Yokota sophomore Daniel Galvin leaves the pack behind on the second lap of the 1,600-meter run during Saturday's DODDS Japan high school track and field meet at Yokota Air Base, Japan. Galvin won in 4 minutes, 30 seconds. (Tyler Espinoza/Special to Stars and Stripes)
Yokota sophomore Daniel Galvin leaves the pack behind on the second lap of the 1,600-meter run during Saturday's DODDS Japan high school track and field meet at Yokota Air Base, Japan. Galvin won in 4 minutes, 30 seconds. (Tyler Espinoza/Special to Stars and Stripes)
Yokota freshman Christian Sonnenberg readies a discus throw during Saturday's DODDS Japan high school track and field meet at Yokota Air Base, Japan. Sonnenberg won with a throw of 40.95 meters. (Tyler Espinoza/Special to Stars and Stripes)
Kubasaski's Rahman Farnell pounds for the finish of the boys 400-meter relay during Saturday's Okinawa Athletics & Activities Council high school track-and-field meet at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa. Farnell, the anchor, and the Dragons won in a Pacific-record 42.9 seconds, breaking the old mark of 43.34 set three seasons ago, also by Kubasaki. (Marie Obsuna/Special to Stars and Stripes)
Kubasaki's Rahman Farnell and Jarrett Mitchell and Kadena's Devae Freeman head for the finish of the boys 100-meter dash during Saturday's Okinawa Athletics & Activities Council high school track-and-field meet at Panther Field, Kadena High School, Kadena Air Base, Okinawa. Mitchell won in 10.94, just a hundredth of a second ahead of Farnell. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Kadena's Jasmine Rhodes performs the high jump during Saturday's Okinawa Athletics & Activities Council high school track-and-field meet at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa. Rhodes won with a jump of 4 feet, 10 inches. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Zion Christian Academy International's Amora Wood leaps a hurdle in the girls 100-meter hurdles run during Saturday's Okinawa Athletics & Activities Council high school track-and-field meet at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa. Wood won in 17.34 seconds. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Kubasaski's Kaelyn Francis leads Kadena's April Cabases and Janika Caines toward the finish of the girls 200-meter dash during Saturday's Okinawa Athletics & Activities Council high school track-and-field meet at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa. Francis won in 27.54 seconds. (Marie Obsuna/Special to Stars and Stripes)
Kubasaski's Rahman Farnell and Kadena's Devae Freeman head toward the finish of the boys 200-meter dash during Saturday's Okinawa Athletics & Activities Council high school track-and-field meet at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa. Farnell won in 22.24 seconds. (Marie Obsuna/Special to Stars and Stripes)
Kadena freshmen Wren Renquist and Linda Vaughan set the pace in the girls 800-meter run during Saturday's Okinawa Athletics & Activities Council high school track-and-field meet at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa. Renquist won with a time of 2 minutes, 40.84 seconds. (Marie Obsuna/Special to Stars and Stripes)
Kadena's Preston Harris performs the high jump during Saturday's Okinawa Athletics & Activities Council high school track-and-field meet at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa. Harris won with a jump of 5 feet, 8 inches. (Marie Obsuna/Special to Stars and Stripes)
Kadena's Hunter Ficenec and Zion Christian Academy International's Rejay Maruo lead the pack in the boys 800-meter run during Saturday's Okinawa Athletics & Activities Council high school track-and-field meet at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa. Ficenec won with a time of 2 minutes, 3.91 seconds. (Marie Obsuna/Special to Stars and Stripes)
A week after posting the fastest, albeit wind-aided and hand-held, time in the 100 in Pacific history, Rahman Farnell found his way Saturday into the Pacific track and field record book, anchoring Kubasaki to a 42.9-second time in the 400 relay, beating the old mark by 0.44 of a second.
And the senior speedster says that’s just the start – that the Dragons plan to run a sub-40 in the event before the season ends.
“Our goal is to get 39,” he said. “I know that sounds crazy, but we’ve got this. … We couldn’t do it last year; we’re going to try to do it this year.”
The question will be, which Kubasaki runners would be the ones to shatter the 40-second mark. After their glut of distance runners a year ago, the Dragons now are swimming in sprinters – five “really talented” boys, coach Jon Fick said, who are all capable of running the 100.
“That gives us options and stems competition within the ranks,” Fick said of a group that includes Farnell, Jarrett Mitchell, DeQuan Alderman, Winston Maxwell and Johan Wright.
Kubasaki broke its own record, 43.34 seconds, set three seasons ago.
Farnell’s time in the 100 a week ago, adjusted for hand-reaction time to 10.44, was .10 behind the Pacific record, but didn’t count as a record because the wind was not legal, a 3.1-meter-per-second tailwind.
Earlier Saturday, Farnell and Mitchell – running into the teeth of a 4.1-meter-per-second headwind – recorded their second sub-11-second times in the 100 this season, with Mitchell finally posting his first victory over Farnell in the event. Mitchell was timed in 10.94 and Farnell in 10.95.
Multiple winners among boys included Kadena distance specialists Hunter Ficenec and Wren Renquist, thrower Jazmin Sharper in the shot and discus, jumper and 400 specialist Jasmine Rhodes, Kubasaki sprinter Kaelyn Francis and Zion Christian Academy International’s Amora Wood.
More history was made at Camp Humphreys in South Korea, where the four DODDS Korea track and field teams ran on an eight-lane track located at a DODDS school, Humphreys, for the first time in the league’s five-season history. Some 100 athletes from Seoul American, Daegu, Osan and host Humphreys gathered in a light ran for the season-opening meet.
Humphreys made a winner of Blackhawks coach and meet organizer Mitch Moellendick in his first track meet since coaching Zama in 2010. And the Blackhawks’ girls took first in the team standings, too.
“The kids were great, we had a great tech crew, I was happy with it, Moellendick said. “It was overcast, it rained a little, but not too cold,” Moellendick said.
Among multiple winners at Humphreys were Humphreys’ Nicole Castro in the 1,600 and 3,200 and Timi Ward in the hurdles events. Kevin Harris threw the discus 40.46 meters, second-best in the Pacific this season, helping Seoul American win the boys team title.
Over at Yokota, in the third meet of their season, sophomore Daniel Galvin continued his pursuit of a Far East title in the distance events, winning the 1,600 and 3,200 “with ease,” said coach Luke Voth of Nile C. Kinnick.
With Galvin leading the way distance-wise, Yokota’s boys are “really good. They have good standout kids in each spot,” Voth said of a group that also includes sprinter Dennis Wilkins and freshman thrower Christian Sonnenberg.
Voth’s own distance specialist, Carydaliz Fontanez, won her specialty, the 800, as well as the 1,600. Ian O’Brien won the shot put and Shakita Samuels took the 200 and 400.
On the diamonds, senior right-hander Daniel Ross of Kinnick outdueled Yokota’s Leo Austin, striking out 16 Panthers batters, and Chris McDonald plated two runs with a double as the Red Devils edged Yokota 3-2. It was the last game at Yokota Park until next season; it closes for renovation on Monday.
Tommy Warren went a combined 5-for-7 with two doubles, three home runs and seven RBIs and Kubasaki swept a home doubleheader over the Urasoe Braves, a Japanese team, by scores of 14-9 and 12-6.
Daegu softball split a pair of weekend games and improved to 3-2 on the season, outlasting Humphreys 15-9, with Christina Henry getting the win and helping herself with a home run and five RBIs.
The Warriors almost made it a weekend sweep, coming up short against Seoul American 14-10, but Falcons coach Julian Harden was complimentary of their DODDS Korea Division II counterparts. “DODDS small schools in Korea look really good,” he said.
Soccer jamborees in Korea saw the host teams come away with the edge. Andrea Carandang netted a combined four goals as the Cougars beat Seoul American 3-1 and Daegu 3-0 in the girls jamboree at Osan. At Seoul American, the Falcons got four goals from HoKyung Adkins and blanked Humphreys 2-0 and Osan 9-0.
In Japan, Matthew C. Perry’s boys answered back after their 3-1 loss Friday, getting two goals from Gaku Lange in a 2-1 win at Nile C. Kinnick. Lange leads the Pacific with 22 goals.
Zama’s girls did likewise, edging Robert D. Edgren 1-0 after losing by the same score on Friday. Ariel Hicks had the lone goal for the Trojans.
E.J. King’s boys got their first win in six tries this season, as Steven Ball scored twice and the Cobras beat Yokota 4-2.
Kadena’s boys and girls each prevailed against Japanese teams. A’kanai Mustaafa and Yuji Callahan each scored twice in the Panthers’ 8-3 win over Gushikawa Shogyo. Kristin Howard returned from an illness to record a goal and an assist as Kadena’s girls blanked Kaiho 3-0.
