Molokai Students Receive ‘Coach H’ Scholarship

Molokai High School Class of 2025 graduates Chloe Tancayo and Reyn Raguindin received the Coach H scholarship, awarded by the Lo‘i Collective Foundation last week. Photo by MHS Athletic Department

By Léo Azambuja
The Lo‘i Collective Foundation presented the Coach H Scholarship to two Molokai High School graduates. Each student received a $500 award, given to one male and one female athlete, intended to go toward their college or career training goals.
Class of 2025 graduates Chloe Tancayo and Reyn Raguindin, with a grade point average of 3.75 and 3.67 respectively, were awarded the scholarships during a ceremony at MHS gym, The Barn, last Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
“I want to thank the Lo‘i Foundation for the Coach H scholarship because it will help me buy the supplies and equipment I need for my first year of college,” Raguindin said.
The scholarship is offered in memory of Peter Frank Haliniak Jr., also known as “Coach H.” Raised on Molokai, he returned home with his teams each year to give back to the island.
Tancayo thanked the Haliniak ‘ohana for “blessing” her with the Coach H scholarship, which will help her with the resources to achieve her goal of becoming a pharmacist.
“I love nothing more than to help those in need,” Tancayo said. “I am determined to do my best in college, so I may return home and provide for the community that has provided so much for me.”
With a career spanning more than 50 years — mostly at Roosevelt High School in Honolulu — Coach H coached football, boys’ basketball, girls’ basketball and softball. He was one of the first college women’s softball coaches in Hawaii, starting the softball program at Hawaii Pacific College in 1984, known today as Hawaii Pacific University.
Coach H was a staunch advocate of high school sports, particularly equality in girls’ athletics. He had a significant impact on the Title IX movement, working alongside former Sen. Patsy Mink to ensure female athletes had the same opportunities as male athletes.
To qualify for the Lo‘i Collective Foundation, student-athletes must have participated in two or more varsity sports within their four years of high school, maintained a 3.0 cumulative GPA, completed at least 10 hours of community service, and submitted an essay explaining how athletics shaped their lives.