Clay is Humanitarian of the Year
Reigning Olympic decathlon champion Bryan Clay has been named the 2011 Visa Humanitarian of the Year by USA Track & Field.
Clay, from Kaneohe, will be honored Dec. 3 at the Jesse Owens Awards and Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in St. Louis.
"Receiving this award is an honor and a source of encouragement for me to continue doing what we set out to do at the Bryan Clay Foundation starting in 2005," Clay said in a press release. "Like my coach once said to me, ‘To whom much is given, much is expected.’ "
In the six years since the Castle High graduate established his foundation, he has raised more than $140,000 for schools and impacted the lives of thousands of children, many in Hawaii, according to the release.
"Giving back is important to me because I know I wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for people giving back and investing in my life when I was younger," Clay said.
Clay hosts Kidfit Clinics to build self-confidence in children through athletics. He speaks to school children about his own life growing up and discovering his potential. He works with the Century Council to discourage underage drinking, and he participates with USA Track & Field’s Win With Integrity program to promote living a healthy, active, drug-free lifestyle.
The award was established in 1997 to recognize outstanding achievements by athletes in social activities and personal commitments outside competition. The inaugural winner was Jackie Joyner-Kersee and others include Lauryn Williams (2006) and Gail Devers (1999).
U.S. women’s volleyball team tips China
Destinee Hooker scored a career-high 37 points to help the U.S. women’s national volleyball team defeat China 25-21, 31-29, 18-25, 19-25, 15-10 on Wednesday morning at the FIVB World Cup final round in Tokyo.
The U.S., which entered the match in second place, improved to 8-1 with 23 points in the standings. The World Cup uses a round-robin format with 11 matches in 15 days. The three teams reaching the medal podium Friday earn berths in the 2012 Olympics.
Former University of Hawaii All-American Heather Bown added 16 points (11 kills, three blocks, two aces) for the U.S., which was set by Punahou graduate Lindsey Berg. Kaneohe’s Tamari Miyashiro is a backup libero.
The U.S. plays tournament leader Italy today and Japan on Friday. The men’s World Cup starts Sunday in Japan, with Hawaii’s Clay Stanley playing for the U.S.
Wall, Makino, Edman make All-PacWest
Hawaii Pacific forward Kaua Wall and goalkeeper Carianne Makino and Brigham Young-Hawaii forward Britt Edman were picked to the All-Pacific West Conference women’s soccer first team, the league announced Tuesday.
Makino was also named co-goalkeeper of the year.
Second-team choices from Hawaii schools were: forward Lindsey Poulsen of Hawaii-Hilo; midfielders Natalie Drewery of Brigham Young-Hawaii and Sanoe Souza of Hawaii Pacific; and defenders Liana Gualdarama of HPU and Sadie Kamoe of BYUH.
Midfielder Andrea Aguirre of HPU and goalkeeper Megan McCain of BYUH were named as honorable mentions.