It’s that time of season. The skies are beginning to clear up, the sun is becoming brighter and Molokai High School’s spring sports are about to ensue. This season will see the Farmers compete in five different sports, and coaches predict nothing but a bright forecast for their athletes.

Tennis
While many of the spring sports are still in their pre-season conditioning phase, tennis got a head start with its first tournament this past weekend in Maui.

In a two-day series, the Molokai High boys’ and girls’ tennis teams were defeated in both matches. On Friday the boys lost to St. Anthony High School 3-2, while the girls lost 5-0.

On Saturday, Lahainaluna High School took a clean sweep over the Farmers, landing a 4-1 victory over the boys, and 5-0 victory over the girls.

Coach Stacey Horner said both teams went up hard against St. Anthony and Lahainaluna and did the best they could.

“They did pretty good for their first time,” he said. “They’re dealing with nerves and played two tough teams. Both [of the other] teams have veteran players so it was difficult.”

Horner said they took only six girls and five boys, and therefore didn’t have a full match over the weekend. Although the team opened the season with a pair of losses, Horner still remains optimistic for the team’s season.Molokai High kane wrestler poises to take his Maui High School opponent to the mat.

“Everybody wants to win and I don’t doubt that they’ll see some of those,” he said. “But it’s more about the camaraderie, the togetherness and getting involved. That’s the big goal."

The tennis team's next match will be March 12-13 against Maui Prep Academy at Molokai High School.

Baseball
The Molokai High baseball team is looking to start the season off with a bang, and hopes to defeat Lanai in its season opener.

“We want to win everything,” said newcomer Coach Steve Trout. “I believe they took third overall last year. We’re looking to top that this year.”

Trout said the team has been practicing, conditioning and ‘working hard’ for five days a week since Feb. 1, and should be ready to take on the Pine Lads come March 26.

“We have some returnees from last year so it should be a good season,” he said.

The baseball team will make its first appearance March 26-27 in Lahaina against the Lanai Pine Lads.

Softball
After a promising season last year, the softball team hopes to return with another long postseason run.

The defending Division II Maui Interscholastic League (MIL) champions have eight returnees, including two returning starters.

“They’re doing great [in practice], but we still have a lot of work to do,” said Coach Coco Augustiro. “We have a newer team this year. We hope to take it all the way to the MILs again.”

The softball team will make its season debut on March 19-20, with an evening game Friday and double-header on Saturday, against Lanai at Lahaina.

Track & Field
This year’s track and field team is currently comprised of nine athletes – and although low in number, still packs a mean punch.

Coach Jesse Ford hopes to see her athletes reach their best times and peak performances, as well as see the newcomers set benchmarks and complete a healthy season with little-to-no injuries.

“It’s my first year coaching,” Ford said. “[Practice is] going really good. We’re incorporating different approaches and new training techniques.”

Last season saw a couple Molokai finalists in the MILs, and two girls even advanced to the state championships in high jump. And according to Ford, the team appears poised to do it all again.

The team’s first meet will be the Satoki Yamamoto Invitational at the War Memorial Stadium in Wailuku March 19-20.

Boys’ Volleyball
The boys’ volleyball team will hold its first meet at Molokai High against Seabury on April 2. Coaches were unavailable for comment.

Wrestling Wraps Up Season
With three finishes in the state championships on Feb. 26-28, the wrestling coach reflects on their ‘surprising’ season.

“I think we definitely surprised some people,” Coach Randy Manley said. “We were a very young team experience-wise and ended up finishing second in the MILs.”

Of the eight Molokai High wrestlers that qualified for the state finals on Sunday at Blaisdell Arena in Oahu, Charisse Manley (130 lbs) placed fourth overall for the girls, and Delfin Corpuz (152 lbs) placed fourth for the boys, while Mikayla Pico (98 pounds) placed sixth overall.

“I wasn’t too surprised with the results,” Manley said. “I thought we would end up with a few more thirds – they missed it just by one point – but overall they did well.”

As for next season, Manley has high hopes.

“We have few seniors coming back, but a strong core,” he said. “I’m looking forward to see how they do.”