Seabury boys capture D-II state championship | News, Sports, Jobs

Members of the Seabury Hall boys cross country team hold up their trophy after winning the Division II team title at the Honolulu Marathon/HHSAA State Championships on Saturday at Central Oahu Regional Park. DAKOTA GROSSMAN photos

After finishing second in the Division II team standings last year, the Seabury Hall boys cross country team had one thing in mind all season: state title.

Behind a third-place overall individual finish by junior Micah Brighton, the Spartans delivered on their mission, winning the Honolulu Marathon/HHSAA Division II team crown on Saturday at Central Oahu Regional Park.

It was a close call, with the Spartans edging Hawaii Baptist Academy, 32-38. Last season, HBA won the battle for the D-II boys team crown by just four points over the Spartans.

“Oh my gosh, that’s one of the greatest feelings ever,” Brighton said via phone from Oahu on Saturday. “Last year, it was a little bit of a letdown — we got second with, I think, we were like one point away from winning. This time I pushed myself, the rest of my team just … we all really just pushed because this is what we really wanted.

“We really wanted to win this team title.”

The Seabury Hall girls team poses with its trophy after placing second in D-II Saturday.

Among the D-II runners, Seabury Hall went 1-2-3-7-19 with Brighton, Kayden Volner, Jacob Romero, Finn Hensley and Nikolai Mironov. Non-scorers Brendan Punu and Daniel Alcantara were 26th and 45th, respectively.

HBA runners went 4-5-8-10-11 among the D-II field.

Brighton was a bright spot for the entire small school contingency with his 16-minute, 54.89-second finish over the 5-kilometer course — that was 38 seconds behind winner Yuta Cole of Kalani. Runner-up Ari Smith of Campbell crossed in 16:31.42.

Volner was seventh overall, while Romero was 19th. King Kekaulike’s Mateus Chauvin claimed the final individual boys medal in 20th.

“This was a really cool experience,” Brighton said. “I was able to run a CORP race already before, so I went back knowing how to run it and I tried keeping up with the top three guys and I was able to become one of the top three guys. So, that was pretty cool.

The Spartans’ Micah Brighton sprints to the finish to place third overall in the boys race Saturday.

“I surprised myself a little bit — I got fourth last year, so it was definitely an improvement. It was a hard race, but I was able to do it.”

The Seabury Hall girls finished second in the D-II team standings to Hanalani, 48-54. The Spartans girls had just five runners — they finished 2-3-4-19-26 among D-II competitors with a lineup of Layne Millen, Kailana Hagan, Isabella Grossman, Olivia Aoki and Kayla Ratte.

Millen was the top MIL individual girl, finishing 14th in 21:19.27. Hagan, a freshman who won the MIL individual title last month, was 17th in 21:30.36.

Millen is the only senior on the boys or girls teams and has battled lower leg injuries throughout her career, including missing the end of the season last year when she had to pull out of the MIL and state meets.

She was overjoyed to bring home a team trophy.

Layne Millen of Sea­bury Hall heads to a 14th-place finish Saturday.

“It’s truly incredible, it feels amazing,” Millen said. “I mean, I’ve been trying to go for a trophy of some sort for three, four years — I guess three because of COVID — but finally to have it happen, it’s a dream come true. So grateful that I got this opportunity. I’m grateful that I had a full team and people that are so committed to the sport, just as committed as I am. It’s really surreal.”

Indeed, the Spartans did not even have a full girls team of five runners until just a couple weeks ago.

Seabury Hall coach Bobby Grossman was shaking his head in amazement at both of his teams — the boys saw both Hensley and Mironov fall just before the finish line, but each found a way to cross it just in time to seal their team crown.

“All year, from last year, one year to pretty much today, I guess, we’ve been working for the boys to get that state title — they’ve been working their tails off all year, probably as hard, probably more mileage than I’ve ever had a team run,” Grossman said. “These first five guys worked hard. A little bit of stress today coming in, a lot of energy. Two of them crawled past the finish line today.”

Grossman noted the grounds at CORP were packed with as many fans as he had ever seen at a cross country meet in Hawaii.

“So, it got a little dramatic. I thought maybe if everybody was able to be more relaxed it would have been an easier finish, but it ended up being a lot closer,” he said. “So, I’m pretty proud, just the whole year how hard they worked. … They wanted to win and had a win-or-nothing kind of attitude.”

The Iolani boys and Punahou girls won the D-I team titles. Hilo’s Kekaihulani Halpern captured the girls individual crown.

King Kekaulike finished ninth in the D-I boys team chase, while Kamehameha Maui was 12th. Kihei Charter was fifth in the D-II boys team standings.

Maui High was 11th and Kamehameha Maui 12th in the girls D-I team scores, while Kihei Charter was fifth and Maui Prep seventh among girls D-II teams.

* Robert Collias is at rcollias@mauinews.com.

CROSS COUNTRY STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

Saturday’s Results (MIL competitors only)

At Central Oahu Regional Park

Boys

Team–D-I: 9. King Kekaulike 235, 12. Kamehameha Maui 341. D-II: 1. Seabury Hall 32, 5. Kihei Charter 124.

Individual–3. Micah Brighton, Seabury Hall, 16:54.1; 7. Kayden Volner, Seabury Hall, 17:06.6; 19. Jacob Romero, Seabury Hall, 17:37.3; 20. Mateus Chauvin, King Kekaulike, 17:39.9; 25. Pierce Armstrong, Maui Prep, 17:49.1; 31. Finn Hensley, Seabury Hall, 17:58.6; 35. Jake Hackett, King Kekaulike, 18:04.0; 37. Kaito Kina, Maui High, 18:05.5; 40. Charlie Baldwin, Haleakala Waldorf, 18:10.7; 61. Enzo Queirolo, Kihei Charter, 18:40.8; 62. Makoa Kapuniai, King Kekaulike, 18:41.0; 65. Felix Velasquez, Kihei Charter, 18:42.1; 81. Nikolai Mironov, Seabury Hall, 18:59.5; 88. Bryson Cagasan, Kamehameha Maui, 19:07.0; 100. Byron Ellis, Kihei Charter, 19:19.8; 114. Jericho Adolpho, Molokai, 19:35.6; 115. Brendan Punu, Seabury Hall, 19:37.9; 116. Kakahi Kapuaala, Kamehameha Maui, 19:38.6; 118. Sonny Dunham, Molokai, 19:39.5; 128. Makai Lindsey, Maui High, 19:46.6; 142. Willaim Dulay-Jones, Lanai, 20:03.3; 144. Braeden Asuncion, Maui High, 20:07.5; 146. Arjei Paet, Baldwin, 20:07.6; 148. Tatum Dugan-Wood, Baldwin, 20:10.2; 149. Ariel Lomboy, Baldwin, 20:11.8; 152. Brady Browne, Kihei Charter, 20:14.2; 166. Cyris Cagasan, Kamehameha Maui, 20:39.0; 174. Maddox Dellefave, Kihei Charter, 20:55.4; 179. Ciro Martin, Kihei Charter, 21:04.4; 185. Blake Abernathy, Kamehameha Maui, 21:23.6; 190. Jack Prestage, Maui Prep, 21:30.4; 192. Phinehas Brennan, King Kekaulike, 21:42.7; 195. Jaden Jones, Lahainaluna, 21:51.7; 197. Dace Valenzuela, King Kekaulike, 22:11.8; 198. Noah Kalehuawehe, Kamehameha Maui, 22:12.3; 199. Daniel Alcantara, Seabury Hall, 22:19.9.

Girls

Team–D-I: 11. Maui High 254, 12. Kamehameha Maui 294. D-II: 2. Seabury Hall 54, 5. Kihei Charter 127, 7. Maui Prep 164.

Individual–14. Layne Millen, Seabury Hall, 21:19.3; 17. Kailana Hagan, Seabury Hall, 21:30.4; 22. Isabella Grossman, Seabury Hall, 21:38.9; 43. Kalia Kaneta, Maui High, 22:24.9; 48. Tanya Kari, Kihei Charter, 22:31.1; 53. Layla James, Kihei Charter, 22:47.7; 61. Olivia Aoki, Seabury Hall, 23:08.8; 66. Gianna Pogni, Kihei Charter, 23:14.9; 68. Stella Garnier, Maui Prep, 23:25.6; 77. Kaydence Meritt, Kamehameha Maui, 23:38.7; 90. Kayla Ratte, Seabury Hall, 24:00.2; 91. Sophia Kato, Maui High, 24:03.7; 94. Ilana Caserta, Maui Prep, 24:06.7; 101. Violet Kato, Maui High, 24:17.3; 106. Norah Brown, King Kekaulike, 24:29.6; 111. Kaia Yamashita, Molokai, 24:34.7; 114. Katalina Perry, Kihei Charter, 24:35.2; 131. Paige Asato, Baldwin, 25:11.3; 133. Alissa Skolnick, Maui Prep, 25:13.5; 135. Ava McDonald, Maui Prep, 25:18.0; 138. Kailani Pascua, Kamehameha Maui, 25:25.5; 146. Shelby Ostrander, Lanai, 25:43.6; 147. Kiana Quinabo, King Kekaulike, 25:45.2; 151. Kyli Beam, Maui Prep, 25:47.0; 152. Lily Barrett, King Kekaulike, 25:49.0; 157. Realani Sabado, Baldwin, 25:58.7; 158. Taylor Kauanaulu, Maui High, 26:01.3; 164. Elena Riel, Lanai, 26:22.3; 166. Emi Wunder, Kamehameha Maui, 26:27.7; 168. Emily Sloper, Kamehameha Maui, 26:31.3; 179. Naupakapualaha’ Olaitiman, Kamehameha Maui, 27:06.8; 180. Allison Armstrong, Kihei Charter, 27:10.0; 183. Eliasha Romero, Lanai, 27:14.4; 184. Malia Marin, Kamehameha Maui, 27:23.7; 1186. Jaynie Robello, Maui High, 27:52.8; 187. Alanna Manuel, Lanai, 27:53.0; 188. Kaimalie Stone, King Kekaulike, 28:15.5.

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