Souza retires as Kamehameha athletic director

Kanani Souza, who led Kamehameha to a state football title in 2004 and was the school’s athletic director for the past five years, announced his retirement as AD, effective July 31.

A former University of Hawaii football assistant, Souza came to the Kapalama campus as head coach and assistant AD in 1996.

He amassed a record of 87-28-2 and led the Warriors to the 2004 state and Interscholastic League of Honolulu titles, their first of each since the 1970s.

"It has been an honor and a privilege to work with all the student-athletes, faculty and staff of Kamehameha, especially the coaches and athletic department staff. It has been a great experience and I feel very blessed, but for me, it has never been about the victories and championships, but rather all the relationships that I’ve been able to foster over the years that I will truly remember," Souza, a 1963 Kamehameha alum, said in a press statement.

Souza spent 12 years as an assistant coach at UH. He was also an assistant at the University of Colorado for one season and at his college alma mater, the University of Northern Colorado, for five. He was also an Oregon State graduate assistant for one season.

Kaimuki hires new coach

Kaimuki hired Brandon Young to be the new boys basketball coach, replacing Kelly Grant.

Young is a Kaimuki graduate who coached the junior varsity team at McKinley for the past eight seasons.

"He does a good job with the JV kids and he has a philosophy down," McKinley varsity coach Bob Morikuni said. "He’s going back to his alma mater, so it’s exciting."

Grant left Kaimuki this year to become the coach at his alma mater, Maryknoll.

Sister power

Kapolei junior Charlinda Ioane tossed the discus 138 feet and 5 inches, her best of the season, for a win at the Island Movers/HHSAA Track and Field State Championships on Saturday.

Coaching from her mother, Davilyn Neilson, and older sisters and former discus throwers Charnelle Ioane and Charlee Ioane got her started as a freshman. Additional tutelage from former Aiea thrower Brennan Sato helped Ioane go from a standing style to a spinning technique.

"I used to stand. … I guess the spin actually gives you more momentum," she said.