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Sports

Minor Leagues Come to Maui

Tuesday, January 5th, 2010

Minor Leagues Come to Maui

It’s time to break out the peanuts and Cracker Jacks. Last week, the Golden Baseball League (GBL) announced they would be expanding with a new team on Maui. The team, named Na Ikaika Koa Maui, is scheduled to play its first game this May.

''I love Maui and I love the opportunity,” said the team’s president Rick Berry. “In talking to a lot of people, it was just the excitement. You have to have a passion for it. The excitement from the people and the passion is there.”

The 30-year-old Okano has played for three different GBL teams before returning to his native Hawaii this year. Okano, who will play outfield for Na Ikaika, was born in Honolulu and graduated from Aiea High School.

“This is my living dream, playing at home in front of the home crowd,” Okano said. “It is very cool to be the first signee. We have a great name and this is Hawaii, you know, representing my home state.”

If Snyder has his way there will be plenty of other team members representing their home state in May. Snyder listed several Hawaiian players that he was hoping to sign in the off-season. Molokai graduate Milton Loo was one of the players Snyder will try to add to the roster.

''Milton Loo is definitely on the list,'' Snyder said. ''I will get as many local guys as I can.”

Loo graduated from Molokai High in 2005 and was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the ninth round. He went on to play shortstop for Yavapai Community College in Arizona where he was named an All-American.

Berry said he fully understood the challenges that go along with starting a team in Hawaii, but was confident they could make it work. He said the team is still looking for airline and hotel sponsors to assist with travel.

''We are a little behind where we want to be right now, but we know what we need to get done and that really helps,'' Berry said.

Na Ikaika will play its home games at Maehara Stadium in Wailuku and Berry said ticket prices will range from $5 to $14. An official schedule will be released later this month.

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The Week in Sports…

Monday, January 4th, 2010

The Week in Sports…

 

 

Last Week’s Scores

Canoe Paddling
12/19 Molokai Boys (4:13) – second overall
12/19 Molokai Girls – fourth overall
12/19 Molokai Mixed – fifth overall

Girls’ Basketball
12/22 Konawaena 54, Molokai 37
12/21 Molokai 61, Kamehameha-Hawaii 55 (OT)

Boys’ Basketball
12/20 Molokai 63, Richmond 33

MHS Alumni Softball Tournament
Champion – Team Bad Temper (c/o 2005-09)


Coming up…

Girls’ Soccer
01/08 Molokai v. St. Anthony @ 3:30 (Kaunakakai Ball Park)
01/09 Molokai v. St. Anthony @ 10 a.m. (Kaunakakai Ball Park)

Canoe Paddling
01/09 Molokai @ MIL Kahului Harbor Meet # 1 @ 10 a.m. (Kahului, Maui)

Swimming
01/09 Molokai @ MIL Swim Meet # 1 @ 10 a.m. (Lahainaluna)

Wrestling
01/09 Molokai @ MIL Meet #1 @ 9:30 a.m. (Hana)

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Baseball Coaches invited to free presentation by visiting College Coaches in Wailuku

Sunday, January 3rd, 2010

Baseball coaches of all levels & organizations are invited to the Baseball Academy of the Pacific’s 2010 High School showcase camp this Saturday at the Iron Maehara Baseball Stadium in Wailuku.  The camp features local college hopefuls from across the state which will learn from and work with Mainland college coaches including: Christopher Brown of San Diego City College (CA), Blake Kangas of Feather River Community College (CA), David Yamane of Long Beach CitycommentsAdd your comment

HS Showcase Camp & Game on Maui on Jan. 9

Friday, December 25th, 2009

Community Contributed
By Barry Takahashi

The Baseball Academy of the Pacific is conducting a 2010 High School Showcase Camp on January 9th, 2010 at the Ichiro “Iron” Maehara Stadium in Wailuku Maui for 40 players ages 14 to 19 years old from 9am to 7pm. Student/athletes from across the state or the mainland interested in playing college baseball are encouraged to attend.

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The Upper Hand

Monday, December 14th, 2009

The Upper Hand



Photo Courtesy of Kevin Dudoit

Molokai junior Kevin Dudoit locks down his opponent from Mililani High School during the Maui Invitational Tournament at War Memorial Gym last Friday. Dudoit avenged a loss last year by winning the match and taking third place in the 135-pound weight class at the tournament. Koa Coupuz and Kailen Inouye also tooked home fourth-place awards in the 152 and 125-pound divisions and Kayla Pico was the Farmer’s top finisher with a 3rd place in the 98-pound divison. Twenty-one schools from all over the state competed in the annual tournament.

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Farmers Finish Scoreless

Monday, December 14th, 2009

Farmers Finish ScorelessThe Molokai High girls’ soccer team failed to find the back of the net in a pair of games this weekend against Maui’s Kamehameha School. Kamehameha improved its record to 2-2 with a 7-0 Friday afternoon and a 5-0 win the following morning. Molokai dropped to 0-4 on the young season.

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The Big Stage

Monday, December 14th, 2009

The Big Stage


Tough green Astroturf, thousands of fans, a slew of opposing defenders and one league record were all left in the dust as Molokai running back Noah Caparida sped down the sideline at Honolulu’s Aloha Stadium last Sunday. Caparida weaved and juked his way to a 95-yard touchdown run – the longest in Island Youth Football League history – as the Farmers ran away with a convincing 32-6 win in their end-of-the-year bowl game.

“We ran a sweep to the outside and I just juked all of them out,” Caparida said. “It’s a good feeling [to set a record], it’s exciting.”

“It was a lot of fun I got to run over a couple of guys,” he said. “Every time we were getting close to the end zone I was running it up the middle.”

Traxler-Ortiz went out of his way to run over a few extra defenders on his first touchdown, a 15-yarder right up the middle.

“Overall, today they were the team that we were always looking to find throughout the season,” Kiaha said. “They played with heart and soul and passion for the game. Everybody had a great game.”

The Farmers finished their season with a 3-6 record, but turned some heads with their strong performance in the stadium this weekend. The trip, their second in as many years, was funded by generous donations from several local businesses and residents. The team went door-to-door on their furlough days to raise the money.

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The King of Roi

Thursday, December 10th, 2009

The King of Roi

Community Contributed

What started off as a senior project for Kumu Spencer-Misaki, soon became something much bigger and much more meaningful to him and to Molokai’s community. 

Kumu’s project was to address how to control the population of the peacock grouper fish, better known here in Hawai’i as roi.  It is an invasive species that was introduced to Hawaii in 1956 from French Polynesia as a food source.

However, it soon became apparent that the majority of the roi contained ciguatera a toxin that when consumed, can cause extreme sickness.  The roi also began eating a lot of Hawai’i’s reef fish.  A roi can consume 150 fish annually and its lifespan is approximately 13 years.  So in essence, one roi can consume 1950 fish in its lifetime.

Kumu took home two of the prizes for his own hard work. He won for the smallest fish (.17 lbs) and for the most caught by a team. He and his teammates Wilfred Spencer, John Borden, and Randy Cabreros brought in 64 fish, 31 of which were caught by Cabreros. Ehu Rawlins won the biggest catch of the day at 5.1 lbs.
All in all, the tournament brought in 392 roi in far from ideal conditions. Cameraman Cal Hirai said it was the most he had seen at any tournament this year.

After the prizes were awarded, Kumu presented Camie Kimball, Molokai High School Athletic Director, with a check for $1500.  Kumu also donated an additional $122 that he made by raffling a spear that was made by Eddie Castro.
Kumu decided to donate the money to the high school despite not playing any sports. He also has been working hard to raise funds for a school trip to Washington D.C. in March, but did not keep any of his hard-earned roi money for that trip. 

It was not just an individual who made all this happen, it was a community.  In these hard times, Molokai continues to do what we do best, support each other.  This was evident by the amount divers that came out in force that day, the businesses and individuals who so generously donated prizes, and the families that gave of their time and support.  Without all of them, this could not have been possible.

 

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Helm, Adolpho Nab Top MIL Honor

Wednesday, December 9th, 2009

Helm, Adolpho Nab Top MIL Honor

The Molokai girls’ volleyball team may have fallen one game short of winning a state championship trophy, but they certainly won’t leave the season empty-handed. Farmers head coach Matt Helm was named Div. II Coach of the Year and seven Molokai players received all-conference honors.

Leading the way for the players was junior Kalei Adolpho, who was named the Maui Interscholastic League (MIL) Player of the Year in Div. II.  The 6-foot-1 middle blocker won the award based on votes from the league’s coaches.

“She’s probably also the most intimidating player in the league,” Helm said. “Because of her offensive presence, a lot of the other teams really recognized her as being dominant out there.”

Adolpho’s authoritative kills left little doubt of her skill, but Helm said it was her competitive spirit that really set her apart. He said that her attitude was a constant morale booster throughout the year.

''It feels great, but I'm a little surprised,'' Adolpho told the Maui News after learning about the award last week. ''It feels good and I'm really honored.''

Plenty of Weapons
Adolpho was a big part of the Farmers perfect regular season record and MIL championship, but she was far form the only weapon in Helm’s arsenal this year. Six of her teammates made the all-conference squad, including three on the first team.

Senior Danna-Lynn Hooper-Juario, junior Kailana Ritte-Camara and sophomore Kalei Vaivai picked up the first team honors. Hooper-Juario and Ritte-Camara have been consistent forces at outside hitter for multiple years now and Vaivai – who transferred from Baldwin this year – added an element of power to the Farmers lineup this year.

“We had a lot of balance this year and a lot of talent,” Helm said. “I feel that if any of our players played any other team in the MIL they would all be standout players.”

Molokai picked up four of the seven spots on the first team with the other three going to players from the second-place Seabury Hall team.

Molokai’s powerful hitters would be nowhere without junior setter Kawena Puhi who quarterbacked the Farmers offensive attack all season. Puhi was named to the MIL second team for her work.

Senior libero Wailani Hernandez and sophomore middle blocker Natalia Levi rounded out the trophy case full of awards for Molokai by being named Honorable Mention. Levi picked up an award despite competing all season long with Adolpho for time on the court.

Having all six starters and a back-up receive awards is a strong statement about Molokai’s depth and the respect they get from the rest of the league.

“It has always been the goal for Molokai since I took over to produce good athletes and good players,” Helm said. “It says a lot for the program.”

Helm wrapped up his sixth season as the Molokai coach this year with his second Coach of the Year award. He also won the award three years ago.

“He tries not to just teach volleyball, but the whole life lessons,'' Adolpho told the Maui News. ''Volleyball-wise, he is really great. He sees all the little things some people don't see, he explains things well, and he understands what he wants us to do.''

Helm and the players will be honored on Molokai on Dec. 15 at 6 p.m. at the high school’s Fall Athletics Banquet.

 

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Tough Start for Farmers

Wednesday, December 9th, 2009

Tough Start for Farmers

Junior captain Chelsea Sakamoto winds up for a kick during Molokai’s 6-0 loss to Na Ali`i of King Kekaulike last Saturday. The two teams played a doubleheader last weekend in Kaunakakai to kick off the Maui Interscholastic League (MIL) regular season.

The Farmers got off to a great start when Sharali Dudoit-Enis scored less than a minute into Friday af

ternoon’s game. However, Na Ali`i settled in and didn’t give up another goal all weekend. They rallied for an 8-1 win Friday and followed that with a 6-0 shutout the next morning. King Kekaulike striker Maya Palaroan led the way with four goals in the two games.

Molokai will try to get back on track this weekend with a pair of games against Kamehameha at the Kaunakakai Ball Park. Friday’s game starts at 3:30 and Saturday’s will kick off at 11 a.m.

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