For those of you reading this blog who aren't aware of what the Lava Man Triathlon is, it takes place on the island of Hawai'i at the beautiful Waikaloa Beach Resort and consists of a mile swim, twenty four mile bike ride, and a six mile run. The race spans a very large distance and therefore needs a few helping hands to keep everything organized and running smoothly ( duh dun tsssss ).
A hand full of Konawaena High school JROTC cadets and First Sergeant Libre showed up for our duties at 0500 and worked in the scorching sun until 1200. We started off assisting participants with setting up in the transition point then watched the entrance and exit of the transition point ensuring that nothing got backed up and directed people to the route they needed to take. All the while we're picking up discarded cups and goo packets thrown away by the racers. Once the race was coming to an end and finished competitors were coming to claim their bikes, we checked numbers on bikes and wristband to ensure that all bikes were in the right hands. Big thanks to the Cadets who worked hard, I hope your sunburns aren't too bad. Another big thank you to the Lava Man Triathlon Directors for allowing us to lend a helping hand! See you guys next year!
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The Konawaena Wildcat Battalion Ranger team had been tirelessly training for the upcoming Maui Madness event on the 21st of November. Running up and down the notorious Konawaena High School road, reaching muscle failure on our arms and legs, swimming laps like mad men (and women) and the pool when all of a sudden, our Ranger Captain Kinolua fell ill with appendicitis (he is well now). Only a week before the competition and our key team member was bed ridden after having his appendix removed. Fortunately another teammate Ana Karla was able to fill in for him bringing our final team members to Daniel Mckeon, Andruw Nakamura, Riley Nakamura, Ananya Rafaelovich, and Ana Karla Valdovinos. Come the day of departure with our flight from Kona to Maui early that Friday we were all waiting at the airport for our Army Instructor First Sergeant Libre who none of us had heard from yet. Closer to the time of our flight we started calling him. After what seemed like countless call attempts First finally picked up and informed us of an unfortunate accident that would cancel our trip for the competition. Heart broken and disappointed, we made our way back to school where we decided WE WOULD NOT GIVE UP. We told Major Naki of our situation and he agreed to fly out with us that evening. (YYAAAAYYYY)
SO far, we had lost our Team Captain, First had gotten into an accident, and our trip was almost canceled. But as we landed Kahului Airport we cried out with glee "we're in MAUI!!!" After packing ourselves into the rental car, we made our way to Baldwin High where we stayed for the weekend. That night we ate a dinner for champions, pizza, and rested up for what we've been training for, sleeping on desks in a classroom. The morning of, seeing all of the other seventeen schools and thirty teams was intimidating, but once the Maui madness began, things were looking good for the Wildcats. The first event we participated in was the three mile run where a steady pace won the race! Teams hauled past us as we began the run, but only to be overtaken by Konawaena when it mattered most. The next event was swimming, our least strongest suit, then the PT, tire flip, and the obstacle course. We were tired as tired could be. Once it was time for the award ceremony, we stood in formation with the rest of the teams. We were a small group, but we stood proud and confident. Our hard work and dedication led us to walk out of there with the first place overall mixed team trophy, first place run, and first place PT. Quite the miracle. We came home with the first place for First! And of course, our Captain whom we owe it to! |
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