In Waiakea air riflery coach Paul Soultz’s words, the BIIF boys race “is on.”
Soultz was alluding to a tight team battle between Waiakea and Kamehameha, one that will be decided this Saturday at Koaia Gym, but he just as well could have been referring to individual bragging rights as well.
Christian Liberty sophomore Adam Sako has been coming on of late, and last Saturday he was the top shot during the fifth meet of the season at Waiakea, posting a career-high 272. It was warm at the Warriors’ gym to be sure, but it beat the alternative for Sako, who still managed to beat the heat.
“I stopped doing cross-country, figured I try air riflery for a while,” Sako said. “My legs feel better.
“Just God’s grace and God’s plan. I’m definitely better at air riflery than I am as a runner.”
Canefire coach Abel Maldonado is a stickler for focus and correcting mistakes, and at Christian Liberty practices the term eye candy takes on an entirely new meaning. Maldonado places Life Savers over the bull’s-eye of the target to help his shooters practice their precision.
“The circle for the Life Saver is the same size as a 9 or 10 (score),” Maldonado said. “They try to shoot through the life-saver. If they clip it it cracks the Life Saver. If they stay focused, it’s going through.”
“It’s about forcing them to stay focused with our exercises. Don’t tell me you can’t do it (at a meet), you’re proving it to me in our exercises.”
Sako finished second behind Waiakea’s Devyn Capellas on Sept. 21 at Hilo High, and the two switched spots a week later, with Sako’s 272 matching Hilo’s Travis Puleo for the boys high score of the season.
“Honestly, I just took my time, was disciplined and thought about my shot more,” said Sako, an avid hiker and hunter.
The Canefire don’t have the depth of Kamehameha or Waiakea, but senior Jared Maldonado is vying to reach the HHSAA tournament for the third time.
Saturday, at the final meet of the season before the BIIF individual championships Oct. 12, Kamehameha holds a “narrow lead,” Kamehameha coach Tracy Aruga said, as it seeks to dethrone defending champ Waiakea and sweep the team titles for the first time.
“Up in the air,” Soultz said. “Devyn has really stepped up as a senior.”
Waiakea’s Ryan Kim also has a first-place finish to credit this season, and Jonah Matsuura is among the team’s other reliable shooters.
Kamehameha hasn’t had an overall winner yet, but it’s made up for it with consistent efforts from La’iku Paleka, Colby Terlep – they finished third and fourth, respectively, last week –Dylan Rosehill and Nicholas Souza.
Aruga credited Terlep, a sophomore, for “raising the bar for the entire team.”
“(He) thrives on competition when we’re behind on points,” Aruga said. “His positive attitude is infectious.”
If the boys team race is on, the girls race is off.
Kamehameha is in line for a repeat, Aruga said, and the private-school Warriors have boasted the top shooter at each meet.
Beyonce Corpuz shot a BIIF season-high 274 last Saturday for her second consecutive win after compiling a 273 the week before.
“Four girls went to states last season, and the expectation was to repeat, and they appear to be doing that,” Aruga said.
Of the top 10 shooters in scoring average league-wide, he said six are from Kamehameha.
The marks-women include:
• Junior Kanani Araki, the defending BIIF champion, has two first-place finishes;
• McKenna Hewitt has the other;
• Nahulu Carvalho tied Araki earlier this year with 273 but lost a bull’s-eye tiebreaker
• Briani Iyo shot 268 at Waiakea to finish second, sandwiching herself between Corpuz and Araki (267) with Keaau’s Dakota Muranaka (266) fourth.
“Kanani’s competitiveness drives everyone to get better,” Aruga said.
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