With his remarkable, tip-of-the-iceberg potential, Joseph Randolph is ready to rise.

Life has been a blur lately for the recent Baldwin High School graduate and it has reached Bourbonnais, Ill., where he will attend Olivet Nazarene University, a private non-profit NAIA school near Chicago, on a full-ride scholarship.

Like the flash he is on the track, Randolph is done in the Maui Interscholastic League almost as he was just getting started.

The 2022 state champion in the 100-meter dash said when he lost his first race at that distance in high school — in the 2023 state final at War Memorial Stadium, finishing second to Hawaii Baptist’s Shane Kawakami-Williams by 0.09 seconds, 10.63 to 10.72 — he knew he had to regroup.

“I went and talked to my girlfriend and she said, ‘You’ve got one more race, you’ve got to finish strong,’ so that’s what I did,” Randolph said.

He did that and more, winning the 200 in his final appearance with “Baldwin” across his chest as he ran a wind-aided time of 21.35 seconds to win the event by nearly half a second.

With his prowess in track and field, as well as finding his path in football, where he was the only first-team MIL All-Star for the 0-9 Bears, he is the choice as The Maui News MIL Boy Athlete of the Year.

Randolph is the 14th Bear to win the award — Baldwin’s Jason Lopez won the first honor in 1991.

Tuesday night in a phone interview, Randolph answered the phone despite the fact he was in Illinois with his family and the clock was past 1:30 a.m. locally. He was happy that he did.

“I’m in Chicago right now actually visiting my college, so I’m so glad you told me that,” Randolph said of being informed of the honor. “You just made my trip.”

His blazing 200 mark at the state meet in May was not record-eligible with a wind-gauge reading of 3.3 meters per second — 2.0 MPS is the highest allowable for record purposes — but the time was the second-fastest 200 ever recorded at any Hawaii state meet, windy or not, according to HHSAA track officials.

Kapolei’s Devin Jenkins ran a wind-aided 21.09 in 2011, also at War Memorial Stadium. Jenkins enjoyed a standout sprint career at South Carolina.

Answering the phone at 1:31 a.m. is just who Randolph is, according to Baldwin football coach Cody Nakamura, who took over the Bears’ program in 2022.

“Yes, absolutely, absolutely a great kid and I think just unassuming, very humble, I don’t think he even realizes how much talent and God-given ability that he has,” Nakamura said. “And when he does fine tune all that at the next level, it’s going to be something to see, for sure.”

Now, Randolph will look to hone his skills in track and football at a tiny Christian school with an undergraduate enrollment of just over 2,500, only about 700 more than Baldwin.

Tuesday was the first time he laid eyes on the ONU campus.

“The hotel is only like 10 minutes away and we took a drive there, just to kind of see it and it’s, whoa, really nice,” Randolph said. “I saw the football field, I saw the baseball field, I saw the buildings, the church, everything. It was awesome.”

Randolph played junior varsity football for Baldwin in 2019 and then saw his freshman track season cut short in March 2020 by COVID-19 — the pandemic would also cost him his sophomore seasons in both sports.

He played football for the Bears as a junior, but really it wasn’t until his junior track and field season that he burst upon the scene. He won the state 100 in 10.97 and was the top qualifier in the 200 in 22.66 before having to scratch out of the final in that race with an injury.

As a senior, Randolph was the absolute bright spot for a Bears football team that went without a win or tie for the first time since 1954. He was a clear choice as a first-team MIL All-Star at utility — it was perhaps his final game on the gridiron for the Bears where his potential shone brightest in a 31-6 loss to Kamehameha Maui.

He had 11 carries for 104 yards, including a 60-yard touchdown jaunt on third-and-21 to give the Bears a 6-0 lead — the only lead Baldwin held all season. He also had an interception in the end zone in that game.

He finished the season with 71 carries for 406 yards rushing and had 54 yards on four receptions, accounting for 48.1 percent of the Bears’ 956 total yards as their only true weapon. Randolph’s three TDs accounted for 18 of their 44 points.

He will redshirt as a freshman in football this fall and feels that is the best path forward as he gets his feet on the ground in Illinois — the only snow he has ever laid eyes on was on Haleakala.

“I guess that’s the thrill of it because everything is like all set in motion — I’m really excited,” Randolph said. “I feel very welcome, I feel comfortable in where I’m really staying, the staff over there has made me feel super secure. Like, ‘We’re going to help you out through all the uncertainties,’ so I’m really, really, really stoked.”

Nakamura, a former standout tight end for Baldwin and Weber State, said that redshirting in football is the right decision for Randolph as a freshman. Randolph has stopped by the Baldwin facilities this summer to work out and was also a predominant presence, helping youngsters at a recent University of Hawaii coaches clinic at Central Maui Regional Park.

“Part of our goals this year was to kind of find something for Joseph to latch on to and I think he absolutely fell in love with the game,” Nakamura said. “Unfortunately I don’t get to coach him in the future, but I sure wish we had a couple more years with him. He definitely made some huge strides this year, he worked on his hands, he worked on reading an offensive line.

“And, like we mentioned before, when he does pop one and is striding down that sidelines, it’s like the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen in the world. He’s flying and you know he’s not going to get caught.”

Randolph has spoken with ONU track coaches and football recruiter — his campus tour was Wednesday and student orientation is ongoing this weekend.

“To be doing two sports, we were recommended that I redshirt my first year for football and do my track sport first,” Randolph said. “Spring ball for football and the track season outdoor kind of conflict with each other, so I was advised by the recruiter as well as the football coaches and the track coaches that I just redshirt my freshman football year — do track and then come out my sophomore year and do both.”

He only started playing football in high school.

“He developed so much in just that short time we had him,” Nakamura said. “… He’s going to the next level and there’s going to be a bunch of good coaches there to work with him on the football field and continue to develop him there.

“On the track side, a couple technique tweaks and getting in the weight room and having a proper weight training program for him will just take him to the next level, as well.”

When asked if he has untouched potential, Randolph said: “I believe so, I believe if I just stay prayed up and work way more hard because, you know, I’m a little bit of a lazy person, so I’ve got to kind of lose that mindset.”

Randolph stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 165 pounds. He would like to be 180 pounds with added muscle by the time outdoor track rolls around in the spring.

“I see like how blessed I am to be gifted athletically with my frame, height, speed and all,” Randolph said. “I think when it just comes down to hard work and investing all that, I think that is where I can really scratch the surface of my potential, yes.”

Randolph knows that with technique and strength work in college he can bring his track times down significantly.

“I’m excited because my track coach, he has trained Olympians before, our 4×1(00 relay) is ranked, finished third in the NAIA,” Randolph said. “I’m like super stoked, I mean I haven’t even stepped on campus yet let alone met the coaches in person, nor my team.

“I saw a sporting goods (store) nearby and I’m like ready to go get some track shoes and start working out tomorrow.”

* Robert Collias is at rcollias@mauinews.com.

MIL BOY ATHLETES OF THE YEAR

1990-91–Jason Lopez, Baldwin

1991-92–Kalei Awai, St. Anthony

1992-93–Ray Wilhelm, Baldwin

1993-94–Carlton Okamoto, Baldwin

1994-95–Buddy Perry, Lahainaluna

1995-96–Robert Kemfort, Maui High

1996-97–Bubba McLean, St. Anthony

1997-98–Jansen Medeiros, Lahainaluna

1998-99–Shane Victorino, St. Anthony

2000-01–Kawika Kahui, Baldwin

2001-02–Ikaika Neizman, Lahainaluna, and Kainoa Casco, Lahainaluna

2002-03–Akamu Aki, Baldwin

2003-04–J.J. Eno, Baldwin

2004-05–Bulla Tuzon, Baldwin

2005-06–Tye Perdido, Seabury Hall

2006-07–Manu Adolpho, Molokai

2007-08–Lake Casco, Lahainaluna

2008-09–Reid Hunter, King Kekaulike, and Mana Rosa, Baldwin

2009-10–Brock Shishido, Baldwin

2010-11–Pasoni Tasini, Baldwin

2011-12–Pasoni Tasini, Baldwin

2012-13–Keelan Ewaliko, Baldwin

2013-14–David Rapanot, Molokai

2014-15–Thomas Rosen-St. John, Lahainaluna

2015-16–Laakea Kahoohanohano-Davis, Baldwin

2016-17–Micah Jio, Maui High

2017-18–Chayce Akaka, Baldwin

2018-19–Naighel Calderon, Lanai

2019-20–Joshua Tihada, Lahainaluna

2021-22–Kale Spencer, Kamehameha Maui

2022-23–Joseph Randolph, Baldwin

Note: No winners selected in 1999-2000, 2020-21