Living in Hawaii may have its advantages, like the pristine beaches and various outdoor activities. What it is not so good for is college recruiting, especially when it comes to sports that are not usually in the spotlight such as
Living in Hawaii may have its advantages, like the pristine beaches and various outdoor activities. What it is not so good for is college recruiting, especially when it comes to sports that are not usually in the spotlight such as football and basketball.
So how does a local student athlete get the attention of college coaches? The answer is simple — head to the mainland.
That’s what five west side cross country runners will do this weekend when they travel to compete at the Nike Cross Regionals Northwest meet in Boise, Idaho.
Originally, only two runners were going to attend in Konawaena’s Cody Ranfranz and Lawrence Barrett. The two had planned on attending the meet as individual runners after spending time fundraising for the trip, but then one thing led to another and now a a group of five will represent the Big Island as a club team.
“It started with Cody and Lawrence and then I mentioned something to (Kealekehe cross country coach) Brad Lachance and he thought it would be a good idea for Ziggy (Bartholomy) to go as well,” said Konawaena cross country coach Patrick Bradley. “Ziggy then wanted to bring Kohala’s Chance (Souze) and Chance talked to Makua Lani’s Michael (Christensen), which set up a five runner team.”
With a squad in place, the Big Island Running company stepped up to donate team uniforms and the Big Island Sports Academy is partially funding the trip.
The Big Island Cross Country team will head out on Wednesday for the meet, which is set for Saturday at Eagle Island State Park. Teams and individual runners will represent several states at the meet, including Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming.
“There will be a lot of college coaches there so this is a great way to get the runners exposure against mainland kids,” Bradley said. “If college recruiters are not going to come to us, we will go to them.”
Ranfranz and Lawrence has already drawn some interest from mainland colleges. Both had strong performances in the recent state meet at Hawaii Preparatory Academy, placing 10th and 14th, respectively.
Ranfranz, who also won the BIIF championship, is looking at several colleges and has notified them that he will be at the Nike meet.
“This is going to be exciting,” Ranfranz said. “(It’s exciting) not just racing with others from the states, but getting the exposure too and meeting college coaches.”
Barrett echoed Ranfranz’s statement, adding that he is really amped to get the experience and exposure with college coaches.
Barrett currently has plans to attend the Air Force Academy.
“It will be good for the Air Force to see Lawrence at the meet,” Bradley said. “While Air Force doesn’t hand out cross country scholarships, it could help him get into the school since they looking at academics and extra curricular activities, and also help him earn some kind of financial aid.”
Bradley believes that if the Big Island runners can finish in the top 20, they can make an impression.
“I think they have a good chance of doing it,” Bradley said.
