I don't have anyone writing the story, I will mention it in my "events" story. When I write it, it will probably be pretty brief. I really want to concentrate on the photography and feel I can't do a good job on either when I need to do both. Please volunteer and help support your children's team. If you don't want to write the article, just take notes, and I'll write the article.

Thank you for your continued support.

Maui Track and Field Update

2007-03-11T11:51:00.000-10:00

March 10th Kiwanis Maui County Middle School Championships

Kailea Tracy-Visintainer, an 8th grader from Kamehameha Maui, finally beat Lea Lundblad after 17 tries in a super prep 400 meter race. Her time of 60.29 beat Lundblad's time of 62.41. The conditions on the the track were wet and rainy. The race was over before it began as Visintainer jumped out to an early lead in the first 200 meters that Lundblad just could not close. You would have to go back to 2001 to find the last time Lundblad was beaten on her home island. After the race Lundblad said that she will probably only run the 400 in a relay leg. Her main events are the 800 and 1500 meters. Visintainer now begins training for the USATF Nationals in Walnut California. Lundblad will now take a short rest and begin preparing for her freshman year in cross country.

Track News From Maui - 030407

2007-03-04T20:15:00.000-10:00

Yesterday, Kailea Tracy-Visintainer, an 8th grader from Kamehameha Maui, ran a 59.8 400 meters in a practice meet. Next weekend Kailea will run head to head with Lea Lundblad in the 400 for the county of Maui championships. This could be the quickest 400 meters ever run on Maui for Intermediates, as the time could dip under 59 seconds. Stay tuned.

Tentative Schedule 3/4/07-3/10/07

2007-03-04T16:29:00.000-10:00

My tentative schedule for this week is as follows:

Monday - Girls Varsity Tennis vs MPI at MPI (very tentative)

Tuesday - Varsity Baseball vs Kamehameha (may not stay the whole game), then State Championships in Poetry at St. Andrew's

Wednesday - Intermediate Black Baseball vs Punahou Blue

Thursday - JV Baseball vs Damien

Friday - Intermediate Track and Field at Iolani

Saturday - Girls Varsity Track and Field at Kamehameha

Iolani Does "High School Musical"

2007-03-01T16:51:00.000-10:00

The Iolani performing arts department is currently putting on "High School Musical" at Hawaii Theatre. I was fortunate enough to cover the final dress rehearsal on Wednesday. Shows are Thursday, Friday and Saturday night at 7pm. Friday and Saturday are already sold out. The last I knew, there were a few tickets left for Thursday. I loved the show! If you get a chance, don't miss it.

Tentative Schedule - 2/26/07 through 3/3/07

2007-02-25T12:09:00.000-10:00

The winter season state championships are almost complete. They are a lot of fun to cover, but also a tremendous amount of work. Covering about 4 softball, soccer or basketball games a day is a lot. And, this week it's wrestling. Wrestling is only 2 days, Friday and Saturday, but they tend to be very long days.

I do have a few days I can devote to Iolani events this week, and next week I hope to get back to complete Iolani coverage.

Monday - JV Baseball at Punahou
Tuesday - Boys Varsity Tennis
Wednesday - "High School Musical" - yes, I will be covering the dress rehearsal, so photos will be available
Thursday - Undecided, may not be able to cover anything due to "High School Musical"
Friday - Wrestling State Championships
Saturday - Wrestling State Championships

2007 HHSAA Boys Soccer State Championships

2007-02-18T08:23:00.000-10:00

After watching almost every game and every team in this tournament, I have a few observations.

First of all, Punahou is a fine and worthy champion. This is a team that you can never count out. In their first game, against Kealakehe, it was scoreless until Caton Smith found the back of the net at 56:00. Final score, 1-0.

In the quarterfinals, Punahou really showed what they were made of against KS-Maui. At 60:00, Kelii Dias of KS-Maui gave his team a 1-0 lead. This lead held up until 80:00, yes 80:00, when Christopher Walker tied it with a PK. The game went to overtime where John Cowen scored 2 minutes later. Final score, 2-1.

In the semi-finals, Punahou went up against Roosevelt. Roosevelt had pulled the upset of the tournament, beating a talented, powerful (but maybe overconfident?) Kapolei team, 4-1. Could the magic continue against Punahou? No, Punahou went on a scoring spree with the largest scoring total of their season. Final score, 10-1.

In the finals, Punahou would go up against an extremely fast and talented Kalani team. Kalani had beaten Kalaheo, 3-1, in the first round. In the quarters, Kalani beat fourth seeded Makua Lani in a closely contested game, 1-0. In the semis, it was a 2-0 win over Leilehua.

I like the Kalani team. It reminds me of the Iolani team - small, fast, smart, and good passing. I guess that's not surprising since the Kalani coach, Myles Arakawa, is a former Iolani coach who led the Raiders to championships in 1997 and 2000. I expected this to be a good, close game. And it was.

Kalani scored first, with the goal going to Carter Kam at 14:00. Punahou tied it up at 33:00 when Alessi Sia found the back of the net. Kalani answered at 55:00 when Danny Higa gave the Falcons the lead. Punahou's size, strength and depth was starting to take it's toll, though, and Deryck Lim tied it at 66:00. Then, in the last minute, Ben Strand won it for the Buffanblu.

This was a great final match between two talented teams. But, what I really liked about this matchup, was these teams had great attitudes. They never gave up and they played as a team.

And, what a great present to give retiring Punahou head coach, Bob Clague, who first won this tournament in 1976 and many times since then.

Great tournament!

HHSAA Girls Soccer State Championships 2007

2007-02-13T06:01:00.000-10:00

My congratulations to Kamehameha-Kapalama! This is a worthy champion. Their speed and skill was impressive and a joy to watch.

Also, to Pac-5, who won a double over time, shootout over Mid-Pacific for the Div II crown. What a game!

A few thoughts I had as I watched almost all of the games in this tournament:

1. This was another well run, fun tournament for all the participants.
2. There is quite a large difference between Div I and Div II. They play at a different speed.
3. As I watched all the Div I teams, I couldn't escape the nagging feeling that some of the best teams were left out of this tournament, specifically Punahou and Iolani. I watch the ILH all season and, without any stats to back me up, I can say that these teams were good enough to not only be in this tournament, they would have been somewhere near the top.

If you have scores of head-to-head matches between Punahou or Iolani and the teams that were in this state championship, please send them to me. I'm especially interested in the pre-season tournaments where there was a lot of league crossover. This topic will be the subject of a future article.

Also, if you have thoughts on the selection process for girls soccer, please email me. I know it is a difficult task to choose the teams fairly, but it seems to me that in girls soccer, at least, a little tweeking is in order.

Thank you.

HHSAA State Softball Champs Musings

2007-02-04T11:50:00.000-10:00

I love the idea of high school state championships. All the athletes I know strive to qualify for these tournaments. The athletes and teams that make it have to work hard and improve themselves. It's not easy to qualify and it's even harder to win.

A problem I've seen in the past is that I don't think the best teams are always in the tournament. I know this is very difficult to accomplish and it's a tough numbers game that sometimes leaves deserving teams out in the cold. Last year, I believe that happened in certain sports, volleyball, basketball and soccer immediately come to mind, but there are probably more that I'm just not too familiar with.

I really like the idea of the stronger leagues having a "play in" possibility to qualify where the team that just misses qualifying has a chance to make it by beating a team from another league who also has just missed. This is why the wildcard games in major league baseball were instituted. I like it and see that it's starting to happen in the HHSAA tournaments. This is a great trend and I hope it continues.

That said, and I am the first to admit I'm not an expert on softball, it seems to me that softball worked out really well this year. I saw many ILH games during the regular season and I spent about 6 hours a day at the HHSAA Championships this year, so I guess that either makes me a bit crazy and/or gives me a bit of background to say the results were accurate.

I'm really only talking about Division I because I really didn't see enough of Division II to comment (but I really like that Division II exists). The final results were Baldwin, Mililani, Iolani and St. Francis. I saw almost all of Iolani's games this year, know most of the girls, and have to say I'm totally biased in my thinking about them. I also saw St. Francis quite a bit. Mililani and Baldwin I hadn't seen at all until this tournament, although I heard that they were both powerhouses. And they were.

Both Mililani and Baldwin have outstanding pitchers which gave them the edge and the means to make the finals. All four teams have a strong defense and can hit. It's the pitchers, though, that in my opinion made the difference.

Baldwin has Nicole Alconcel and Mililani has Makani Duhaylonsod. I saw them both pitch a few games and they were awesome. I love Makani's changeup. Added to her power it really makes her tough. Nicole, what can I say, if I could pick one pitcher to build a team around, she'd be on the top of my list. Not only is she a great pitcher, she is an all around outstanding athlete and dynamite with the bat.

So, my kudos to the HHSAA for doing a great job with this tournament. Getting the right teams to vie for the championship and running a smooth tournament is not easy. Baldwin and Mililani are both super teams, they deserved to make the finals, and Baldwin is a very worth state champion.

HHSAA Softball Championships

2007-02-02T10:52:00.000-10:00

Sorry, loyal readers. I know I've been remiss in my blogging, but it's not because I'm on vacation. I've been at the HHSAA Softball Championships quite a bit, more on this later.

On Tuesday I was hoping to do boys paddling. I've had quite a few requests to cover paddling and I finally had a chance. Of course, the wind was bad on Tuesday and it got cancelled.

Wednesday and Thursday, I've been over at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium mainly covering our Lady Raiders but also doing and watching some other games. Our Raiders have been playing and looking like champs. They won the first game against Moanalua, 10-4, on Wednesday.
The girls are hitting well, defense has been superb, and the pitchers have been in control. I HOPE IT CONTINUES! Tonight we play Mililani at 8pm in the semi-finals. Please come out and support this team. If you absolutely can't make it, it will be televised on OC16.

Tentative Schedule - 1/29/07 - 2/4/07

2007-01-30T12:46:00.000-10:00

Monday - day off
Tuesday - Boy's Paddling
Wednesday through Saturday - I am covering the HHSAA State Championships in softball this week. If it turns out that I am free to cover an Iolani event, I will. But, it will be a last minute decision.

The Iolani Varsity Softball team's first game is Wednesday night (8pm) at the UH softball stadium. Please come to support this wonderful, fun to watch, team!

(Very) Tentative Schedule 1/22/07-1/28/07

2007-01-21T20:43:00.000-10:00

Monday - Boys Int Red Soccer vs Pac-5
Tuesday - JV Softball vs Kamehameha
Wednesday - Varsity Softball vs Sacred Hearts (last game of regular season)
Thursday - Int Girls Tennis vs Punahou (last match for ILH championship)
Friday - Boys Varsity Soccer vs Pac-5
Saturday -
Girls Varsity Soccer vs Kamehameha
Boys Int I Basketball vs Punahou (maybe a half, depends on soccer game)
Boys Varsity II Basketball vs WOL

Friday, Jan. 18, 2007 Update

2007-01-19T11:00:00.000-10:00

On Tuesday, I had the pleasure of seeing one of the best young softball pitchers in the ILH, if not the state. Keiki Carlos is a 7th grader on the Mid-Pacific Intermediate softball time. Wow! I was looking forward to a good, competitive game with our Intermediate Black team. Our Black team is solid. They played well all season and have a lot of talent. I was truly shocked to see them shut down the way they were. Keiki Carlos, a name to remember for all you softball fans. The final score, 8-1 for Mid-Pacific. The Owls truly deserve the Intermediate ILH Championship this year.

On Wednesday, it was the highly anticipated match up between the Iolani Varsity softball team and St. Francis. St. Francis was in first place with 2 losses, while Iolani was in second with 3 losses. A week ago, after Iolani had been dominated by Punahou, the prospects for a state berth looked bleak. But, after a rebound win over Kamehameha and an upset win by Punahou over St. Francis, Iolani was still hanging around. If the Raiders could somehow beat St. Francis, they would be in a tie for first. This was a huge game!

Raider pitcher, Kelly Imada, was on and kept the St. Francis batters off balance all day. And when they did connect (which they did a few times) for a good hit, the Raider outfield was able to run it down. And the Raider bats sizzled on this day, led by Jana Tokuhama who was 4-4. Final score was 7-0. This game certainly put me in a good mood! Thank you, girls.:)

By the way, this team will play Maryknoll on Saturday at CORP if you'd like to see them in person. If you can't make it out to CORP, the game will be televised with Bob Hogue behind the mike!

On Thursday, I moved over to Punahou to cover the Iolani JV Softball team as they played Punahou. The Raiders are having a superb season, only losing once, and currently atop the ILH JV ranks. The Puns are struggling, but Iolani-Punahou matches in any sport are almost always worth the price of admission, so I tend to give them priority when making my schedule.

The Raiders weren't totally sharp, as there were a few uncharacteristic errors, but they were up to the task, led by the superb hitting of Keli Umeda who hit with power and timeliness. Final score, 8-5, Raiders.

Monday 1/15/07 Update

2007-01-15T11:57:00.000-10:00

It was an up and down, busy time in Iolani photo land this past week.

On Monday, it was the always fun Intermediate Black vs Red Boys Soccer game. The weather was iffy at best. Off and on rain. Dark. I took photos from the comfort of the stands. The photos weren't too bad considering the conditions. The game, 1-1. Good game between two even teams. I was glad it ended in a tie.

On Tuesday, I revisited the Intermediate Black Softball team as they took on the stronger of the two Punahou teams, Punahou Blue. The Blacks earned an 8-6 win over a good team, setting up the biggest game of the season on Tuesday against Mid-Pac for the intermediate championship. Big game folks! I'll be there!

On Wednesday, the Varsity Softball team ran into a hot pitcher and fell to Punahou, 4-0. BUT, the Raiders bounced back to beat Kamehameha on Saturday to stay in the STATES race with St. Francis, who also lost to Punahou, who has become the hot team of late. This Wednesday the Lady Raiders get their chance against St. Francis at Kamamalu Park. Another huge game for the Lady Raiders!

On Thursday, I saw the Varsity Girls Soccer team fall to Punahou, 1-0 in a VERY physical game on a penalty shot. How physical? In my opinion, the Punahou team pushed past the limit of the rules. It seemed to these old eyes that at least some of the Punahou players were playing the body too much and not the ball. The violence in this game really took away from the beauty of the game. Tough loss.

On Friday, it was the Varsity Boys Soccer team's turn to take on Punahou. Both teams played well and within the rules. This was good soccer and fun to watch, but was marred by an injury (concussion) to goalie Scott Kawakami with a few minutes to go in the game. Punahou came away with the win, 2-1.

It was another marathon Saturday as it was back to Punahou to see the JV Boys Soccer team take on Punahou Gold. The Raiders had many chances in this one, especially in the first half, but had trouble finding the back of the net. Loss, 2-1.

Then it was back to Iolani to catch 3 basketball games in a row.

First, it was the Boys Intermediate Basketball team dominate Damien - 64-43. A really fun game to watch.

The Boys JV Basketball vs Punahou Gold was a great game, marred by a double technical and then a very scary injury (concussion) to Kainoa Chu. This team showed great character and grew a lot in this challenging game, winning 57-44, to break my personal losing streak vs Punahou. Thank you guys!

I had decided to see the Boys Varsity II Basketball vs Kamehameha game, rather than the one the previous night, as I expected Kamehameha to be a better team and capable of producing a great game with our Raiders. I was so right on this one! It went to overtime with the Raiders making clutch play after clutch play to win 44-40 in the first overtime period. I have to tell you, I was so exhausted by this point and then to face overtime! But, this was one great game and a big win for the Raiders!

Tentative Schedule 1/15/07-1/21/07

2007-01-15T11:39:00.000-10:00

Monday - Day Off
Tuesday - Intermediate Black Softball vs Mid-Pac - Intermediate Championship Game
Wednesday - Varsity Softball vs St. Francis - 2nd place vs 1st place - Biggest game of the season
Thursday - JV Softball vs Punahou (need I say more)
Friday - Boys Varsity Soccer vs St. Louis
Saturday - undecided at this time as I want to see what happens in a few events during the week, but I will shoot for at least the Girls Varsity soccer game vs Punahou and the Boys Varsity Basketball game vs Punahou

Iolani Intermediate Black Softball

2007-01-10T13:49:00.000-10:00

Last Thursday, the Intermediate Black Softball team beat the Punahou Gold team, 32-0. Yes, 32-0, that's not a typo. Punahou divides their intermediate softball teams by ability. I understand the thinking, I guess, but these blowouts are not very good for either team.

Anyway, yesterday at Punahou School, the Black team faced the Punahou Blue team, the stronger Punahou team. I expected a much better game and it was, with the Iolani team winning 9-6. Iolani Black now has one tie and one loss. Mid-Pacific has one tie and has been the class of the league this year. I hear they have some superb pitching.

On Tuesday, 1/16, the Blacks will take on MPI for the championship at Ala Wai field. Should be an excellent game.

Which brings me to Kimberly Souza. Kimberly is the catcher on the Black team. She has a real cannon for an arm and is having an astoundingly good season with the bat. I don't know what her stats are, but in the games I've seen, she has come through in the clutch so many times that I really hope there is someone on base when she's up. And, there has been. I wonder if anyone keeps records for RBI's at the intermediate level. Kimberly's got to be in the running!

Tentative Schedule - 1/8/07 through 1/14/07

2007-01-08T07:42:00.000-10:00

Monday - Boys Int Soccer - Black vs Red
Tuesday - Int Black Softball vs Punahou Blue
Wednesday - Varsity Softball vs Punahou
Thursday - Girls Varsity Soccer vs Punahou
Friday - Boys Varsity Soccer vs Punahou
Saturday - Boys Basketball - Int1, JV, VarII

Saturday, Jan. 6, 2007 Update

2007-01-06T10:16:00.000-10:00

I will not be making the girls varsity softball game today or the varsity II boys basketball game. There are just too many things on my plate this weekend. I will try to do both intermediate boys basketball games and possibly part of the JV basketball game. I will be attending the advanced theatre performance tonight. I wish I could cover everything but there just is no way.

There is also diving, swimming, wrestling and a big JV boys soccer game that isn't even on my list. I'm sorry.

I did want to show you a photo I took yesterday at the Iolani girls varsity soccer game. This is from about 50 yards away!

I was able to get the compressed ball in a few volleyball shots this year. I "sort of" got one in softball. This is the first time I've been able to do it with soccer. Soccer is particularly difficult because your subject is usually pretty far away. To get the timing and focus just right is particularly satisfying.

New Year's Update!

2007-01-01T15:51:00.000-10:00

Last Wednesday, I caught the varsity boys basketball team at the Merv Lopes Basketball tournament at King Armory. The Raiders played El Toro who went out to a big lead, but the Raiders never gave up and took the lead going into the last few minutes. Unfortunately, the last few minutes didn't go our way which resulted in a 55-52 loss. King Armory has a nice basketball court but the lights, ugh... definitely not designed with non-flash photography in mind.

On Thursday, it was over to Kapiolani Park to see our Intermediate Red Boys Soccer team face Punahou Gold. This was a good game between 2 evenly matched teams. One defensive breakdown cost us the game as Punahou took it, 1-0.

On Friday and Saturday, it was time for boys wrestling at the Iolani Invitational Wrestling Tournament. There were 20 teams involved, some from the mainland, some from the ILH, and a bunch from the OIA. Ponderosa beat Rim of the World in the finals. Punahou beat Iolani for 3rd place. Our Raiders showed, though, that they could compete with the mainland teams, losing to Rim of the World in a very close match. I took 3000 photos of this tournament! Please take a look.

Since it's the new year, I thought it would be a good idea to talk about some business issues since I'm adding new clients all the time.

1. When I put up a new gallery, I set the prices lower for the first 2 weeks.

2. In addition to offering all size photos, I also offer digital downloads, collages, premium collages, team collages, posters, magazine covers and photo cards. If you are interested or have any questions about these products, just email me.

3. If you know you are going to want a collage (individual or team), please let me know as early as possible so I can be sure to collect the photos that I need before the season ends.

4. My schedule: this subject probably evokes the most questions of anything. Right now I am trying to get to every Iolani winter season team at least once. After that first time, I try to gauge the interest shown by the team. I can do this by visits to the gallery, actual sales, emails and product orders. If the interest is high, that team will get extra consideration when I need to choose between multiple events.

5. If you are interested in having me cover your child, let me know before it happens so I can look for him/her. If I have no previous instructions, I just try to cover the action plus get one or two photos of everyone. Having previous instructions definitely makes a difference. Although I mostly cover athletic events, I also have covered other Iolani events (also some not having anything to do with Iolani), especially in performing arts, but I am open to anything where photography is possible.

Tentative Schedule - 1/1/07 through 1/7/07

2007-01-01T15:11:00.000-10:00

Wednesday - Boys Varsity Soccer
Thursday - Int Black Softball
Friday - Girls Varsity Soccer
Saturday - This day is loaded. My priorities will be:

boys int 2 basketball, boys int 1 basketball, boys varsity II basketball

events that would be nice to do would be varsity softball before everything else starts - depends how much energy I have! Looks like I'll have to pass on boys jv soccer and diving. I might be able to do some of the boys JV basketball game, but since I've done 2 games for them already, that's where I will take a break if I need one.

Christmas Eve Update

2006-12-24T15:25:00.000-10:00

Hi all,

Even though school is out, most of the athletic teams are still out there competing. On Tuesday, I went to the Intermediate Red Softball game vs. Kamehameha White. Our red team is made of mostly 7th graders, some of whom have never played the game before this year. The Kamehameha team was big, strong and experienced. This was a recipe for a blowout, but it didn't happen as our Lady Raiders refused to give up and kept it pretty close for a 4-1 loss.

Wednesday, it was our JV Boys soccer team vs. Punahou Gold. I knew our JV team was good and I expected the Punahou Gold team to be good, and I was right. This was a super game, maybe not if you want to see lots of goals, but if you want to see good soccer this is your type of game. The Raiders dominated the first half but could only score 1 goal. The Puns dominated the second half but could only score 1 goal. Great game. 1-1 tie.

On Thursday, I had planned to see the Boys Intermediate Red soccer team play the Punahou Blue team. But, I ended up driving around so much that day it made more sense to cover the Boys JV Basketball game at the Kalaheo Tournament. Sorry Reds, I'll try to make it up to you. The basketball game ended up being sort of a downer as our JV's had one of those flat nights. It might have had something to do with the fact that Mililani was a real tough team. Mililani took that game, 56-46.

Friday was the opener for the Boys Varsity Soccer team. The opponent was MPI who they had beat handily in the preseason. MPI, though, made a huge adjustment by going into a defensive shell. This made it tough to score but the Raiders figured out a way to win it, 1-0.

Saturday I went back to the Kalaheo Basketball tournament. I heard they played much better on Friday for a win against Radford. On Saturday, they were a completely different team than Thursday. They were intense, they hit their shots, they had lots of steals and breakaways - they were very, very good. Chalk up a big 54-33 win over Punahou Blue.

Tentative Schedule 12/25/06 - 12/31/06

2006-12-24T15:13:00.000-10:00

Wednesday - Varsity Boys Basketball at Merv Lopes Tournament
Thursday - Girls Intermediate Tennis vs JV's
Friday - Iolani Wrestling Tournament
Saturday - Iolani Wrestling Tournament

Monday 12/18/06 Update

2006-12-18T17:25:00.000-10:00

I did five events this past Friday and Saturday. Friday afternoon it was the big Iolani-Punahou intermediate boys tennis match. Every year it seems to come down to these 2 schools (same on the girls side), so this was a big match. It was very close, as usual, but Punahou pulled the match out with a 3-2 win.

Friday night, it was a short drive over to St. Andrew's Cathedral, where the Iolani Chorus and Hokuloa Singers were giving a Winter Concert. If you've never been to one of these, you are really missing a great show. This year, director John Alexander worked in the harp mastery of Melody Lindsay which made for a an extra special show.

Saturday was a very busy day. First, it was over to Crane Park for the Varsity Softball game against Sacred Hearts. The varsity lost their first game of the season previously this week, so this was an important game if we were to regain the early season momentum. It turned out to be a very good game and a 7-4 win for the Lady Raiders.

I had to leave the softball game after the 5th inning to hustle over to Iolani for the varsity girls soccer game against Pac-5. This was the first game of the regular season for the varsity so I was very excited about seeing how they looked this year. They look good! They completely dominated and earned a 3-1 victory.

Saturday night, I moseyed over to Punahou for the ILH Cheerleading competition. The schools competing were Kamehameha, Punahou, Iolani and Word of Life. Iolani had a varsity and JV team entered in the competition. Kamehameha really dominates in cheerleading and they did again. I couldn't stay to see the official results but I know that Kamehameha won. Punahou had a pretty difficult routine but had a lot of trouble executing. Iolani's routine was less difficult, but to this untrained eye, I thought they executed it close to perfect, so I wouldn't be surprised if Iolani placed second. My guess is that Word of Life placed fourth.

Cheerleading has evolved into a combination of gymnastics and modern dance. Our cheerleaders don't get a lot of fan support which is a shame. Their next match is at Kamehameha, January 8 at 6pm. I recommend attending if you can.

Tentative Schedule - 12/18/06 through 12/24/06

2006-12-18T17:15:00.000-10:00

Monday - day off
Tuesday - Probably Int Red Softball vs Kamehameha White
Wednesday - Boys JV Soccer vs Punahou Gold
Thursday - Boys Int Red Soccer vs Punahou Blue
Friday - Boys Varsity Soccer vs MPI
Saturday - day off

Friday update - 12/15/06

2006-12-15T11:44:00.000-10:00

Monday it was intermediate tennis as the Lady Raiders took on University. University is just starting with tennis this year, as is Island Pacific who was the opponent on Thursday. Both matches were not competitive as the Lady Raiders sat down some of their starters and still won convincingly. It was 5-0 and 5-0 for the Lady Raiders.

Tuesday it was an all Iolani softball game as the Intermediate Blacks took on the Reds. The Reds are made up of mostly 7th graders, while the Blacks are mostly 8th graders. The Blacks are one of the better teams in the league this year. I was hoping the Reds could make a game of it but the Blacks went out to a 10-0 lead before Nani Tanaguchi hit a booming 2 run home run to at least avoid a shutout.

Wednesday, I had a chance to start up with soccer after about a 6 week layoff. The JV boys team took on a good St. Louis team. Both teams showed great intensity with the Raiders holding an advantage in field position and ball control. This eventually paid off in a 2-0 win.

Thursday it was a chance to see the Intermediate Boys Black soccer team in action as they took on a strong Pac-5 Brown team. The Raiders were able to maintain a ball control advantage in the first half, but one defensive lapse cost the Raiders a goal. The half ended at 1-0, Pac-5.

The second half was tighter as Pac-5 seemed to be gaining momentum. It was still close but it was Pac-5, again, that hit pay dirt. The Raiders couldn't get their offense going as multiple offside penalties conspired to limit the scoring opportunities. It ended 2-0 in favor of Pac-5.

Tentative Schedule - 12/11/06 through 12/16/06

2006-12-09T11:14:00.000-10:00

Monday - Girls Intermediate Tennis vs University
Tuesday - Intermediate Softball - Iolani Red vs Black
Wednesday - Boys JV Soccer vs St. Louis
Thursday - Boys Intermediate Black Soccer vs Pac 5 Brown
Friday - Boys Intermediate Tennis vs Punahou, Chorus and Hokuloa Christmas Concert at St. Andrew's
Saturday - Varsity Softball vs Sacred Hearts, Girls Varsity Soccer vs Pac-5, Varsity Cheerleading

This week the regular season starts up for soccer, so I will have another sport competing for my time. I will be giving soccer a lot of priority in the next few weeks because this is the time where soccer starts, but basketball hasn't started yet. Softball and tennis have had the stage pretty much to themselves so far. The regular season for basketball will start right after the new year. At that time, I will give priority to basketball, with soccer also getting a lot of attention. I hope to have everything even out by the end of the season, at least that is my goal. Please realize that there are lots of activities competing for my time, not least of which, family responsibilities. I will try to keep things as fair as possible.

I will be doing the Iolani Wrestling tournament at the end of the year, but I will NOT be doing the Iolani Classic. I wanted to do the Iolani Classic and actually thought I would be able to, but there was a mix up in communication and it turns out that it's not going to happen. I'm very sorry.

Another fun week!

2006-12-09T10:30:00.000-10:00

It was another mostly softball week for this photographer with one tennis match on Thursday.

On Tuesday, the Iolani Intermediate Red Softball team took on a big, tough St. Francis team. I have a great sequence of "contact softball" on my Iolani Events website if you want to take a look. St. Francis was too much for the younger of the two Intermediate teams on this day as they won with a 5-1 score.

On Wednesday, I had a chance to see the Varsity Softball team play again and jumped at the opportunity. This time it was against a very sharp Pac-5 team who I believe was also undefeated going into the game. Both teams were on their game defensively, as superb play after play kept the game scoreless all the way until the 5th. The Lady Raiders then caught fire and were able to win 4-1, but this was really a hard-fought, nail-biter type win.

Thursday, it was off to Mid-Pacific to see the Girls Intermediate Tennis team see if they could keep their win streak going. This match wasn't going to be easy as 3 starters had other school commitments that kept them from the match. Coach Allison did some major juggling which, in the end, worked out well. But this victory was far from easy. The final score was 3-1 with the 3rd doubles match having to be called due to darkness.

Friday it was time to pay another visit to our friends up the road, Punahou, for a JV Softball game. Last Saturday I saw our varsity pull out a 3-1 victory over the Puns. I certainly wanted to see a repeat but I knew it wouldn't be easy. As it turned out, the Lady Raiders, playing in the cold, dark and blustery conditions, matched the varsity with their own 3-1 victory. The field had both sun and shade almost throughout the whole game which made it tough for photography. But, the girls provided plenty of good material for some spectacular shots with many good slides, steals, and good defensive plays.

Saturday I was planning on going to the Intermediate Basketball Tournament at Punahou, but I decided that since it was still preseason, and I had so much other work to catch up on, I would have to miss it.

I'll be back with a tentative schedule for next week later.

A great end to a super softball week!

2006-12-03T12:14:00.000-10:00

I covered 5 Iolani softball games and one tennis match this week. ALL WINS!

First it was the girls intermediate tennis match vs. Maryknoll. 5-0
On Tuesday it was the Int Red softball team vs. Sacred Hearts. 12-6
Wednesday it was the Varsity softball team at MPI. 6-0
Thursday it was over to Kamamala Park for the Int Black softball team vs. St. Francis. 6-3
Friday, the JV team also played St. Francis. 9-0

And, on Saturday, it was the biggie. Our varsity vs. Punahou. All Punahou matches are big. This one, for early bragging rights, looked like it was going to wind up in the Punahou column. The Puns led almost throughout the whole game. But, after Iolani tied it at 1-1, the Lady Raiders came up with 2 huge runs to steal the game in the last inning.

I know all weeks won't be as sweet as this one was, but please let me savor it for a day or two!

A few photos from the varsity game:

Tentative Schedule 12/4/06 - 12/10/06

2006-12-03T12:08:00.000-10:00

A word about my scheduling just so you know what I'm thinking. I know I've been giving priority to softball and I will be giving softball priority again this week. The softball games are regular season games, so even though soccer and basketball are starting up, I understand their games to be pre-season. My philosophy is to give regular season games priority even if I'm neglecting other teams I haven't covered. Once the regular seasons start I will give priority to teams I haven't covered as much, so I hope it evens out as much as possible.

This week:

Monday - day off
Tuesday - Int Red Softball
Wednesday - Varsity Softball
Thursday - Girls Int Tennis
Friday - JV Softball vs Punahou
Saturday - Tentatively the Intermediate Basketball Tournament at Punahou

Report from Footlocker - 2

2006-12-02T09:29:00.000-10:00

Hi All,

December 2nd Saturday

Well the big day has finally arrived. There are kids from all over the western United States here. Last night a bus with 60 runners showed up from Idaho. It was really noisy up until 10 Pm and then it got really quite. I guess that was lights out. We got up this morning at 5:45 AM uhhhhhhh. Really, who wants to get up and go to one of the biggest races in the west at 5:45? Not me! My race was at 7:05 am. It was still dark out!!!!. We arrived and oh my god, I was nervous. I was in many layers. My running jersey, my Nike lycra top, my Footlocker t-shirt, and my light warm up jacket. And I was still freezing! I had a hard time tying my shoes because I couldn't feel my hands. They had a huge jumbo screen showing highlights from past years and music playing the Olympic Anthem. The music was very inspirational. The TV guys had set up platforms all over the course so you could watch it live on the Internet. There were already hundreds of runners warming up for their races. There are always two races going at once and one more lining up to start. These Mt. SAC guys are GOOD!! At 7:00am the race officials informed us they were going to run the boys with the girls because there were not enough of us girls. I hate that because its hard to tell where you are. And some of these boys with long hair made it hard telling who's who, no offense. I lined up next to Tiffany Heflin (last year's winner). The gun went off and we were gone. It was a real fast start. I passed the half mile in 2:43, Tiffany was 2:35 and gone. Hit the mile at 5:54 but Tiffany was already way ahead. Her mile split was 5:35. A lot of California girls are running that fast. I really wanted to see Jordan Hassey's start but we would have had to wait two hours for the girls seeded race. But we wanted to go to Universal Studios. Actually I'm going right now. I'd like to give a huge THANK YOU to Al Linsky for this awesome blog and beautiful photos. Also Valley Isle Road Runners, for all their support, and help getting me to this race. This was a very important learning experience and I'm looking forward to coming back and medaling.

Lea

Report from Footlocker!

2006-12-01T12:05:00.000-10:00

Lea Lundblad will be competing at Footlocker. She will be sending me a journal of her experiences. Here is the first installment:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi All,

We are sitting here at the airport waiting for our flight. This is my third flight I have taken this cross country season. It’s been a long season. I started training in July and here it is almost December. American Airlines arranged for me to have three seats to myself so I can sleep. I say FLY AMERICAN AIRLINES!!!! They are really nice. Going on these trips takes a lot of planning. My dad got me a new Asics uniform but the shop on Maui could not get Seabury printed on the front in time so my dad sent it to CBS studios in Hollywood. My dad’s brother (Uncle Roger) is in charge of set designs for the studio and they are having it printed and then dropped off

at our hotel. I thought that was cool. We are here. We knew we were in LA because two cars almost got in a wreck right in front of us.

It’s Friday the 1st of December. We just walked the course and picked up my race number. Wow, Mt Sac. is really cool. There are even TV stations setting up to film the race. We met Doug Todd who is the race director. He asked me to come back next year. Well we are going back to the hotel to rest and get ready for the big day. More later. Lea

Iolani Varsity Softball Opener A Good One!

2006-11-30T10:48:00.000-10:00

The Iolani varsity softball team opened the season with a strong performance against MPI at the immaculate MPI field. I've never shot a game at the MPI field but I have to tell you, this is one great field for not only the players, but for the photographer. Usually I shoot from on the field and I did take quite a few from the field. But, there were some real interesting locations on the hills surrounding the field that in some ways were better than being on the field.

The game? 6-0. Iolani's offense and defense were clicking. For a detailed rundown of the game, please visit the Iolani Events website.

It's Softball Season!

2006-11-29T09:20:00.000-10:00

Yesterday our Intermediate Red Softball Team (pretty much all 7th graders) beat Sacred Hearts, 12-6. It was an exciting game with many lead changes, lots of errors, lots of passed balls, lots of hit batters, lots of stolen bases, a bunch of singles and a few towering triples. To summarize, there wasn't a lot of defense on either team, but it was still fun!

I always am asked what my favorite sport is to photograph. It's a tough question because I really enjoy every sport I shoot. One thing I really get a kick out of is producing a "Sports Illustrated" quality photo. This means that the indoor, low light sports have a big disadvantage. I don't believe in using a flash during athletic contests. It is too disruptive and has the potential to affect the game. I do have the needed quality equipment to still be able to cover the indoor sports, but there are lots of hoops I need to go through to get an acceptable product.

The sport that probably has the most opportunities for fabulous photos is soccer. The light is usually very good and the action is continuous. With a long lens (I use a 140mm-420mm zoom) I can pretty much cover the whole field. A close second to soccer would be water polo (during daylight). This makes sense as water polo is very similar to soccer in a lot of ways.

Which sport is the most challenging? In my opinion, it is softball/baseball. The really great shots in softball or baseball are spectacular plays made by the defense. It is very difficult to get a great shot by just following the ball. You need to anticipate the play. So, if there are no outs or 1 out, and a man on first that can run, what do you get ready for? You either focus on first for a pickoff throw to first, or on second for the steal. There is lots of guesswork but when you guess right, the payoff is big. I need to really be on my toes, always thinking, to have a good day doing softball!

Football has some of the same characteristics as softball.

The hardest sport to photograph is probably indoor volleyball. The light is usually poor. The action is fast and somewhat unpredictable. Another very difficult sport is judo. This is one of the fastest sports I cover, the light is also poor, and the participants have their head looking down almost continuously. Very tough!

Every sport has it's idiosyncrasies. It's fun figuring them out!

To see more photos from yesterday's game, please visit my Smugmug galleries.

Girls Intermediate Tennis Continues To Roll!

2006-11-28T08:59:00.000-10:00

On Monday, at the Iolani tennis complex, the girls intermediate tennis team showed their depth and strength in a different way. For varying reasons, 4 starters were not available to play. With most teams this would be a recipe for disaster. But for this team, Coach Alison has a lot of options. She moved the girls around and STILL won the match 5-0 with the only contest being truly competitive at 1st singles. Next up, Mid-Pacific Institute.

Tentative Schedule 11/27/06-12/3/06

2006-11-25T08:37:00.000-10:00

Monday - Intermediate Girls Tennis
Tuesday - Intermediate Red Softball
Wednesday - Varsity Softball
Thursday - Intermediate Black Softball
Friday - JV Softball
Saturday - Varsity Softball vs Punahou and Hokuloa at Ward Center

Iolani Intermediate Boys Tennis Also Very Strong!

2006-11-22T09:06:00.000-10:00

After being impressed by the 2006 edition of the Iolani Girls Intermediate Tennis team, I was curious to see what the boys team looks like. Like the girls, the boys are defending ILH champions. I'm happy to report, that like the girls, the boys look deeper and better than last year. Maryknoll's team was admittedly weak (5-0 in less than an hour!), but it was obvious that Iolani has talent up and down the lineup. Yes, it's only the first match of the season but the possibility for a sweep from both the boys and girls is there.

Punahou tends to be the largest challenge and I'm sure they'll be there with their usual excellent team. And, of course, with tennis you only need a few top players to turn a program around, so there is always the chance that someone else will be able to challenge this year.

Next match is Tuesday vs Le Jardin, at Iolani, 4pm.

Repeat for Iolani Girls Intermediate Tennis?

2006-11-21T13:30:00.000-10:00

Last year the girls intermediate tennis team went undefeated, beating arch rival Punahou, twice, to win the ILH crown. It wasn't easy, though, as Punahou was as deep as Iolani. Every match was close, and the finals came down to a tie-breaker between two 1st singles players that refused to lose.

And, that last match lasted 2 days as the overall score was tied at 2-2, the first singles match was just starting a tiebreaker, and the skies opened up.

Just think about it - 2 intermediate tennis players going to sleep with the knowledge that the next day they would play a tiebreaker to decide the ILH champion. Talk about drama!

This year the Iolani team looks deeper and better to this observer's eyes. Yesterday was the first match of the year against an over matched Kamehameha team. Usually the intermediate crown goes to either Iolani or Punahou. I haven't seen Punahou this season yet. You can pretty well count on Punahou to be there at the end, but it only takes a few players to join a team to change the landscape so maybe there will be more teams in the race at the end this year.

HHSAA State Championship XC Photos Now Available!

2006-11-17T15:31:00.000-10:00

Concerning photography for the State Champs in XC, this is what I know.

1. I was told I couldn't cover the meet as there was an exclusive contract with another photographer.

2. I thought that photographer was Rebelshots, but the evidence points to the fact that they have closed down.

3. One of Rebelshots' ex-employees covered the volleyball matches.

4. I don't know why, but no one covered the State Champs in XC.

When I found out that no one covered the XC meet, I contacted the HHSAA and let them know that although I didn't cover the States like I usually do, since I was only taking photos for my personal use, my school and my websites, I do have some photos. I concentrated on Iolani (both boys and girls), the leaders (I'm guessing maybe the top 20, maybe more), and the awards ceremony. I have been given permission to put up my photos in galleries and offer them for sale.

I am treating these photos like any other. They are the same prices and I will offer the same lower prices for the first 2 weeks, starting today.

I will also offer collages and posters. Posters could be really good for my OIA or outer-island friends since I may only have one good photo of your athlete.

To see some sample posters, please visit http://coach-al.smugmug.com/gallery/1920821

To see sample collages, please visit http://coach-al.smugmug.com/gallery/1335567

To visit the photo galleries, please visit http://coach-al.smugmug.com/ILH%20Cross-Country%202006

Thank you for your support.

Coach Al

Tentative Schedule - 11/20-11/26

2006-11-17T12:29:00.000-10:00

Monday - Girls Intermediate Tennis
Tuesday - Boys Intermediate Tennis

XC States 2007 - Girls Top 10 Prediction

2006-11-17T06:10:00.000-10:00

Predicting the top 10 girls at next year's state championships is fraught with danger. 1 year is a long time for an injury to occur, interest to wane or gain, a new athlete to appear, coaches to improve or mess someone up. Please keep in mind that I'm no expert. I just happen to attend every (ILH) XC meet every year and really LOOK at everyone. Tends to happen when you are taking their picture. I have drawn heavily on the results from States but have made some adjustments based on my own observations. These are totally my thoughts and I certainly know that I'm going to miss some kids and not be aware of certain important situations. So, without further ado...

Thoughts I'm working with:

There were 8 seniors in the top 25 at States in 2006.

Julie had a relatively injury free but busy season. She did have a hamstring problem but it wasn't major. She performed consistently at a high level throughout the season.

Kristin Ali Keith - great young runner.

Jenna Wong - much improved. Has not reached her potential yet. A great future is in store.

Malia Kagawa - Just gets better and better. Will be a senior next year. Will be in the mix at the top.

Hailey Grossman - Only 9th grade. Had a good race at States.

Haley Abing - Was sick the 2nd half of the season but still ran tough. If healthy she could have won it all this year. She is my favorite for next year.

Kristi Torkildson - Good solid runner.

Farrah Manaday - Got better as the season went on. Will continue to improve.

Dayna Domingo - The few times I've seen her I was impressed.

Dara Pagaduan - A mainstay for Kamehameha.

Katie Pellitteri - Sustained a pretty serious injury in the middle of the season that cost her 3 weeks of training. She did everything she could to rehabilitate but couldn't quite get back to challenging at the top. She will come back and be in the mix.

Cheyane Kamai and Emma Broderick - will team with Dara to form strong core for Kamehameha.

Keilani Wasson - I like how she runs. Should have a better season in her senior year.

Amanda Tamanaha - Ran sick at States. Unlucky timing. She would have done pretty well if healthy. She's young, good and tough.

Lea Lundblad - only an 8th grader but could be the best female runner to come out of Hawaii, since, well - Lauren Ho. That wasn't so long ago was it? The only question I have with Lea is can she be as good at 3 miles as she is in the 800 and 1500 and 2 miles? I think I know the answer, but I haven't seen her at this distance yet. She has awesome sprinter speed when she needs it. She will challenge for the top in 2007.

My prediction (guess) for top 10 for States in 2007:

1. Haley Abing
2. Julie Besenbruch
3. Lea Lundblad
4. Kristin Ali Keith
5. Jenna Wong
6. Katie Pellitteri
7. Kristi Torkildson
8. Farrah Manaday
9. Malia Kagawa
10. Amanda Tamanaha

As always, I'm interested in your thoughts. Comments are welcome, especially if I missed someone.

Crowd Wanted!

2006-11-14T20:34:00.000-10:00

The Iolani boys varsity water polo team is playing Punahou at 6pm, Thursday, November 16 at Kamehameha Schools pool. Iolani beat Punahou 8-6 this past Friday. We need to do it again. Please come and support the team!

XC State Championships - Boys

2006-11-13T09:36:00.000-10:00

So how did I do with my boy's predictions? I had predicted:

1. Leilehua or Kamehameha (Oahu)
3. Iolani
4. Punahou
5. Baldwin
6. Seabury Hall

The actual results were:

1. Kamehameha (Oahu)
2. Leilehua
3. Iolani
4. Honokaa
5. Punahou
6. Seabury Hall

So, I nailed the top 3 (like I did on the girls side), I missed on Honokaa totally at 4th, Punahou was 5th instead of 4th, Seabury Hall was 6th. Baldwin slipped all the way to 10th. Next year I need to follow the outer islands more closely but I am proud of my record. (I sure am lucky, who said that?)

As for next year, this is how it looks to me. Please keep in mind that I'm more familiar with the girls side. That tends to happen when you have 2 daughters running!

Kamehameha (Oahu) loses 3 seniors, but with the size of their program, they should be able to reload. May not win next year, but will still be a top team.

Leilehua - next year should be Leilehua's year. They have the best male runner in the state in Bryce Jenkins and he's only in 10th grade. They only lose one senior and he wasn't in the top 5. Leilehua is the favorite for 2007.

Iolani - Iolani loses 2 seniors, including Kon Weber. That is a huge loss, but the program at Iolani is large and well run. They will find replacements and still be in the top few.

Honokaa - Honokaa will sustain major damage as they lose 3 seniors, 2 of their top 3. I don't know much about this program but they will need a good pipeline to maintain their strong showing from 2006.

Punahou - Punahou only loses one senior. They should be better next year.

Seabury - Seabury loses their 1, 3 and 6 runners. They are pretty much in the same situation as Honokaa.

Radford - Radford only had 5 runners and they are losing their top runner so the pipeline better be strong or their visit to the top 10 will be short-lived.

HBA - Matthew Nakamoto is only in 10th grade. He came on like gang busters this year and should be a good foundation for HBA to build on. They lose Spencer Sutherland, but HBA is an improving program. My personal theory is that having someone like Lauren Ho at HBA attracted more kids to the program and although Lauren is now running at the college level, the program continues to reap benefits from her wonderful career.

Kaiser - Loses 3 seniors.

Baldwin - Loses 4 seniors. It will be a challenging year for Baldwin.

The 3 runners pictured on this page are Bryce Jenkins (16:23), Mac Crommett (16:40) and Kon Weber (16:41).

XC State Championships - Girls

2006-11-12T12:06:00.000-10:00

Predicting the team finishes in a State Championship is only for fun. If I saw all the athletes as much as I see the ILH athletes, I'm sure I could do better. But, hey, I think I did pretty well.

The order I predicted was:

1. Punahou
2. Kamehameha-Kapalama
3. Iolani
4. Seabury
5. Maryknoll
6. Leilehua

I had the top 3 right - Punahou, Kamehameha and Iolani. Mililani was fourth, then Hawaii Prep and Kamehameha of the Big Island.

Seabury Hall was 7th so I messed up pretty well with them. My "sources" tell me that Seabury Hall had a bad day, that everyone but Hailey Grossman for various reasons, didn't run as well as they were expecting. It happens. The CORP course is tougher than it looks.

Mililani was fourth. That was one I should have been more accurate with. Yes, they are OIA, certainly not my specialty, but I probably know more about Mililani than any other OIA schools.

Hawaii Prep at fifth? I plead ignorance. Same with Kamehameha, Hawaii. I just don't follow the outer islands as well as I'd like to.

I was surprised at Leilehua's eighth place finish. They impressed me at the OIA Championships. Unfortunately, Leilehua was heavy with seniors so this might have been the year they had to do it. Maybe they have some youngsters coming up?

So what about next year? This is where it gets real interesting.

Punahou - will still be the team to beat. They will lose 3 seniors from this year's championship team, but they are loaded with girls to move up. Their JV team would have done very well in this meet. Beware of Punahou!

Kamehameha - They don't lose anyone. Lots of Juniors. Next year will be a big year for Kamehameha, Oahu.

Iolani - Loses 3 seniors but the top 4 runners are all 9th and 10th graders, and the pipeline is full. Iolani will be stronger next year and could challenge for the top.

Maryknoll - If the HHSAA let Haley run for Maryknoll in the States, Maryknoll would challenge for the top spot. But even without Haley next year, they will add a few 9th graders that will help them a lot. I'd like to see this situation resolved. Seems to me that the ILH and HHSAA rules need to be consistent. Personally, I'd like to see Haley be able to run for whatever team she runs for in the ILH. Messy situation that makes it hard to handicap Maryknoll. Having a team that has the #1 and #2 runners in the state (in my opinion) not being able to compete in states is a very strange (and sad) situation.

Mililani loses 3 seniors but their pipeline is deep, as always. They will remain near the top.

Hawaii Prep - time to rebuild. They are loaded with seniors. I don't know what their pipeline looks like.

Seabury Hall - Seabury loses a few seniors, BUT, Seabury is a school to watch. Lea Lundblad (currently 8th grade) will challenge Julie for the top spot next year. I've also heard Seabury will be getting some top transfers that will help them. Seabury should be much stronger next year.

The 4 runners pictured on this page are Julie Besenbruch (19:27), Kristin Ali Keith (19:53), Chelsea Smith-Wish (19:56) and Lea Lundblad winning at the Iolani Invitational at Kualoa earlier in the season.

As always, comments are always welcome.

Another Big Win For Iolani Varsity Boys Water Polo!

2006-11-12T11:40:00.000-10:00

This past Friday night, at Kamehameha Schools pool, the Iolani Boys Varsity Water Polo team had a chance to win a big tournament. To do that they needed to get by Punahou. Lately, actually it seems like its almost always that way, Punahou has been the roadblock. And this season the Punahou teams have had the upper hand.

But, on this night, the Raiders had the answers. Punahou started out fast, moving quickly to a 2-0 lead. But the Raiders' defense tightened, the shots started going in and the game got interesting. The Raiders tied it at 3-3, but were behind 5-3 at the half.

The second half, though, belonged to the Raiders as they outscored Punahou 5-1 to gain a hard-fought win, 8-6. We need to do it once more. Thursday night at Kamehameha for the ILH Championship.

For more photos of this game, please visit my Smugmug gallery.

Thank you for your support!

2006-11-12T11:06:00.000-10:00

Ever since the XC State Championships have ended, I've been receiving emails from angry supporters about the lack of photographic coverage. I tried to get the message out before the meet so everyone would be aware that I wouldn't be covering States, but it's hard to reach everyone.

This is the story. The HHSAA "owns" the state championships in Hawaii. As such, it is their right to control anything that generates revenue having to do with those championships. Photography is one of those activities. The HHSAA has decided they want to deal with only one photographer to cover all the State Championships. I understand that decision as it makes it easier to run a very complicated business. Of course, I don't like it, but I understand it.

For cross-country, what that means is the coverage was provided by someone who (as far as I know) hasn't covered ANY cross-country this year. If you go to this photographer's site (please don't ask me for a link because I don't feel like providing any free advertising for him), you will see that he doesn't even have a category for cross-country. It has now been a few days since the meet has ended. As you all know, I would have had all the photos up long ago. Actually, for a morning meet I would have had them up by the afternoon, certainly by that night. It will be interesting to see how long it takes before his photos are posted.

I did take some photos at the State Championships but they were for my own use and for my school and running related websites I maintain. These photos are not for sale. I didn't even use a pro lens. I was trying to enjoy the freedom of finally attending a cross-country meet as a dad and not a photographer. Please don't ask me for photos as I will not go against the HHSAA rules.

What would be nice, would be a little different policy when it comes to photography for States. Let the favored photographer have "most" of the Championships, but when there is a dedicated photographer in a certain sport (like me) who knows the sport very well and has earned the right by covering EVERY MEET in the season, allow the expert to do just that sport. But, I don't make these decisions. I have expressed my displeasure but I'm sure my opinion falls on deaf ears. Who suffers because of this policy besides me? If this favored photographer does not provide the service that I do, you suffer. You are welcome to let the HHSAA know if you feel strongly about it. Maybe things will change some day.

I will be back with an analysis of the Championships soon.

That's all for now.

Al

Big Win For Iolani Boys Varsity Water Polo

2006-11-09T12:53:00.000-10:00

Last night at Kamehameha Schools pool, the Raiders pulled off a huge 11-4 win over Pac-5. This gives the Raiders the opportunity to play Punahou on Friday night at the same location for the ILH Championship. See you all there!

Taking photos of a fast action sport like water polo at night is quite a challenge, but I was pleased with the overall results.

More thoughts on XC States

2006-11-09T09:42:00.000-10:00

From an unidentified dedicated follower of Hawaii XC:

"Keoni Ucker collapsed and crawled across the finish line in the Big Island Cross country championships before passing out again. He ran an 18:07. If he recovers, he has the potential to challenge Leilehua's Bryce Jenkins, as he ran a 15:59 on a flat course in October. Trouble is, Keoni doesn't like hills. Mac Crommett won the boy's BIIF title with a 17:24 (5k). Keri Ogden won the girl's title with a 21:09.

"Chelsea Smith-Wishard took the KIF girls title with a 20:20 (3 mi.). Waimea's Kaimana Girod took the KIF boys title with an 18:15. On Maui, Haley Grossman, a freshman, won the MIL title with a 19:52. Second was Libby Matthews with a 20:27. Molokai's Manu Adolpho, and Kamehameha's Kalani Rosell ran 16:56.

"It should be a very interesting race between Keoni and Bryce (who likes hills). Kon Webber will have a real fight for third. For the girls, it's pretty much wide open. Chelsea has improved greatly over her Kualoa race, and Haley Grossman is a real wild card. Haley Abing continues to recover from her late-season illness, and Julie Besenbruch is in good health."

State Championship XC - Boys

2006-11-06T16:20:00.000-10:00

On the boys side, I don't see a clear favorite. I expect the battle for first place to be between Kamehameha and Leilehua. Leilehua has the advantage in the first few runners, but Kamehameha has a deeper team. I expect it to be close.

I'm putting Iolani at third, Punahou fourth, Baldwin fifth and Seabury Hall sixth.

I hardly saw any data from the Big Island and Kauai, so it's possible I'm missing someone.

To recap:

1. Leilehua or Kamehameha
3. Iolani
4. Punahou
5. Baldwin
6. Seabury Hall

As to who will win the individual title, it's awfully hard to go against Bryce Jenkins and I'm not going to. Kon Weber, Manu Adolph and Kalani Rosell will challenge him, though, so I don't expect him to be running alone, at least not with the kind of lead he had at the OIA Championships.

The boys race, this year, will be much more interesting than the girls, where the battle will be for second place.

I can't wait. See you there!

Tentative Schedule - 11/6 through 11/11

2006-11-06T05:58:00.000-10:00

This looks to be a slow week for photography.

Monday - if Iolani is playing in the early Div II Water Polo game today, I will be there for a short while. I am checking on the schedule.
Wednesday - ILH Water Polo Div I playoff game at 6:30 Kamehameha Pool, Iolani vs Pac-5, the winner plays Punahou on Friday
Friday:
1. I will be at XC States but not taking photos commercially as I will just be there as a doting dad.*
2. ILH water polo champs at Kamehameha.
Saturday:
1. Aulea Swim meet at Kailua District Park, 8:30am
2. Varsity football vs Damien, 7pm at Kaiser H.S.

* The HHSAA has an exclusive contract with another photographer to cover all the State Championships, so I will use this time to catch up on team collages, individual collages and posters. If you are interested in any of these products, please contact me.

Can anyone beat Punahou in girls XC?

2006-11-05T19:23:00.000-10:00

I was going to do an in-depth analysis but a lack of information from the outer islands and a lack of time have conspired to make this less comprehensive.

So, in a word, the answer is "NO". Not this year. Punahou will win on Friday, no hedging, they will win. Leilehua looked good in winning the OIA championship yesterday, but when I compared the times, they don't stack up against Punahou. Actually, they don't stack up against Kamehameha either, or Iolani.

Maryknoll is hard to handicap. Julie certainly is the favorite to win on Friday, but Haley has been sick. When healthy, Haley has run extremely well this year. Even sick she still ran a 20:29, good for fourth place on Saturday. Maryknoll also has Malia Kagawa who looks better and better every week. I expect Haley will run better on Friday if she continues getting healthier, and probably finish 2nd to Julie. Maryknoll's team finish depends on their number 4 and 5 runners and could put them as high as 2nd or out of the top 5.

Emma Broderick's strong showing on Saturday changed the complexion of the Kamehameha team, giving them someone who can stay close to the leaders. Kamehameha and Iolani have good balance and depth and should be in the top few.

The only outer island team I've seen that should be in the top couple of teams would be Seabury Hall. But, again, it's hard to really be sure since they are running on different courses.

So, for what it's worth, here are my predications. No guarantees, except for Punahou.

1. Punahou
2. Kamehameha
3. Iolani
4. Seabury Hall
5. Maryknoll
6. Leilehua

This is only my opinion (guess?). Comments are welcome.

Update (11/6) - After receiving some good information from a Punahou parent and a Maryknoll parent (I guess people really do read this blog!), I am making this update. I knew that Haley didn't go to Maryknoll and was actually told that she'd have to run for her own school (La Pietra) in States, but I forgot. So, if this is true, and I believe it is, Maryknoll is out of the mix completely, as they will only have 4 runners. I was thinking that Maryknoll would be a powerhouse next year and they will be, but only in the ILH, not at States.

Also, Punahou does have some medical issues, but all the contending teams seem to have varying medical challenges. My bet (figuratively speaking) still is heavily on Punahou.

My new guess:

1. Punahou
2. Kamehameha
3. Iolani
4. Seabury Hall
5. Leilehua

Change in selection method for States needed?

2006-11-03T08:25:00.000-10:00

If this subject doesn't evoke comments, I'll be a bit suprised.

First off, I couldn't attend yesterday's Iolani-Punahou varsity girls volleyball game as I had a scheduling conflict involving my daughters' XC team. The prize was large for this volleyball match, a berth in the State Championships. Punahou won 26-24 and 28-26. From reading the newspaper article it sounds like it was another wonderful, close match. My congratulations to Punahou. I know you'll represent the ILH well.

I have witnessed quite a few close matches this year between the 3 schools - Kamehameha, Punahou and Iolani. They are all excellent teams. In the top 10 poll each week, I believe these 3 have been ranked 1-2-3 the whole season, I know they have been the last few weeks anyway.

Which brings me to my point. As a sports fan, I'd like to see the top teams battle it out in the state championship tournament. These 3 schools pretty regularly produce top teams, in many sports. In volleyball, with only 2 berths available for the ILH, one of these teams is left out.

I'm not saying this now just because Iolani will be watching from the sidelines this year, although I admit it irritates me enough to write about it.:) Punahou, last year, was in the same sad position.

Bottom line, I think these 3 teams are the best 3 in the state and the polls agree. The NFL has a wild card system to allow better teams in to the playoffs that don't make it the "regular" way. Maybe something like that, using the weekly polls as a basis, could make the selection of teams fairer and produce a better, more exciting championship?

Just a thought.

Comments welcome.

Al

Enough rain already!

2006-11-02T08:33:00.000-10:00

I was planning on covering the Girls JV Black Soccer game vs. Punahou Gold yesterday. It has all the makings of a great game. The rain changed that. Since all outdoor athletic activities were cancelled yesterday, I made a quick change of plans.

I was going to shoot "Much Ado About Nothing" put on by the 'Iolani Dramatic Players on Friday night, but there was a preview yesterday afternoon, so that's where I went. This is a fun show!

From the program:

"Set in Messina, this comedy revolves around two sets of lovers: Claudio and Hero, our young and naive couple, and Benedick and Beatrice, our more jaded and bitter set of rivals. Both couples fall prey to trickery in different forms. Claudio and Hero's love is put to the test through the evil machinations of Don John, the villain in our play. Benedick and Beatrice are tricked through the manipulations of their friends who see what the lovers cannot, that they are the best match for one another."

There are some great, funny performances. Everyone's favorite, I'm sure, will be Christian Brady, playing Benedick. But there are others too. I recommend it highly. There are 3 more shows - Thursday, Friday and Saturday night at Seto Hall.

Equal Time For Our Arch-Rival

2006-10-30T20:49:00.000-10:00

Watching, on average, more than one athletic contest a day has been changing my outlook on athletic contests. Yes, I dearly want my Raiders to win, but I have started to really appreciate athletic talent, no matter what school they play for.

Today I witnessed a very good Punahou JV Girls Soccer team beat up on our JV "B" team. I was very impressed with this team's speed and ability. This same Punahou team will play our "A" team on Wednesday, which is also a very good team. That should be a great game!

To see more photos of this game, please visit my Smugmug galleries.

ILH Intermediate and JV Cross-Country Championships

2006-10-29T16:23:00.000-10:00

The weather was excellent at CORP on Saturday afternoon for the finals of the Intermediate and JV ILH Championships. There were 6 races held as there also was an Open race for boys and another for girls to give everyone a chance to run before next week's Varsity championships.

In the girls' intermediate division, Brie Adams (Maryknoll) reasserted her position as the top intermediate runner of the season with a 14:01 winning time. Teammate Allison Calabrese was about 5 seconds back. Unfortunately, Maryknoll does not have enough runners for a scoring team, which allowed Punahou to dominate in the team competition. Punahou had a tremendous score of 21 points, placing all 5 scoring runners in the top 10.

In the boys' intermediate, Alex Ortega from Kamehameha came from behind to take the title with a superb time of 11:31. Borys Pleskacz of Iolani was second about 5 seconds behind. In a very close finish, Iolani took the boys' title 39-40 over Kamehameha.

In the girls' JV race, Punahou again dominated the race. Megan Steele (Punahou) ran a very strong 20:45 to place first, with all 7 Punahou runners finishing in the top 10. Punahou won with a score of 19 points. Iolani was quite a bit back with 57 points.

Kevin Donahue of St. Louis returned to the winner's circle with a great run of 17:39. St. Louis, though, does not have a scoring team. So, although Iolani took the next 2 spots, Punahou's depth and quality allowed Punahou to almost sweep all the races. Punahou had 27 points to Iolani's 40 points.

Congratulations to Punahou for taking 3 out of 4 races. Very impressive indeed.

Tentative Schedule 10/30/06-11/4/06

2006-10-29T16:13:00.000-10:00

Monday - Girls JV Red Soccer
Tuesday - Girls Int Black Soccer
Wednesday - Girls JV Black Soccer and/or Varsity II Boys Water Polo
Thursday - Girls XC Function
Friday - Varsity Boys Volleyball and "Much Ado About Nothing"
Saturday - ILH and OIA Varsity Cross-Country Championships

Some Favorite Photos

2006-10-27T10:29:00.000-10:00

This week, so far, I've done 4 soccer games and a volleyball game. Three soccer wins, one loss, and a volleyball loss. Kamehameha was the opponent in 2 soccer games and the volleyball game. Rather than give a detailed blow by blow, I thought I'd just post some of my favorite photos. I hope you like them.

If you'd like to see more photos, please visit my Iolani Events galleries.

ILH Varsity Girls Volleyball + Photo Talk

2006-10-24T08:36:00.000-10:00

On Saturday, I attended the Iolani-Kamehameha girls varsity volleyball playoff game at Kamehameha Schools. I like the lighting in that gym a lot. It's the best I've shot in except for Stan Sheriff at UH. The better lighting allows me to shoot at higher shutter speeds with greater depth of field. What's that mean?

In a fast game like volleyball you need a fast shutter speed to stop the action, 1/250 is a bare minimum, 1/500 is optimum. To get a fast shutter speed in low light you need a lens capable of a large aperture. Lots of people think that 2.8 is big. For Kamehameha that's probably ok. At Iolani, I use 1.8 and 2.0, so when I go to Kamehameha I can either stop down my aperture and get a large depth of field, or keep my lens wide open and get a faster shutter speed. What I did was stop down a little and increase my shutter speed a little, so I end up with better settings on both.

What's depth of field? If you study my photos at Iolani gym, you will see that usually only one player is in focus. That's a shallow depth of field. As you close down your aperture, the depth of field increases, so you might be able to have the focused athlete plus another one a few feet behind still in focus.

Anyway, enough photography! It was a great game! The Raiders had many opportunities to win, but at the crucial times, the Warriors found a way to do it. Particularly worrisome was a terrible fall that Chelsea Hardin took. It looked like a very bad sprained ankle. I hope she's ok. If you'd like to read a more detailed recap of the game, please visit the Iolani Events website.

Another huge game is on tap for tonight, this time against Punahou. I have been confused about how the playoffs work, but finally, I believe I have an explanation that I can understand and makes sense. From one of the athletic directors at Iolani:

1. The first round is over. Kamehameha captured one of the ILH's berths to the state tournament, but not the overall ILH championship. Punahou and Iolani tied for second.

2. The second round is a single-elimination tournament. Kamehameha is the top seed. Iolani plays Punahou tonight at 6:30 at Punahou in the semi-finals. Kamehameha plays HBA in the other semi final. The winners will advance to the finals.

3. The winner of the second round tournament is also guaranteed a State tournament berth. If the winner is a team other than first round champ, Kamehameha, then there will be a play-off to determine the overall ILH champion. The overall ILH champion will get the seeded berth in the state tournament.

4. If Kamehameha wins the second round tournament, then Punahou and Iolani will play a single play-off match that covers their first round tie for 2nd and the results of the second round (regardless of who placed higher in the second round). The winner of that potential playoff match will receive the remaining State Berth.

Iolani XC Intermediate Invitational - the Girls

2006-10-23T13:26:00.000-10:00

It was cloudy but warm, showers in the not too distant valleys, but thankfully the rain held off. Knowing personally quite a few of the top female runners made this race quite special for me. I've known Lea Lundbald, and her father Mike, for quite a few years when she started coming over for the state championships in summer track. The first time I saw the famous "Lea kick" was in the 800 meter finals when my younger daughter had about a 30 yard lead going into the last turn and lost at the tape. The "Lea kick" is real!

We have two 9th graders at Iolani that I knew were capable of challenging Lea. Katie Pelliteri, who is recovering from an injury, was rounding into form. Jenna Wong has been steadily improving this season and is now one of the top 9th graders. I also keep hearing that Kimberly Pugliese of Mililani can challenge for the top spot.

Throw in a few more girls from the ILH that I know are capable, plus all the girls from the OIA that I don't know, and I was stoked.

At the first mile, it was Kimberly and Noelani Mikami (Kamehameha) with a small lead over Lea, Jenna and Katie. They all looked pretty smooth, except Lea looked like she was struggling a little. I would find out later that she was a bit sick all this week.

At the turn coming in to the finish, it was Lea, still struggling but leading, with Jenna right on her heels and Katie about 4 seconds back. Kimberly had tired and was about 9 seconds behind Katie, while Noelani had dropped off the pace to finish about 20 seconds further back. Then it was the two Maryknoll girls, Brie Adams and Allison Calabrese. Rounding out the top 10 were Jaclyn Knaus of Mililani, Phoebe Jordan of Iolani, and Kara Katsumi Tsuzaki of Punahou.

Both Iolani and Mililani had 72 points to tie in the team competition. Mililani earned the championship through the 6th runner tiebreaker rule.

There were almost 600 intermediates to finish in this meet, which is why I still call it the "unofficial state championship for intermediates".

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2006-10-23T05:59:00.000-10:00

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