Paddling in the Hunt for States

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).

Photo courtesy of Kysha Kawano.

“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.”

The MIL’s final race takes place next Saturday at Kahului Harbor. League officials will average each school’s top three scores and send the best two teams to states.

Seabury Hall’s girls’ crew has already secured a place at the Feb. 7 state championship, and Molokai is in the running for the second spot. In three regattas, the Lady Farmers have come in second, third and fourth. Their biggest competitors for the remaining state seed are King Kekaulike High School, which has two second-place finishes, and Kamehameha-Maui, which has two third-place finishes and a second-place finish.

Coach Stefanie Hubbard said all she could ask of the girls was that they “come out and put their best foot forward” in the final races.

“They are learning to work together more, and considering it’s still a newer crew they have developed a closer bond,” said Hubbard after Molokai’s second regatta.