Sports

Strong Finish at States

Thursday, February 19th, 2015

Lately, the Molokai girls’ basketball team has had a flair for the dramatic. After winning the majority of their league games by wide margins, the Lady Farmers kept fans on pins and needles during a heart-stopping series of season-ending games.

Just days after a pair of one-point wins gave them the Maui Interscholastic League (MIL) Division II title, the Lady Farmers again won down-to-the-wire duels, this time in the state championship on Oahu from Feb. 10-12, to claim seventh place over league rival Lanai.

“The last six games have been nail-biters,” said Head Coach Lee DeRouin. “…That’s been our strength all year, is being able to execute with two minutes left in the game.”…

Corpuz, Makaiwi Win Titles

Thursday, February 19th, 2015

Molokai produced a first-time champion and a repeating champion at last Saturday’s wrestling meet. After coming in second two weeks ago, Desiree Corpuz won the girls’ 117-pound class for her first title of the season, while Saydee Makaiwi took the 127-pound weight class for her third title this season.

Second-place finishers for Molokai included Jarron Boswell (160 B) and Kui Han (285) for the boys, and Kailaoe Cabanting (117), Cendall Manley (145) and Jasmyn Davis-Namuu (168) for the girls. Manley finished behind Lahainaluna’s Carly Jaramillo, the reigning state champion in the 140-pound weight class.

Lahainaluna again dominated the field with nine boys’ champions and six girls.…

Pine Lads Best Farmers

Wednesday, February 18th, 2015

The Lanai boys’ basketball team topped Molokai twice over the weekend, beating the Farmers 57-38 on Friday and 64-45 on Saturday to end the regular season.

On Friday the Farmers stayed in step with the Pine Lads and were only down 38-37 after three quarters. However, the Pine Lads outscored them 19-1 in the final quarter for the large win. On Saturday the Farmers did the opposite, bringing in 19 points in the fourth quarter, though it wasn’t enough to beat the Pine Lads’ consistent offensive performance throughout the game.

Edel-Marc Alvarez’s 13 points led the charge for the Farmers on Friday, and Kaina Adolpho was the top scorer on Saturday with 11 points.…

Paddling Top 8 in State

Wednesday, February 11th, 2015

The Molokai girls’ paddling crew capped off their season in the state finals on Saturday, finishing seventh out of 16 teams in Kahului. In their preliminary race, Molokai finished sixth in four minutes and 54.13 seconds, qualifying for the semifinals. The Farmers chopped 15 seconds off of their preliminary time and took first in the semifinals with 4:39.90, launching them into the finals.

“In the semifinals … only the top two could move on to the finals,” said senior paddler Waipuna Paleka-Kelly. “It was really intense again because it was a lot on our shoulders.”

The state championship featured 16 boys’ crews, 16 girls’ crews and 16 mixed.…

Basketball Three-in-a-Row MIL Champs

Wednesday, February 11th, 2015

Junior point guard Hepuakea Falealii said her heart is still pumping hard after last week’s games. Falealii played a big part in Molokai’s two thrilling last-second wins in the Maui Interscholastic League (MIL) championship, as the Lady Farmers (13-1) scooped up their third consecutive league title.

Molokai defeated a pair of familiar opponents by a point each, winning against the Hana Dragons 33-32 on Thursday and against the Seabury Hall Spartans 39-38 on Friday. The Lady Farmers have now won seven of the last eight MIL Division II titles.

“The girls did a great job making key plays down the stretch for us to win,” said Head Coach Lee DeRouin.…

Swimmers Fastest in Season Finale

Wednesday, February 11th, 2015

At last week’s MIL championships, Molokai’s swimmers were faster than they’ve been all season—and everyone noticed.

“They’re doing stuff they’ve never done before mentally and physically,” said Head Coach Jess Ford. “The officials and the other coaches, they were like, ‘We saw your kids. They swam so good.’”

On Friday, MIL swimmers competed in preliminary heats before moving on to the final competition on Saturday. Five Molokai boys and two girls made it to the final rounds, competing with the top eight swimmers in the league in each category. Senior Luke Kikukawa was the only Molokai swimmer to officially medal, winning bronze in the 200-meter individual medley with a time of two minutes and 20.22 seconds.…

Farmers Gear Up for MILs, States

Wednesday, February 4th, 2015

Tiebreaker Sends Paddling to States

Molokai’s girls had to race twice on Saturday to earn a place at the state championships. The Farmers finished third in the MIL’s final regatta and came in second in a tie-breaking race to earn the MIL’s last state berth.

“It was pretty intense and really nerve-racking, but we made it,” said paddler Waipuna Kelly-Paleka.

Seabury Hall had already been guaranteed a place before Saturday’s race. After Molokai finished third, the Farmers were locked in a three-way season tie with King Kekaulike and Kamehameha Maui, forcing a second, shorter race.

“Thankfully, during practice I have them do half-mile sprints nearly back to back,” said Head Coach Stefanie Hubbard.…

Girls Basketball Bound for States

Wednesday, January 28th, 2015

With a pair of wins over Seabury Hall (3-7) last weekend, the Lady Farmers (10-0) stayed undefeated, won the regular season crown and guaranteed themselves a spot at the girls’ basketball state tournament in February.

“[It’s] very rewarding,” said senior forward Edel Mae Alvarez of the team’s accomplishments. “Everything—night practices, long boat rides and bus rides—was totally worth it.”

Molokai topped Seabury Hall 42-35 on Friday and 39-30 on Saturday. Lehiwa Pedro and Hepuakea Falealii brought in 10 points apiece on Friday, while Camille Ledesma and Brooke Keliihoomalu each scored 13 in Saturday’s victory.

Although Molokai plays second-place Lanai (7-3) this weekend, the Pine Lasses are three games out of first place and can’t steal the Farmers’ regular season crown in two games.…

Paddling in the Hunt for States

Wednesday, January 28th, 2015

Molokai’s girls’ paddling crew came in third out of six teams at the MIL’s fourth regatta of the season. The Lady Farmers finished in four minutes, 33.05 seconds at Kahului Harbor last Saturday, their best time of the season thus far. Molokai’s crew included Kelsie Espiritu-Tanabe (Seat No. 1), Kaitlynn Reich-Colipano (Seat No. 2), Kamalani Puailihau (Seat No. 3), Waipuna Kelly-Paleka (Seat No. 4), Kysha Kawano (Seat No. 5) and Hiilani Kaiama-Kanuha (Seat No. 6).

“We did quite well on this race, but we feel there’s always room for improvement,” said Kawano. “Our team will be focusing on bettering our turns and finishes and also, ways we can fix our small errors that will help us finish with a better time.”…

Back-to-Back Titles for Molokai Wrestlers

Wednesday, January 28th, 2015

Molokai wrestlers Saydee Makaiwi and Kui Han repeated as champions of their divisions for the second week in a row. Last Saturday at the Farmers’ second meet, Makaiwi took the girls’ 138-pound weight class, while Han won the boys’ 285-pound title over Lahainaluna’s Connor Mowat, who recently went undefeated at the “Battle for the Belt” wrestling tournament in Temecula, Calif.

“Both Kui and Saydee have matured in their skills, and both are working hard in practice,” said Head Coach Randy Manley.

Three Molokai boys had second-place finishes: Caele Manley (113), Rayden DeKneef (152 B) and Jordan Boswell (170). Kailaoe Cabanting, who won the 117-pound division in the Farmers’ first meet on Jan.…