Girls Track Coach Ochi Proud Of Dedicated Trojan Talent

Del.icio.us

With only four seniors on a roster that numbers 28, the Mililani girls track and field team figured to be a year away from postseason play when it opened its season in March. But sheer athletic ability can cover for a lot of shortcomings in the sporting world, including inexperience.

“I sometimes forget that we don’t have a lot of seniors - it feels like they’re veterans already,” said Mililani head coach Marshall Ochi, who led Mililani to its 23rd straight OIA Western Division crown recently. “Even though they’re young, they’re more advanced and more mature (for their age).”

Ochi expects as many as 18 players to have qualified for next week’s state Track and Field Championships, which will take place at Mililani Friday and Saturday. A strong showing at the state meet would be the ideal finish to what has been one of the more rewarding seasons for the program. If anything, the Trojans had to go a different route to keep their incredible string of West titles going, he said.

“We don’t have that sprinters’ base that we’ve had here in most years - we’re still developing that with the younger kids - so it was different. We had to use a little bit of creativity. We relied a lot on our distance events and our field events to win the West this year.”

The Trojans were seeking their ninth overall OIA title in the last 11 years over the weekend, although Ochi anticipated being without six key performers, who were to miss Saturday’s finals to prepare for that evening’s prom.

Mililani was to turn its attention to the upcoming state meet this week. They finished third at the state meet last year behind Punahou and Baldwin.

“Health is No. 1 right now,” he said. “It’s a long grueling season, and some of the girls have been training year round on their own, so we have to make sure we take care of any ticky-tack injuries. Mentally, it’s a matter of refocusing and trying to harness their energy into reaching the goals we’ve set.”

Leading the way is sophomore Courtney Senas, who won both the long jump and triple jump in the West recently. Her accomplishments are all the more significant considering she has been competing on both the Mililani track and softball teams.

“We told her that softball should be her priority and to show up when she can,” Ochi said. “Her competitive spirit is what separates her from other athletes. In everything she does, her mentality is that it’s a competition.”

Like Senas, teammate Isabelle Romero has been able to excel despite limited practice time. She competes in four events, including the 300 hurdles, the long jump and both the 4 x 100 and the 4 x 400 relay teams.

“Her strength is her phenomenal athletic ability,” Ochi said of Romero, who is a junior.“She was able to fit right in and compete in the long jump for us. She manages to compete at a very, very high level because she stays fit.”

Ochi is also projecting good things for junior Leiann Chun and sophomore Abigail McKoy, who competed in four and five events, respectively, this spring.

“Leiann’s biggest strength is that she’s steady,“Ochi said of Chun, who competes on both of the relay teams and both hurdles. “She works hard every day and leads by example. The girls respect her.

“Abigail is extraordinarily athletically gifted. Like Isabelle and Courtney, she’s a fierce competitor.”

A basketball player during the spring at Mililani last year, McKoy was able to compete in both basketball and track this time around after the hoops season was switched to winter, eliminating a conflict between the two sports.

In the distance events, the Trojans feature both sophomore Kristin Ali Keith and junior Nicole Painter.

“Nicole is one we rely on to bring energy to the team,” Ochi. “She’s always upbeat. Kristin is probably the hardest-working member of our team. She started running last year, and she hasn’t stopped yet. She doesn’t take (training) breaks.”