OIA Champs Set For Run At States

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Mililani High School senior Britney Stephens is
the defending state champ in the 200 meter
sprint and the winner of the OIA 100 meter
competition. Photo by Byron Lee,
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As a rule, the Mililani girls track and field team has always been able to come up with its biggest efforts in its biggest events.

This week, they travel to Maui for the Island Movers 2007 State Track and Field Championships hoping to again make an impact.

“They seem to rise to the occasion (when it counts),” Mililani coach Dane Matsunaga said.“Our tradition, which began in (former Trojan girls coach) Shane Akamine’s regime, helps us. We’ve been lucky to win championships in the past, and they feel like they need to uphold the tradition.”

Matsunaga’s team enters this week looking very much the prototypical Mililani team.The Trojans dominated the field May 5 en route to winning their third Oahu Interscholastic Association girls title in a row and their fourth in five years under Matsunaga. The Trojans have won eight of the last 10 OIA titles overall and have captured the Western Division 22 years in a row. With that kind of history,Matsunaga doesn’t figure to have to dig too deep into his motivational tool box this week.

“We’re not too big into speeches,” Matsunaga said. “It (state meet) is big already, so we don’t want to put any more pressure on them. They can only do the best they can do. It’s nice if you can win a state title, but our goal is to see improvement so the kids can feel proud of all the work they’ve put in during the year.”

Junior Chanelle Senas is a long-jumper for
the Trojans. Photo by Byron Lee,
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Matsunaga expects several of the Trojans to contend for medals with sprinter Britney Stephens leading the way. A senior, she is a defending state champion in the 200 meters and recently placed first in the 100 at the OIA championships. She’ll be among the favorites in both events as well as anchoring the Trojans’ 4x400 and 4x100 relay teams.

“She’s our top sprinter,” Matsunaga said of Stephens, who is a team co-captain.“Besides being our most talented, she’s probably the hardest worker on the team.”

Junior Ciara Quarles also figures to be in the mix, as she’ll enter this week ranked in the top five in both the 200 and the 400. She finished sixth in the 400 at last year’s state meet. Like Stephens, she’ll also participate on both relay teams.

“It’s rare to have one top sprinter, so we’ve been very fortunate to have two on the same team,” Matsunaga said.

The Trojans’ hopes also will be bolstered by a corps of talented long-distance runners that includes Kelli Ishihara, Nicole Painter and Kristin Ali Keith. Only a freshman, Keith recently won the 3,000 meters at the OIA Championships, while Ishihara placed fifth at the state meet a year ago.

Ishihara’s impact has been as big off the track as on, according to Matsunaga.“She’s a real good captain - the kids respond to her. She’s one of our more vocal leaders.”

The Trojans are also a strong bet to rack up points in the jumping events. Jasmine Pratt and sisters Chanelle and Courtney Senas will all participate in the long jump,with Courtney also expected to take part in the triple jump. Raenaa Fukushima also qualified in the triple jump, while Veronica Griffen will compete in the high jump.

In the 800 meters, Mililani will have a pair of hopefuls in Brook Brown and Amy Hunt, while the Trojans also are expecting solid performances from relay runners LeiAnn Chun and Laura Bunner.

“We gave them Monday off. There’s nothing more we can do in terms of training. Rest is probably the most important thing.”