KEAAU — Waiakea’s Saya Yabe has finished first before, but never like this.
KEAAU — Waiakea’s Saya Yabe has finished first before, but never like this.
While she gained a new perspective, Konawaena’s Lawrence Barrett and Cody Ranfranz and all of the BIIF boys cross-country runners discovered an entire new racing world — one that doesn’t include the thankless task of going up against Louie Ondo.
If the results of Saturday’s preseason Canefire Conditioner are any indication, it’s game on this season in the individual and team races. Waiakea swept both relays. Yabe and the Warriors girls relegated Hawaii Prep to a rare runner-up finish and the boys did it without Ondo, who never lost a race the past two seasons before graduating.
“The kids think that it’s open now,” Kealakehe coach Brad Lachance said of the boys field. “They understand that there is a group of kids that are competitive at the front, they are just waiting to see who that is going to be.”
On Saturday, seniors Barrett and Ranfranz navigated the mostly grass course at Christian Liberty the fastest and finished 32 seconds ahead of Rylie Cabalse and Adrian Larkspur, who led an impressive group of Waiakea runners.
Ranfranz is the top returning finisher (fourth) from last season’s BIIF 3-miler — when the race was for second — and Barrett routinely challenged Ondo last season in the 800 meters in track and field.
Konawaena coach Patrick Bradley said his duo is up to any challenge.
“It would have been interesting if Louie was running this year because this is the first year we’ve had a straight year of training,” Bradley said. “Lawrence and Cody trained all summer. Cody went to a running camp in Colorado and I had Lawrence for workouts all summer.
“They are going to be tough, and I don’t mean in the BIIF, I mean tough in the state.”
Barrett showed as much last season, finishing third in May in the 800 at the HHSAA track championships as Ondo won gold.
Ranfranz actually started his day by winning the 5K at the Volcano Rainforest Runs. Barrett wasn’t there to run with his friend, but they often push each other toward their goals. Their biggest one, Bradley said, is to earn scholarships to run in college. Barrett hopes to do so at the U.S. Air Force Academy.
“They do everything together,” Bradley said. “If it’s a long run, Cody pushes Lawrence. If it’s intervals on the track, Lawrence pushed Cody.
“It’s a great scenario for training.”
He has only four male runners entering the season opener Saturday at Hawaii Prep and likely not enough to compete for the team title, and the Waveriders had only four runners at the preseason meet, including Ziggy Bartholomy, who was second at BIIFs in 2014 and sixth last season.
Waiakea showcased its depth as it tries to repeat. Slater Inouye and Eric Cabais-Fernandez finished third and Shaun Kojima and Seneca Helfrich gave the Warriors another finish among the top seven. Hilo also placed two teams in the top five.
HPA overshadowed, for now
The biggest surprise at the end of the meet was to see a team other than perennial BIIF champion Ka Makani in the top spot.
Yabe and Ella Reynolds took first and Evyn Prine and Jodi Go gave Waiakea a 1-2 finish.
“I think it really showed how good we can be as a team when we come together,” Yabe said. “Our goal this year is to get the BIIF championship for boys and girls. This is a great start.”
While the senior helped Waiakea upstage HPA, it was she that was upstaged twice last season. After setting the pace in cross-country and the 3,000 on the track all season, Honokaa’s Sophia Cash outran her twice to win gold. Cash, a sophomore, teamed with Kacie De Coito to place sixth Saturday.
Yabe said she’s not pressing entering her final year of high school.
“My mindset is just to do the best that I can do because that’s all I can do,” she said. “Whatever happens, happens.”
Depth annually makes HPA impossible to beat in the team race, and the Ka Makani still have it. Zoe McGinnis and Zoe Ganley took third, headlining four HPA duos in the top 16.
Ka Makani also will have home-course advantage when it counts. BIIFs are Oct. 21 in Waimea, and the state run is Oct. 29 on the same course.
Hilo coach Bill McMahon pointed out that Christian Liberty’s flat course is far removed from the hills of HPA.
“We’ve run (the Canefire Conditioner) a dozen times and not won BIIFs,” he said. “Running this race and running the only true (3-mile) cross-country course in the state, which is HPA, are night and day.
“This shows that you have potential.”
McMahon thinks the Vikings have it with a roster that is made up of more than 50 percent freshmen and an up-and-coming sophomore in Glory Medeiros.
“She showed promise,” he said.