Baron wins junior wheelchair title

Punahou sophomore Shelby Baron swept her way to the junior title and lost to the world’s fifth-ranked woman in the main draw of the Cajun Classic wheelchair tennis tournament, last month in Baton Rouge, La.

Baron won her opening match against Rejane Candida, from Brazil, 6-2, 6-4. She fell to second-seeded Aniek Van Koot, from the Netherlands, 6-2, 6-1, in the second round.

The four juniors at the ITF 1 event then played a round-robin singles tournament. Baron dropped just one game in winning her first two matches, then defeated Ryan Nelson, the top-ranked junior in the U.S., 7-5, 6-3.

Baron and Nelson teamed to win doubles. The two will again be teammates later this month at the World Team Cup in South Africa. They were selected to the junior team along with the country’s best wheelchair tennis players to compete against some 200 other athletes from 30 countries. World Team Cup is considered the sport’s Davis Cup.

Junior boxing in Hilo

The Hawaii State Junior Olympic Boxing Championship will be held tonight and tomorrow at the Hilo Armory.

Bouts begin at 6:30 tonight and 6 tomorrow night. Admission is $10. The winners advance to the U.S. Junior Olympics in Mobile, Ala., July 12-17.

On the web: amateurboxingofhawaii.com.

Magazine taps Kalalau Trail

Runner’s World magazine named the Kalalau Trail on Kauai as one of the 25 best trail runs in America in its special interest publication, The Trail, which was on newsstands this week. Titled "The Crown Jewels," the magazine writes that "no postcard can do justice to the experience of running the Kalalau Trail, the only land access to the spectacular Na Pali Coast. The 11-mile trail begins at Ha‘ena State Park and traverses five lush valleys before reaching Kalalau Beach."

Battle of the Paddle returns

Championship races, all-comers races, keiki clinics and free demonstrations are part of the second Rainbow Sandals Gerry Lopez Battle of the Paddle, May 14 and 15, at Duke Kahanamoku Beach. Registration for the elite, age-group, distance, youth stand-up paddle and stand-up surf relays is available online through May 12 at battleofthepaddle.com. The elite race offers the largest cash purse in the sport of $25,000.