Napili wins A Division title

August 2, 2009

By STARR BEGLEY

HILO --- Napili Canoe Club coach Joey Tihada was packing up after all of his club's races were finished in Saturday's state regatta at Hilo Bay, and a final walk past the scoreboard revealed that Napili was leading the A Division through 32 events with 53 points.

Seven races later, though Napili hadn't participated in a race in hours, it maintained the lead and brought home a Hawaii Canoe Racing Association championship.

''Our kids did real well,'' Tihada said. ''We won both the 13 girls and boys. The four crews that we brought did good. I'm happy for the paddlers that really put in the time and effort. They worked hard.''

Aloha Kaaihue-Ah Puck, Jordan Ruidas, Tricia Kama, Chelsey Erickson-Vierra, Kanoe Delatori and Mahea Kaaihue-Falahee took the girls 13 title, and Michael Naganuma, Aaron Watson, Bronson Kaina, Christian Freitas, Dillion Magalianes and Kahi Tihada won in boys 13.

''Last night was dumping rain, this morning too,'' said Tihada. ''But the water was nice today, perfect conditions, though the middle and outside lanes seemed to be running better.''

The Napili girls 13 crew was in lane 14, and the boys 13 in lane 11.

''We knew they had the potential to do really well,'' Tihada said. ''Today, they just pulled through all the way. The boys, they worked hard. We told them all to just go out there on the water and just focus on themselves and nothing else, to really visualize them crossing the finish before anybody else. My brother Nori Tihada and coaches Eugene Tihada, Manny Portades and Raeleen Kama have all worked so hard and done such a great job with the kids, teaching them the basics. In the end, it comes down to the kids, though.''

Napili had fewer crews than 10 of the clubs in the A Division.

''I'm ecstatic. It's something that I didn't think about,'' Tihada said. ''We were just focused crew by crew, doing the best we could. I knew we'd be up there after (keiki) events, but I didn't think that we'd win the division. I'm real happy for the kids, the parents, the coaches that all came out. There was a lot of hard work involved.''

Kawaihae, which brought six crews, tied for most in the division, placed second with 51 points.

Wailea tied for fifth with 38 points. Kahana tied for eighth with 36.

Wailea's Quinn Whitford, Max Oneha, Justin Firmignac, Trent Corpuz, Fred Sims and Joseph Kang won the boys 14 title.

''Until this past Maui regatta, our boys 14 have gone undefeated on Maui for three years,'' said Wailea's Polohiwa Whitford, club representative and wife of head coach Kapena Whitford. ''These kids have had an interesting story. When they were 12 years old, they took the gold at states in Hanalei and Puna came in second. Last year a week before the state race, our key paddler had issues with his appendix right before the race and we took second to Puna. They were in the boys 13 event at the time. This year, at 14 they took gold again, so it's been quite a journey for them.

''We tell the kids that if they keep racing, these are the same people they will be racing against their whole lives. We thought that Puna would be the team to beat again this year, but Kai Ehitu was a challenge too.''

Lae Ula O Kai, which entered the maximum of 12 crews into the AA division, scored 114 points, finishing second to Keaukaha by one. Keaukaha had 10 crews.

Michele Golberg, Mari Toro-Ford, Mira Cotter and Sharon Balidoy of Lae Ula O Kai finished first in women's open 4.

''It was a great day in Hilo,'' said Balidoy, who coaches the team with her husband Ricky. ''The course was good all day. I'm pleased with and excited for all of our paddlers that came out today. Each and every one of them paddled and they did it with all of their hearts. As a coach, you can't ask for more than that.

''As for winning, I don't keep track of points at any of the regattas. We just work hard. We don't put any expectations on our club to win, but simply to do your best which is exactly what they did.''

Kihei scored 132 points to finish second to Puna (166) in AAA.

''We didn't do too well early in the day,'' said Kihei coach Kawika Williams. ''Kids, novices, juniors, basically the first half. We made up some points along the way, but it wasn't enough points to catch Puna. They did well.

''Coming here to states, everybody's fast. It's a whole new game. A lot of fast teams, but overall it was a great learning experience for a lot of our paddlers. Bottom line is as a whole, Maui did very well today. We should be proud.''

Starr Begley is at sbegley@mauinews.com

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August 2, 2009

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