Seabury Hall boys take second at state cross country meet

The Seabury Hall boys cross country team turned in Maui County’s top performance at the Hawaii High School Athletic Association Cross Country Championships on Saturday, finishing second in Division II behind Hawaii Preparatory Academy.

The Spartans totaled 44 points while Hawaii Prep had 25. In third place, Hawaii Baptist Academy finished with 53 points.

Seabury Hall was led by Silas Miller-Yodar and Brady Punu, who finished fifth and sixth, respectively, in the combined Division I and II individual standings at Hawaii Preparatory Academy. The boys and girls races each featured 200 runners, with competitors from both divisions racing together.

Miller-Yoder, who won the Maui Interscholastic League championship Oct. 24 at Baldwin High School, said he considers this season his breakout year.

After beginning his high school cross country career without qualifying for the state championships, Miller-Yodar found his way to the top of the podium throughout the season en route to winning the league title.

On Saturday, Miller-Yodar completed the course in 17 minutes, 40 seconds, while Punu finished in 17:44. They were second and third among Division II runners, trailing only Hawaii Prep’s Philipp Gerstegarbe, who finished fourth overall in 17:37.

Reflecting on his progression, Miller-Yodar said learning to embrace discomfort, whether through physical pain, health challenges or injuries, and that's helped him recognize that progress and the process go hand in hand.

"I was very sick the morning of the race, making the whole event feel like a Michael Jordan-flu game, in stride making me faster," said Miller-Yoder. "When you enjoy the process like that, it doesn’t become work. This championship result meant a lot because I had never run in an MIL Championship before, and it was the same course (at Baldwin High School), which the year prior I had ended up walking to the finish line and eventually collapsing. I kind of felt like I had to give the course some revenge."

For Punu, this cross country season has had few, if any, downsides.

He said he is grateful for the support system behind him, and he saw significant improvements in his performance, while becoming an integral part of the team’s overall success.

"This championship result for me is not just a win or a second-place finish. This result made me realize how far I’ve come and how much work I’ve put in to make it this far," said Punu. "My brother Brendan, who is leaving the team this year -- he is a senior -- has helped me be successful as well."

Also for the Spartans, Remi Kuriger placed 38th overall in 19:17, Asher Kingdon was 55th in 19:35 and Kingston Thayer finished 94th in 20:14. Seabury Hall’s Brendan Punu also finished 111th in 20:25, while Wesley Kosaka was 150th in 21:32.

The Seabury Hall boys cross country team poses for a photo after finishing second in Division II at the HHSAA Cross Country Championships on Saturday. Photo courtesy Patrick O’Leary/Hawaii Preparatory Academy

The Seabury Hall boys cross country team poses for a photo after finishing second in Division II at the HHSAA Cross Country Championships on Saturday. Photo courtesy Patrick O'Leary/Hawaii Preparatory Academy

Among the Division I boys teams, King Kekaulike had the best finish for the Maui County schools, placing 10th with 239 points. Maui High finished 12th with 314.

Makoa Kapuniai led King Kekaulike with a 45th-place finish in 19:25, followed by Phinehas Brennan in 75th at 19:59 and Alexander Lehman in 76th at 20:00.

Ian Madriaga was Maui High’s top finisher, placing 77th overall in 20:00.

Other notable Maui County boys finishers included Maui Prep’s Luke Cardon, who placed 46th in 19:26, Kamehameha Maui’s Noah Knapp, who finished 54th in 19:34, and Kihei Charter’s Braxton Cuomo, who was 82nd in 20:06.

On the girls side, Kamehameha Maui had the highest team finish among Maui County schools, placing ninth in Division I with 254 points, followed by Maui High in 13th with 314 points.

Kamehameha Maui’s Keilana Maldonado competes in the HHSAA Cross Country Championships on Saturday at Hawaii Preparatory Academy. Maldonado was Maui County’s top girls finisher, placing 19th overall in 22:12. Photo courtesy Patrick O’Leary/Hawaii Preparatory Academy

Kamehameha Maui's Keilana Maldonado competes in the HHSAA Cross Country Championships on Saturday at Hawaii Preparatory Academy. Maldonado was Maui County's top girls finisher, placing 19th overall in 22:12. Photo courtesy Patrick O'Leary/Hawaii Preparatory Academy

Kamehameha Maui’s Keilana Maldonado led Maui County’s girls runners, finishing 19th overall in 22:12.

Kihei Charter’s Brooke Hoida finished in 22nd place, while King Kekaulike’s Emily Kermode was 29th. Other local finishers included King Kekaulike’s Ariceli Gonzales (41st), Seabury Hall’s Kailana Hagan (48th) and Kulanihakoi’s Lucy James (23:57).

Kamehameha Maui also got strong finishes from Hali’a Maldonado (68th) and Kalici Chaves (75th).

Maui High was led by Jozea Sanchez-Cabrera (87th) and Mia Terawaki (90th) in 25:11.

Radford’s Stephen Kozuma won the boys individual championship in 17:23, while Kamehameha Kapalama claimed the Division I team title with 52 points, edging Mililani by two points.

Mililani won the girls Division I team championship with 56 points, four ahead of Punahou. Mililani’s Kaitlyn Bitterman won the individual title in 19:48.

Hanalani Schools captured the girls Division II team title with 23 points.

HHSAA Cross Country Championship

Boys

Division I team results -- 1. Kamehameha Kapalama 52; 2. Mililani 54; 3. Punahou 105; 4. Radford 171; 5. Kalaheo 179; 6. Kalani 189; 7. Pearl City 190; 8. Mid-Pacific Institute 205; 9. Kahuku 234; 10. King Kekaulike 239; 11. Campbell 270; 12. Maui High 314; 13. Kealakehe 316; 14. Keaau 319; 15. Waiakea 361; 16. Hilo 407.

Division II team results -- 1. Hawaii Prep 25; 2. Seabury Hall 44; 3. Hawaii Baptist Academy 53; 4. Kauai 108.

Individual results (Division I and II) -- 1. Stephen Kozuma (Radford), 17:23; 2. Luke Silva (Kamehameha Kapalama), 17:23; 3. Rocco Calandra (Kaiser), 17:35; 4. Philipp Gerstegarbe (Hawaii Prep), 17:37; 5. Silas Miller-Yodar (Seabury Hall), 17:40; 6. Brady Punu (Seabury Hall), 17:44; 38. Remi Kuriger (Seabury Hall), 19:17; 45. Makoa Kapuniai (King Kekaulike), 19:25; 46. Luke Cardon (Maui Prep), 19:26; 54. Noah Knapp (Kamehameha Maui), 19:34; 55. Asher Kingdon (Seabury Hall), 19:35; 75. Phinehas Brennan (King Kekaulike), 19:59; 76. Alexander Lehman (King Kekaulike), 20:00; 77. Ian Madriaga (Maui High), 20:00; 82. Braxton Cuomo (Kihei Charter), 20:06; 94. Kingston Thayer (Seabury Hall), 20:14; 95. Kaikuolo Chang (Baldwin), 20:14; 102. Niccolo Daniele (King Kekaulike), 20:19; 111. Brendan Punu (Seabury Hall), 20:25; 114. Kai Montgomery (Lanai), 20:39; 118. Nikko Roy (Baldwin), 20:41; 119. Jack Clemente (Kihei Charter), 20:42; 121. Makaiah Clark (Maui Prep), 20:43; 124. Carleton Kinkade (Maui High), 20:49; 127. Damien Balinbin (Maui High), 20:52; 129. Caden Orikasa (Maui High), 20:54; 131. Nathaniel Hassen (Baldwin), 20:57; 133. Deacon Guindon (Kihei Charter), 20:59; 135. Brenden McCormick (Kihei Charter), 21:00; 139. Chase Lambrecht (Maui Prep), 21:10; 140. Lexer James Julian (Maui High), 21:17; 143. Brian Tarimo (Baldwin), 21:19; 144. Ethan Yeh (Maui High), 21:19; 145. Richard Rafes (King Kekaulike), 21:19; 149. Charles Martin (Kamehameha Maui), 21:23; 150. Wesley Kosaka (Seabury Hall), 21:32; 161. Julian Ramirez (Lanai), 21:47; 165. Keenan Brennan (King Kekaulike), 21:57; 170. Aiden Saito (Kamehameha Maui), 22:01; 181. Eliseo Brennan (King Kekaulike), 22:36.

Girls

Division I team results -- 1. Mililani 56; 2. Punahou 60; 3. Kamehameha Kapalama 147; 4. Kealakehe 160; 5. Kalaheo 162; 6. Iolani 162; 7. Radford 197; 8. Moanalua 210; 9. Kamehameha Maui 254; 10. Waiakea 258; 11. Kalani 264; 12. Kahuku 314; 13. Maui High 314; 14. Hilo 329; 15. Campbell 334; 16. Keaau 383.

Division II team results -- 1. Hanalani Schools 23; 2. Hawaii Baptist Academy 54; 3. Hawaii Prep 64; 4. Island School 91.

Individual results (Division I and II) -- 1. Kaitlyn Bitterman (Mililani), 19:48; 2. Adarra Thomas (Mililani), 20:04; 3. Zadie Bolton (Kealakehe), 20:30; 4. Kaiya Shigemoto (Mililani), 20:44; 5. Sadie Krueger (Moanalua), 20:59; 19. Keilana Maldonado (Kamehameha Maui), 22:12; 22. Brooke Hoida (Kihei Charter), 22:22; 29. Emily Kermode (King Kekaulike), 22:44; 41. Ariceli Gonzales (King Kekaulike), 23:19; 48. Kailana Hagan (Seabury Hall), 23:44; 56. Lucy James (Kulanihakoi), 23:57; 68. Hali’a Maldonado (Kamehameha Maui), 24:18; 75. Kalici Chaves (Kamehameha Maui), 24:40; 87. Jozea Sanchez-Cabrera (Maui High), 25:09; 90. Mia Terawaki (Maui High), 25:11; 98. Kylee Adkins (Maui High), 25:30; 102. Reese Hendrickson (Kulanihakoi), 25:31; 105. Sophie Socher (Molokai), 25:39; 111. Sachi Haban (Baldwin), 25:46; 114. Amaiya Garcia (Maui High), 25:48; 117. Mia Rutherford (Seabury Hall), 25:55; 120. Leialoha Akiona (Kamehameha Maui), 26:05; 121. Goma Mella-Reiss (Seabury Hall), 26:08; 127. Nicole Ellenor Espanol (Maui High), 26:17; 132. Payton Kuwasaki (Kamehameha Maui), 26:23; 153. Kitelyn Shimada (Kulanihakoi), 27:11; 165. Ana Carta-Murli (King Kekaulike), 27:46; 167. Keoniana Capdevielle (King Kekaulike), 27:48; 169. Shyramae Dulay (Lanai), 27:50; 171. Gianna Bacchus (Baldwin), 27:51; 172. Jamie Flower (Baldwin), 27:57; 175. Rhyan Welch (Maui High), 28:11; 178. Sophia Agtarap Pascual (Lanai), 28:21; 185. Jayviann Panuelo (Maui High), 29:01; 192. Brooklyn Morrissey (Kihei Charter), 29:50; 195. Zoie Wada (Kamehameha Maui), 30:13; 197. Olivia Schrandt (Kulanihakoi), 32:46.