Seabury Hall’s Micah Brighton leads teammate Kayden Volner and Maui High’s Galen Okamoto during Saturday’s boys race during MIL cross country meet No. 5 at Baldwin. Brighton took first, Okamoto second and Volner third. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photos
WAILUKU — As the countdown begins for the final weeks of the Maui Interscholastic League cross country season, Seabury Hall’s Micah Brighton and Baldwin High School’s Selena Castro want to make every practice and race count.
Brighton and Castro finished out the MIL regular season with wins in the boys and girls races, respectively, on Saturday at Baldwin’s campus.
“We’ve been working more together as a team at practices and we’re getting a lot closer together and making each other push, and I think that’s helped a lot in races,” said Brighton, who ran the 5-kilometer course in 17 minutes, 50.9 seconds. “I’m feeling pretty good, honestly. It’s been on and off up to this point, but I think these last few races are going to be good.”
The junior varsity championships are next Saturday at Kamehameha Maui, followed by the MIL championship at Kahului Community Center the following week and the state meet on Kauai on Oct. 29.
For Castro, a senior, these will be her last cross country races in high school and she has been trying to soak it all in.
Baldwin’s Selena Castro crosses the finish line to win Saturday’s girls cross country race.
“I’m really trying to cherish everything and I’m trying to live in the moment,” she said after winning the girls race in 21:58.9 on her home course. “You’re only young once, you’re only in high school once, so these are the days I’m going to remember.”
Though she’s sad it’s her last year with the Bears, Castro said that the team has helped her to prepare for when she joins the Army after graduation, such as being disciplined, encouraging and hardworking.
“I’ve learned to have a very flexible mindset, a very positive mindset, because if you don’t have a positive mindset, you’re not going to do good in anything,” she said. “I feel like that’s what this sport is all about: learning how to discipline your mind, having camaraderie with all your teammates and having cool people to run with.”
It was overcast with some light rain just before the girls took off on Saturday morning. The MIL’s usual female frontrunners were missing due to injury and illness, leaving first place up for grabs.
Maui High’s Ashley Tarasenko battled with Castro throughout the whole course before finishing second with a time of 22:09.3. Kihei Charter’s Tanya Kari was third in 22:38.7.
Maui High’s Ashley Tarasenko leads Baldwin’s Selena Castro as they near the midway point of Saturday’s girls cross country race at Baldwin. Castro went on to win the race, while Tarasenko took second.
“I was super excited, I love running with Selena. It’s super good competition because we’re, like, in the the same range, so it was really good to go back and forth the whole race and have someone to chase,” Tarasenko said. “I was a little nervous about the course because it was a little slippery, but it was a great race, I felt really good.”
The season has “gone by really fast,” she added, but she is getting excited for the upcoming MIL and state championships with her Sabers squad.
In the boys race, the same trio of runners challenged each other like they have all season.
Moments after Brighton crossed through the finishing chute, Maui High’s Galen Okamoto finished second with a time of 18:11.2 after a sprint to the end with Spartans freshman Kayden Volner (18:14.1).
“It went a lot better this time, I tried sticking with Kayden and Galen in the beginning and ended up pushing Kayden more, which is good, and it helped to push me, so that’s good,” Brighton said. “I felt a lot better this race than the last time we ran it.”
Like Castro, Okamoto is a senior making the most of his last cross country season. He feels that he’s “continually improving” with each year and with each race.
“I definitely feel like this whole season I’ve been trying the most I’ve ever done in a season, so I’m proud of how far I’ve come,” Okamoto said. “I feel confident that I can do well at the championships. There’s definitely very good runners around me, so I don’t know, I just have to try my best and keep pushing since it’s my last, I just gotta keep that in mind.”
With a growing passion for the sport and having a positive experience with the Sabers thus far, he hopes to pursue running after high school.
“I have a good relationship with all my teammates. I’ve made lots of friendships, especially from freshman year,” Okamoto said. “I guess I’m just proud to run for Maui High because they’ve definitely had all these good runners, and I’m glad to be a part of that and hopefully continue that legacy, but yeah, I always enjoy my time at practices and at races.”
The Bears finished atop the girls team standings with 31 points. The Sabers, who were missing a few top runners on Saturday, were close behind with 33 points. Kamehameha Maui (56) was third.
The Seabury boys had seven runners in the top 12 to earn a near-perfect score of 19 points. Defending MIL team champion Maui High, which has won seven consecutive titles, was second with 51 points and Baldwin had 81.
“Our team has been working really hard over the last couple weeks and we’re starting to mature as a team and we’re coming together, and it showed today based on our performance,” Spartans coach Bobby Grossman said. “We’re going to continue to work hard, be consistent at our practices, and make a big effort these last three races.”
* Dakota Grossman is at dgrossman@mauinews.com.
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MIL Meet No. 5
Saturday’s Results • At Baldwin
Boys
Team–1. Seabury Hall 19, 2. Maui High 51, 3. Baldwin 81, 4. Kamehameha Maui 109.
Individual–1. Micah Brighton, Seabury Hall, 17:50.9; 2. Galen Okamoto, Maui High, 18:11.2; 3. Kayden Volner, Seabury Hall, 18:14.1; 4. Pierce Armstrong, Maui Prep, 19:15.9; 5. Charlie Baldwin, Haleakala Waldorf, 19:42.9; 6. Felix Daniel Velasquez, Kihei Charter, 19:43.3; 7. Jacob Romero, Seabury Hall, 19:45.5; 8. Finn Hensley, Seabury Hall, 19:45.8; 9. Sage Ryden, Seabury Hall, 19:50.1; 10. Jacob Hinfey, Maui High, 20:00.2; 11. Martin Parraguez, Seabury Hall, 20:07.4; 12. Austin Schlather, Seabury Hall, 20:12.9; 13. Bryson Cagasan, Kamehameha Maui, 20:23.1; 14. Arjei Paet, Baldwin, 20:32.9; 15. Keola Eldredge, Baldwin, 20:41.9; 16. Gaige Okamoto, Maui High, 20:42.3; 17. Braeden Asuncion, Maui High, 20:55.9; 18. Max Anklam, Maui High, 21:02.3; 19. TJ Heheman, Maui Prep, 21:12.8; 20. Jaleil Tarik, Baldwin, 21:15.5; 21. Byron Ellis, Kihei Charter, 21:16.2; 22. Jacob Janikowski, Lanai, 21:17.4; 23. Mason Anklam, Maui High, 21:26.6; 24. Dashiel Philbrook, Baldwin, 21:28.5; 25. Christian Oliva, Lanai, 21:29.2; 26. Jack Prestage, Lahainaluna, 21:29.8; 27. Jason Esquivel-Rodriguez, Maui High, 21:37.2; 28. Maddox DelleFave, Kihei Charter, 21:38.2; 29. Blake Abernathy, Kamehameha Maui, 21:47.3; 30. Richie Davenport, Kamehameha Maui, 22:11.2; 31. Noah Kalehuawehe, Kamehameha Maui, 22:18.8; 32. Camden Fugate, Lahainaluna, 22:19.6; 33. Maundrey Cendana, Baldwin, 22:32.6; 34. Ezekiel Dela Cruz, Baldwin, 22:38.3; 35. Loea Hue-Sing, Maui High, 23:08.8; 36. Jaycen Fernandez, Maui High, 23:13.2; 37. Andrew Webber, Maui Prep, 23:23.6; 38. Ethan Baysa, King Kekaulike, 23:29.9; 39. Josiah Santiago, Maui High, 23:45.8; 40. Dylan Sagon, Lahainaluna, 23:57.3; 41. Noah Mickelson, Maui High, 24:29.8; 42. Tatum Dugan Wood, Baldwin, 24:40.5; 43. Hasim Tarik, Baldwin, 25:14.9; 44. Isaiah Coppa, Baldwin, 25:24.0; 45. Rheyno Jiro Quindiagan, Lanai, 25:45.1; 46. Hunter Etrata, Lanai, 26:27.9; 47. Kiai Souza, Kamehameha Maui, 26:35.6; 48. Micaiah Mercado, Kihei Charter, 26:47.7; 49. Preston Armstrong, Maui Prep, 28:04.5; 50. Calvin Araki, King Kekaulike, 28:10.2; 51. Herbert Higa, Baldwin, 28:27.2; 52. Kenyon Davis, Baldwin, 28:50.4; 53. Timothy James Heile, Lahainaluna, 28:51.4; 54. Isaiah Acia, Haleakala Waldorf, 32:25.3.
Girls
Team–1. Baldwin 31, 2. Maui High 33, 3. Kamehameha Maui 56.
Individual–1. Selena Castro, Baldwin, 21:58.9; 2. Ashley Tarasenko, Maui High, 22:09.3; 3. Tanya Kari, Kihei Charter, 22:38.7; 4. Kalia Kaneta, Maui High, 23:25.3; 5. Tamilyn Ebisu, Baldwin, 24:14.6; 6. Kailani Bicoy, Molokai, 24:17.9; 7. Paige Asato, Baldwin, 24:28.4; 8. Grace James, Kihei Charter, 24:35.1; 9. Samantha Abernathy, Kamehameha Maui, 24:35.9; 10. Queences Manuel, Lanai, 25:07.5; 11. Amane Fukada, Maui High, 25:40.8; 12. Jaisa Robello, Maui High, 25:51.1; 13. Realani Sabado, Baldwin, 25:58.1; 14. Allison Armstrong, Kihei Charter, 26:16.4; 15. Kailani Pascua, Kamehameha Maui, 26:27.6; 16. Nawe’a Cook, Kamehameha Maui, 26:53.2; 17. Shelby Kubo, Baldwin, 27:01.4; 18. Devon Hardy, King Kekaulike, 27:06.7; 19. Josephine Lynch-Beaty, King Kekaulike, 27:14.4; 20. Isabel Andaluz, Maui High, 27:20.3; 21. Malia Marin, Kamehameha Maui, 27:21.6; 22. Alana Manuel, Lanai, 27:22.3; 23. Hi’ileiakaualilinoe Kehano, Kamehameha Maui, 27:37.1; 24. Bailee Hughes, Haleakala Waldorf, 28:39.7; 25. Chanel Higa, Baldwin, 29:14.7; 26. Makena Crownover, Kamehameha Maui, 29:16.0; 27. Teija Wada, Kamehameha Maui, 30:29.0; 28. Keakahaapoli Kaia, Kamehameha Maui, 31:22.9; 29. Heamoni Mataele, Maui High, 31:26.9; 30. Dakota Leffler, Baldwin, 33:18.0; 31. Wailele Bastien, King Kekaulike, 33:43.8; 32. Madison Strand, King Kekaulike, 34:01.0; 33. Maika Kuwahara, Baldwin, 35:52.7; 34. Mali Crile, Kihei Charter, 39:45.8.
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- Seabury Hall’s Micah Brighton leads teammate Kayden Volner and Maui High’s Galen Okamoto during Saturday’s boys race during MIL cross country meet No. 5 at Baldwin. Brighton took first, Okamoto second and Volner third. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photos
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- Baldwin’s Selena Castro crosses the finish line to win Saturday’s girls cross country race.
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- Maui High’s Ashley Tarasenko leads Baldwin’s Selena Castro as they near the midway point of Saturday’s girls cross country race at Baldwin. Castro went on to win the race, while Tarasenko took second.
