HILO — Hilo High took home two titles and Kealakehe High claimed one during the Central Pacific Bank/BIIF canoe paddling championship on Wednesday afternoon at Hilo Bayfront.
The Vikings captured the boys crown and the mixed crown — thanks in part to Uakea Kealoha, Solomon Makana Keli‘ikuli and ‘Eha Kiyuna, who were part of both crews.
The Waveriders narrowly secured the girls title, making a last-leg dash to overcome Ka ‘Umeke Ka‘eo PCS and win by less than a second — clocking in at 4:41.38, ahead of Ka ‘Umeke’s 4:41.63.
Also on Hilo’s boys crew were Chance Kana Badon-Dellomes, Uzzaiah La‘akea Kanewa and Kolomana Kahanu — and on the mixed squad were Malia Simram, Wai‘olukea Publico and Brooke Kaliko Uyeshiro.
Kealakehe’s girls crew members were Grace and Ryken Gray, Ukiah Rasler, Corree Kobayashi, Ocean Castillo-Cerezo, Tatiana Kiko-Nihau, Rylee Hurst, Jersi Behrenger, Aaliyah Ballesteros and Keleihua Medeiros.
The HHSAA state championship will begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday in Hilo Bay.
12 total BIIF crews (four from each category) will compete in field which will also host 18 OIA crews (six of each), six ILH crews (two of each), nine Maui crews (three of each) and three Kauai crews (one of each).
Hilo has not hosted the state championship since 2018.
During last year’s championship on Maui, the ILH’s Punahou School and Maui’s Seabury Hall were dominant forces and no BIIF teams notched top three finishes.
This year, the local competitors will look to defend their home waters.
Boys
Hilo’s boys crew finished at 3:49.55 — trailed by Waiakea High at 3:53.79, Kealakehe at 3:56.99 and KS-Hawai‘i at 3:57.97.
All four aforementioned boys crews will get to compete in the state championship.
Hawaii Prep fell just below the cut, placing fifth at 3:58.84. Clocking in after four minutes were No. 6 Konawaena High (4:01.40), No. 7 Kohala High (4:02.87) and No. 8 Connections PCS (4:17.91).
Girls
Ka ‘Umeke fell just short of taking the girls title, but will still get to compete in the state tournament. No. 3 Kohala High (4:43.12) and No. 4 Hilo (4:51.29) also earned state berths. No. 5 HPA (4:53.90), No. 6 KS-Hawai‘i (4:54.66) and No. 7 Kea‘au (5:05.68) did not qualify for state.
Konawaena’s girls crew placed first in its preliminary heat, but was disqualified and not allowed to compete in the final race. Pahoa’s crew was also DQ’d in the prelims.
Mixed
Hilo finished at 4:04.28, nearly 14 seconds ahead of No. 2 Waiakea (4:18.22). Both will compete in states, alongside No. 3 Kea‘au (4:20.82) and No. 4 Konawaena (4:22.83).
Ka ‘Umeke’s mixed crew nearly also notched a state spot, but fell behind just short of the finish line — clocking in at 4:28.38 to place fifth. KS – Hawai‘i (4:31.27) placed No. 6, Kohala (4:37.79) was No. 7 and HPA (4:54.34) was No. 8. The mixed prelims culled much of the competition, as Kealakehe, Pahoa and Parker School’s crews were disqualified.