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Cantere continues winning ways; MIL teams ready for championship season

By Dakota Grossman 7 min read

PUKALANI-- Kaimana Cantere draws motivation from his former and current Maui High School teammates to be the best runner he can be.

That motivation has helped Cantere consistently lead every cross country race he's participated in this Maui Interscholastic League season, including on Saturday when he won on the 3.05-mile course on the Kamehameha Schools Maui campus in 17 minutes, 3.9 seconds. He noted that he's learned and grown a lot as a student-athlete since his younger years.

"That really motivates me to see how much I've improved and how much I stand out from the pack," the senior said. "My freshman and sophomore year, my goal was to catch up to the top boys-- Adam (Hakola), Damon (Wakefield), and Hunter (Shields)-- but what really motivated me was the 2019 state championships at Seabury. I felt like I could have done better and I should have, but at the time, I wasn't at my prime."

Cantere led the Sabers to 23 points Saturday to finish first in the last regular-season MIL meet. Seabury Hall (46 points) was second, followed by Baldwin (93) and Lanai (102).

"My teammates, they motivate me. I see how much they progress and that really motivates me to be better," Cantere said while cheering and watching other Sabers cross the finish line. "Seeing them improve, only improves me."

In ideal racing conditions that included overcast skies and no wind, runners took off from the start line with Cantere taking the lead. He gradually broke away from the pack as they made their way through the course.

About a minute back, Seabury freshman runners Jacob Romero and Micah Brighton finished second and third with times of 18:11.1 and 18:20.1, respectively.

The pair said that the first hill within the beginnings of the race "was brutal." It stretched well over a half-mile long, but replicated what the incline might feel like at the HHSAA Honolulu Marathon Cross Country State Championships at Hawaii Prep in December.

"It just kept going up and up," Romero said with a laugh.

Said Cantere: "This course was very fun-- the last downhills definitely worked me, but I used that to my advantage and the uphills killed, but I was just thinking about the states course on Big Island. I was just thinking about that all the way up."

The start and finish line was located on Kamehameha Maui's football field, where spectators could see participants run through the finishing shoot from the stands.

"I really enjoyed having my family cheer me on, it's good to have everybody back," said Cantere, who was among many runners honored on Saturday for Senior Day. "It feels like old times when the bleachers were almost full with spectators and parents. To me, having a few people from my family, a few people from other families, it feels really good."

After racing, Romero and Brighton said they have their eyes set on the junior varsity championships next Saturday at their home course.

The pair also know they are in contention for an MIL team title in a few weeks-- though Maui High may be tough to beat-- before heading to the state meet, where they want to finish in the top 30 individually.

"That would be awesome," Brighton said.

"Last week, we started trying to go with Kaimana in the beginning, so that's been helping to improve our times, I think," Romero added. "We definitely all push each other a lot, so if everyone sticks with it, in two or three years, we'll possibly have a state contending team with how much everyone has been improving so far this year."

Seabury sophomore Layne Millen, who missed her freshman season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, picked up the win in the girls race with a time of 21:07.4 on Saturday.

"The course was pretty hilly. ... You think it stops, but it just keeps on going, but I felt pretty good," she said. "All the cheers were really fun and it was just a good environment. Things just feel a lot more close to normal and it just feels like things are coming to an end and that sports will be back and we're going to go back to living our lives like we used to, so it just felt really good to feel that support, especially that one part by the field-- everyone rounded up and was cheering, it was great."

Kihei Charter's Tanya Kari followed closely in second (21:16.2) and Baldwin's Selena Castro in third (21:24.9) -- this trio of girls, including Millen, typically run side-by-side or within reach each week.

The small pack stayed together for about a mile before Millen slowly extended her lead.

"I really like it because I feel like they have a really good attitude about racing," Kari said about her fellow competitors. "I'm actually very happy that I get to race with them, they're so nice."

The Kihei sophomore led the Tiger Sharks to a team title with 34 points to edge the Sabers (53) and Bears (65).

"I'm very, very proud of my team," said Kari, who noted how exciting it was to finally be racing in uniform after the league's hiatus during the pandemic. "I just see how hard they work out at practice and they are very supportive of me."

The MIL's usual front runner, senior Kaylee Volner of Seabury, raced in Idaho on Saturday at the Nike Cross Regionals to get in a high-intensity race before leading the Spartans into the championship season.

"I'm nervous. I've never been in a championship meet before, never even done a high school season before since everything got shut down, but I'm super excited to run with the team at a big race," Millen said. "I'm just excited to go (to Hawaii island) with the team and I hope that everyone stays healthy so that we can score and try to win."

* Dakota Grossman is at dgrossman@mauinews.com.

MIL Cross Country Meet No. 3

Saturday's Results

At Kamehameha Maui

Boys

Team--1. Maui High 23, 2. Seabury Hall 46, 3. Baldwin 93, 4. Lanai 102.

Individual--1. Jared Cantere, Maui High, 17:03.9; 2. Jacob Romero, Seabury Hall, 18:11.1; 3. Micah Brighton, Seabury Hall, 18:20.1; 4. Niko Banto, Maui Prep, 18:28.1; 5. Maxwell Anklam, Maui High, 18:30.4; 6. Jacob Hinfey, Maui High, 18:32.1; 7. Aidan Javier, Kihei Charter, 18:39.8; 8. Brayden Joaquin, Kamehameha Maui, 18:41.0; 9. Galen Okamoto, Maui High, 18:44.9; 10. Mason Anklam, Maui High, 19:02.8; 11. Timothy James Heile, Lahainaluna, 19:14.1; 12. Jayden Fontanilla, Baldwin, 19:18.2; 13. Maddox DelleFave, Kihei Charter, 19:20.2; 14. Jacob Janikowski, Lanai, 19:25.5; 15. Paul Spohr, Maui High, 19:26.1; 16. Sage Ryden, Seabury Hall, 19:30.6; 17. Justin Swann, Maui High, 19:34.6; 18. Arjei Paet, Baldwin, 19:39.8; 19. Bazel Potratz, Seabury Hall, 19:57.1; 20. Travis Delos Santos, Baldwin, 20:01.7; 21. Byron Ellis, Kihei Charter, 20:03.7; 22. Noah Donohue, Seabury Hall, 20:04.7; 23. Cogoro Okanishi, Lanai, 20:57.8; 24. Alex Guerrero, King Kekaulike, 21:14.3; 25. Zachary Bush, Seabury Hall, 21:15.7; 26. Mark Ruaburo, Lanai, 21:20.1; 27. Jason Rodriguez Esquival, Maui High, 21:20.8; 28. Cameron Burns, Maui Prep, 21:21.7; 29. Nikolai Mironov, Seabury Hall, 21:22.1; 30. Gaige Okamoto, Maui High, 21:24.3; 31. Casey Talana, Baldwin, 21:44.5; 32. Keola Eldredge, Baldwin, 21:45.2; 33. Aaron Guerrero, St. Anthony, 21:58.1; 34. Oscar Lincoln, King Kekaulike, 22:04.1; 35. Noah Kalehuawehe, Kamehameha Maui, 22:25.6; 36. Hannes Spohr, Maui High, 22:43.5; 37. Reiden Tumacder, Maui High, 22:55.9; 38. Joe Winkie, Lahainaluna, 24:26.7; 39. Norlito Ranchez, Maui High, 24:28.1; 40. Charlie Baldwin, Haleakala Waldorf, 24:58.0; 41. Christian Oliva, Lanai, 24:58.8; 42. Andrei Badillo, Lanai, 25:10.0; 43. Kalaheo Sakamoto, Kamehameha Maui, 26:58.3; 44. Kiai Souza, Kamehameha Maui, 29:12.6.

Girls

Team--1. Kihei Charter 34, 2. Maui High 53, 3. Baldwin 65, 4. Kamehameha Maui 84.

Individual--1. Layne Millen, Seabury Hall, 21:07.4; 2. Tanya Kari, Kihei Charter, 21:16.2; 3. Selena Castro, Baldwin, 21:24.9; 4. Layla James, Kihei Charter, 23:15.7; 5. Ashley Tarasenko, Maui High, 23:20.5; 6. Kyla Mira, Maui High, 23:41.9; 7. Kadence Merritt, Kamehameha Maui, 23:58.9; 8. Ellison Shapiro, Kihei Charter, 24:21.1; 9. Kailani Bicoy, Molokai, 24:31.3; 10. Devon Hardy, King Kekaulike, 24:31.8; 11. Haley Mahoe, Lahainaluna, 24:36.3; 12. Isabel Andulaz, Maui High, 24:44.1; 13. Kayla Bush, Seabury Hall, 24:53.1; 14. Paige Asato, Baldwin, 24:57.6; 15. Sophia Kato, Maui High, 25:14.3; 16. Charlotte O’Brien, Kihei Charter, 25:35.2; 17. Leilani Portillo, Kihei Charter, 25:41.1; 18. Emily Sloper, Kamehameha Maui, 25:48.5; 19. Grace James, Kihei Charter, 25:53.0; 20. Emma Jane Roy, Baldwin, 25:57.4; 21. Daisy Queirolo, Kihei Charter, 26:15.2; 22. Lynn Pustelnik, St. Anthony, 26:16.0; 23. Shelby Kubo, Baldwin, 26:20.5; 24. Karissa Chapman, Kamehameha Maui, 26:25.9; 25. Eliasha Romero, Lanai, 26:36.3; 26. Audrey Barth, Kihei Charter, 26:37.2; 27. Alexis-Ann Decambra, King Kekaulike, 26:37.7; 28. Kawai Sanita, Hana, 26:53.9; 29. Guillia Porter, King Kekaulike, 26:54.2; 30. Hi’ileiakaualilinoe Kehano, Kamehameha Maui, 26:55.1; 31. Bailee Hughes, Haleakala Waldorf, 27:03.1; 32. Makena Fleury-DeVor, Kihei Charter, 27:30.8; 33. Mahea Sanita, Hana, 27:31.3; 34. Jenna Boggs, Baldwin, 27:33.1; 35. Deena Kiyabu, Baldwin, 27:46.9; 36. Sundi King, Kihei Charter, 27:53.7; 37. Oona Griffin, Kihei Charter, 28:07.2; 38. Kulamanu Grindling, Maui High, 28:15.3; 39. Violet Mossman, Kamehameha Maui, 28:30.9; 40. Rihanna Vega, Maui High, 28:54.6; 41. Tenley Akutagawa, Molokai, 29:25.9; 42. Cailyn Omuro, Maui High, 29:36.3; 43. Layla Racadio, Kamehameha Maui, 30:12.7; 44. Madison Strand, King Kekaulike, 31:08.4; 45. Caroline Sloper, Kamehameha Maui, 31:29.7; 46. Kiana Downs, St. Anthony, 32:35.9; 47. Jane Bolante, Baldwin, 32:40.2; 48. Asa-Praise Kalalau, Hana, 34:20.0; 49. Serena Hurlburt, Hana, 40:11.7.

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