Sports

Farmers First Look, Part 1

Wednesday, August 26th, 2015

Farmers First Look, Part 1

Last season was full of firsts for Molokai’s fall sports teams. Boys’ air riflery earned its first-ever Maui Interscholastic League (MIL) title. Girls’ volleyball hosted its first MIL championships. The cross country boys finished first in their division, while the football team competed in the league’s first eight-player title game. More experienced and just as hungry, Molokai athletes and coaches return for another exciting season. In a two-part series, the Dispatch takes a look at the four sports kicking off this fall. Read Part 2 here.

Football

Since eight-player football officially began in the MIL four years ago, Molokai has been one of the league’s top contenders.…

Top Finish Channel Crossings Youth in Motion

Thursday, August 13th, 2015

Top Finish Channel Crossings Youth in Motion

Community Contributed

By Clare Seeger Mawae

Two weeks ago, Molokai’s young paddler Alex Mawae was one of three young paddlers in the team Youth in Motion two win the Maui 2 Molokai race in their division. On Saturday, July 18, the 27-mile Maui 2 Molokai race took off toward Kaunakakai Harbor, with Alex, age 13, Kalia Alexiou and Annie Reickert, both 14 years old.

Team Youth in Motion were on fire and with every person they passed, the team got stronger and more determined to finish the race under 5 hours. Kamalo buoy was the home stretch and Alex’s paddling grounds proved to be the most fun with some epic glides and dolphins riding the bumps alongside them.…

Molokai Half-Marathon

Friday, August 7th, 2015

Kualapu`u School News Release

Kualapu`u School is hosting Molokai’s first-ever half-marathon and relay on Saturday, Aug. 15. Start time is 7 a.m. at Papohaku Beach Park. Runners and walkers can choose to solo the 13.1-mile distance or compete as a relay team of three.

Relay leg distances are 4 miles, 4.7 miles, and 4.4 miles. Leg one is Papohaku to Dixie, let two is Dixie to Kulawai Loop to Papohaku and leg three is Papohaku to Pa Loa Loop to Papohaku.

Race entry fee is $30 for solo runners and $45 for teams ($15 per team member.) All entry fees go to expand Kualapu`u School Parent Involvement and Family Support at the school.…

First Molokai Club Swimmer at State Meet

Wednesday, August 5th, 2015

First Molokai Club Swimmer at State Meet

Last week, 15-year-old Kahale Naehu-Ramos became the first swimmer to represent the Molokai Dolphins Swim Club at the Junior Age Group State meet on Oahu.

At the Veteran’s Memorial Aquatic Center in Waipahu, Naehu-Ramos finished third in the 200-meter breaststroke at 3:00.67. Naehu-Ramos, who also competes for Molokai High School’s swim team, came in sixth in the 100-meter freestyle with a time of 1:04.38.

“Kahale swam the challenging 200-meter breaststroke race almost exactly as we had discussed it,” said Coach Jess Ford via email. “His execution was well calculated, and he closed in on the lead that the second place swimmer had in the last 50 meters, coming from nearly two body lengths behind to within one stroke for a very exciting finish.”…

Make Waves with Local Swim Club

Friday, July 31st, 2015

Molokai Dolphins Swim Club News Release

The state meets are wrapped up, bringing the long course summer swim season to a close.  Congratulations to Kahale Naehu-Ramos, the first Molokai Dolphin to compete at the Junior Age Group State meet at the Veteran’s Memorial Aquatic Center in Waipahu, Oahu, July 26-27.

Now that school is back in session and fall is almost here, the short course winter season begins. Molokai Dolphins Swim Club returns to its fall schedule on Monday, Aug. 3.  Practices will be Monday through Thursday, from 4:30 to 6 p.m., with double practices held in the mornings twice weekly, Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 5:45 to 7 a.m. …

Molokai Paddle Race Brings Fun and Competition

Thursday, July 30th, 2015

Molokai Paddle Race Brings Fun and Competition

Community Contributed

By Clare Seeger Mawae

Molokai is prominent in the paddling circles whether it is OC1, OC6, Ski or SUP as Molokai is hailed as the official center of the World Championship long distance paddle races. Molokai 4 Molokai was conceived after watching one too many events finish on Molokai and competitors leaving soon after. The 8.5 mile race course continued on from where the former Molokai Holokai race left off and prior to that the Molokai Challenge.

This year there were two courses, long and short, and four categories with 12 divisions. The event was blessed with the presence of Keith Reagan, Herman Andaya and Sharon Zalsos from the County of Maui at the start of the race.…

NFL to Honor Molokai, von Oelhoffen

Wednesday, July 29th, 2015

 

Between 1961 and 2010, Molokai High School didn’t have a football team. That didn’t stop 1989 graduate Kimo von Oelhoffen from becoming a pro lineman and winning a Super Bowl.

Thanks to von Oelhoffen, who started at defensive end in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2006 Super Bowl XL victory, Molokai is among 11 Hawaii high schools set to receive special recognition from the National Football League (NFL). In preparation for its 50th Super Bowl, the league plans to present golden footballs to the high schools of all coaches and players who have appeared in the NFL’s premier title game.

“When you look at the list, you have perennial state powerhouse football programs like St.…

A Stand-Up Weekend

Thursday, July 23rd, 2015

A Stand-Up Weekend

It was a weekend of paddling races on Molokai, with Saturday bringing more than 100 athletes to the island for the Maui2Molokai stand up paddle (SUP) race.

“This is not just a testing area, this is one of the best courses in the world,” said race founder Rodney Kilborn, of Maui. People from all over the world come here to race, he said, and this year’s crossing featured 104 athletes. That’s a big increase from the 18 paddlers that signed up six years ago, according to Kilborn.

The 27-mile course from Honolua Bay to Kaunakakai Wharf across the Pailolo Channel has gained acclaim as not only good preparation for the acclaimed Molokai to Oahu race that takes place next week but a world class event in its own right.…

Na Wahine O Ke Kai Receives OHA Ahahui Grant

Thursday, July 2nd, 2015

Na Wahine O Ke Kai News Release

The Na Wahine O Ke Kai Race Committee,  producers of the 2015 Hawaiian Airlines Na Wahine O Ke Kai Molokai to Oahu Canoe Race, announced today that it will receive $6,000 from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA), Ahahui Community grant.

This race is considered the world championship of outrigger canoe racing which unites paddlers from all walks of life and brings them together as one. The participants, of which 70 percent are Native Hawaiian and 80 percent are from the state of Hawaii, will come together to strengthen their identity, to preserve, practice and perpetuate their culture, on Sunday, Sept.…

Farmers Afar: Brayden Willing-McCutcheon

Thursday, June 25th, 2015

Farmers Afar: Brayden Willing-McCutcheon

Brayden Willing-McCutcheon, a 2014 graduate of Molokai High School, is attending the University of Northern Colorado where he is studying Physical Therapy as his major.  He also made the UNC baseball team, NCAA Division I, however utilized his athletic Red Shirt year this year.  He received honors with the Western Athletic Conference, being recognized for his academic achievements of maintaining a 3.3 or higher GPA during the baseball season.

Brayden is playing in a collegiate summer ball league with the Greeley Grays, where he is pitching as well as getting some split time in the outfield.  He elected to play under the lights instead of in the ocean this summer.…