WAILUKU, Maui >> What is a state meet record worth?
To one athlete, the chance at two gold medals and a team crown just about covers it.
Kamehameha’s Kayson Smith-Bejgrowicz won the boys high jump at the Island Movers State Track and Field Championships at War Memorial Stadium on Friday.
He had a shot at a record, but walked away.
Smith-Bejgrowicz cleared 6 feet, 6 inches to beat King Kekaulike’s Corry Brown and Mid-Pacific sophomore Clayce Akeo. They went as high as 6-4.
He had two attempts at Kris Cuaresma-Primm’s record of 6-9 from way back in 1998 for Mid-Pacific but missed both of them. Faced with one more attempt at immortality, Smith-Bejgrowicz opted to fight another day.
“Tomorrow I have the long jump to do and I’d like to also get first in that, and I was hurting a little bit so I said ‘it’s okay,’ ” Smith-Bejgrowicz said. “I don’t think I will regret it because I never even dreamed of being here. This year it seemed to go all my way and I am happy doing what I am doing right now.”
Smith-Bejgrowicz was second in the long jump, where he is the defending champion, in Friday’s prelims, reaching 22 feet, 5.75 inches. Baldwin’s Anthony Kahoohanohano-Davis is tops at 22-10.75. Smith-Bejgrowicz also had the longest triple jump in the trials, less than 2 inches off the meet record.
Kahoohanohano-Davis had an even busier day, qualifying first in the 100-meter hurdles with a personal-record 14.59 seconds. He was hoped to be Smith-Bejgrowicz’s main competition in the high jump — they both have been over 6-6 — but he injured his foot and had to withdraw with a sixth-place finish.
To Smith-Bejgrowicz, that is even more tragic than his walking away from a record attempt.
“I can’t even imagine,” Smith-Bejgrowicz said. “He is a spectacular athlete, he does way much more (events) than I do, it’s so sad to see him go down like that.”
Celine Lum, who finished second to Punahou’s Sammy Marumoto last year, cleared 11 feet, 6 inches and beat Waiakea’s Monique Apuakehau by fewer misses for the state championship in the girls pole vault.
Lum had cleared 12-1 this year and wanted to go after Amber Kozaki’s record of 13 feet for Baldwin in 2013. She missed her first two attempts at 12 feet and went after her last try aggressively. She looked like she had it cleared, but came down on top of the bar and fell to Earth in front of the pit.
A silent stadium waited for her to rise and roared when she did, applauding her effort and the sheepish smile she wore on her face despite missing out on a season-long goal.
“I guess what happened was I didn’t push the pole vertical enough,” Lum said. “I hit the bar and then my face went into the pit and it was like the movies where you see the black and the white and I was like, ‘whoa,’ what happened.”
Seven different girls cleared 10 feet in the meet, and Lum was there to cheer on each of them. Each successful attempt was met with a happy huddle among all of the competitors, genuinely happy to see any success that would lift all of them past 13 feet.
“I think that’s why I love the vault so much,” Lum, who will continue her career at Point Loma, said. “It’s like a little community, it’s a little different when you get into the running races, it’s more competitive. In the vault it’s more technical, you want to help each other with a positive attitude and push each other.”
There were no official records broken on Friday, but Moanalua sprinter Kathleen Funcheon hit the pillow knowing she covered 100 meters as fast as any high schooler in Hawaii.
Funcheon blazed to a time of 12.03 seconds in the event; the next fastest effort was 12.65 by Kealakehe sophomore Nicole Cristobal and well beyond the meet record of 12.25 by June-Ann Lusk of Baldwin in 2005. Officials deemed Funcheon’s effort wind-aided, so Lusk’s record will stand for at least one more day. Baldwin’s Bailey Kaopuiki swept the boys 100 and 200.
Even with all the thrills and spills, the crowd got loudest for the first qualifiers and last-place finishers in the HHSAA’s new Unified Games, a pair of relays involving athletes from the Special Olympics. Kaimuki’s team qualified first in both races.
BOYS
High jump finals
1. Kayson Smith-Bejgrowicz, Kamehameha, 6-06.00; 2. Corry Brown (King Kekaulike, 6-04.00; 3. Clayce Akeo, Mid-Pacific, 6-04.00; 4. Hunter Lee, Punahou, 6-02.00; 5. Peter Hanohano-Hashimoto, Kamehameha, 6-02.00; 6. Anthony Kahoohanohano-Da, Baldwin, 6-02.00; 7 (tie), Dylan Brand, Maui, 6-00.00, Bailey Wilson, Punahou, 6-00.00, Bradlee Anae, Kahuku, 6-00.00.
Top qualifiers
Discus—Kamuela Borden, ‘Iolani, 158-05. Shot put—Alema Kapoi, Kamehameha, 54-06.00. Long jump—Anthony Kahoohanohano-Da, Baldwin, 22-10.75.
110 hurdles—Anthony Kahoohanohano-Da, Baldwin, 14.59. 100—Bailey Kaopuiki, Baldwin, 10.84. 1,500—Carlos Valdez, Keaau, 4:24.32. 4×100 relay—Kamehameha, 43.02. 400—Izaiah Lavatai, Radford, 51.03. 300 hurdles—Mario Kaluhiokalani, Kamehameha, 39.59.
800—Gordon Kowalkowski, Punahou, 1:59.59. 200—Bailey Kaopuiki, Baldwin, 21.71. 3,000—Kaeo Kruse, Kamehameha, 9:38.20. 4×400—Punahou 3:28.86.
GIRLS
Pole vault finals
1. Celine Lum, Kaiser, 11-06.00; 2. Monique Apuakehau, Waiakea, 11-06.00; 3. Tommi Hintnaus, Kaiser, 11-00.00; 4. Jessica Lee, ‘Iolani, 11-00.00; 5. Taylor Higa, Punahou, 10-06.00; 6 (tie), Romance Romero, Kamehameha, 10-00.00, Darien Calicdan, Waiakea, 10-00.00; 8 (tie), Kira Watanabe, Punahou, 9-06.00, Rowan Kotner, Hawaii Prep, 9-06.00, Maygan Patch, Lahainaluna, 9-06.00, Kelci Robitaille, Kaiser, 9-06.00, Amber Chong, Punahou, 9-06.00, Phoebe Miller, Kamehameha, 9-06.00.
Top qualifiers
Discus—1. Patria Vaimaona, Kailua, 144-07. Shot put—Sabrina Hollins, Waipahu, 42-03.50. Long jump—Meagan Kualii, Kamehameha-Hawaii, 18-06.50. 100 hurdles—Lindsey Combs. ‘Iolani, 15.09.
100—Kathleen Funcheon, Moanalua, 12.03. 1,500—Keili Dorn, Kealakehe, 5:04.55. 4×100 relay—Kaiser 49.75. 400—Maya Reynolds, Kihei Charter, 59.03.
300 hurdles—Emma Taylor, Hawaii Prep, 45.09. 800—Teuila Gardner, Kaiser, 2:22.67. 200—Kathleen Funcheon, Moanalua, 24.73. 3,000—Keili Dorn, Kealakehe, 10:51.96. 4×400 relay—Kaiser 4:08.84.
