No more records, but, hey, no sweat for Kaui Taylor – she’s a state champion again.
The Hawaii Prep senior defended her high jump title at the HHSAA track and field championships, clearing 5 feet, 4 inches at Kamehameha-Kapalama in Honolulu.
Only one other competitor leaped higher than 5 feet. Kapalama’s Kayla Afoa reached 5-2 for silver.
Taylor was regularly reaching 5-3 as junior, but she won states last year with an effort of 5-4, and she set a BIIF championship mark last Friday at Kamehameha-Hawaii with a personnel-best 5-5.5.
If she would have reached that distance Friday she would have tied the state mark set by Kahuku’s Natasha Kai in 1999.
As it is, Taylor will take a repeat, her last leap before she leaves for Baylor University to play soccer.
The only other final held Friday was the boys pole vault, where Kamehameha-Hawaii’s Lucas Derego took fifth, clearing 13-3.
The rest of the event finals will take place Saturday.
BIIF athletes to finish first in their preliminaries were: HPA Emma Taylor (100 hurdles, 300 hurdles and 200 dash); Kealakehe’s Nicole Cristobal (triple jump); Waiakea’s Louie Ondo (800, 1,500).