The Spartans swept the competition at the Maui Interscholastic League Track and Field Championship on May 4, which led them to place top in Hawai’i at the Island Movers Track Championships on Oahu last week.
The Seabury Hall runners have been tirelessly working hard for this accomplishment, practicing for hours each day and for months even before their high school track season started. The team consists of 21 student-athletes and two of them are seniors this year. Nine of the runners qualified for the state championship at their last MIL race, so they traveled as a team to Oahu on May 10 to compete against the fastest high school runners in Hawai’i.
(Kainani Drexler)
Isabella Grossman, a freshman at Seabury, won three events during the MIL finals: the 3,000 which she ran in 11 minutes, 19 seconds; the 1,500 meter she ran in 5 minutes, 4 seconds; and the 800 meter in 2 minutes, 29 seconds; and was part of the 4×400 relay with her team, which finished third.
These races are some of the long distance races that track meets have and running three long races in one night is tough to do, let alone placing first in all of them.
With the state championship looming, Isabella had expressed that she was “nervous, but excited” for the big weekend ahead. Turns out that trusting in her training paid off as she placed first in the state in the 1,500 meter run and third place in the 3,000 meter run.
She was also a part of the winning 4×800 relay race with her teammates. The Lady Spartans earned the come-from-behind state record time of 9:51 for this inaugural event, which included freshman Kailana Hagan (leg 1), senior Layne
(Kainani Drexler)
Millen (leg 3), and Freya Carlsen (leg 4). Isabella was leg 2. This 4×800 team went from the 17th seed, to the 7th seed at trials, to the state champions.
Isabella credits her stamina to be able to compete all night to the preseason practices that she has been doing since December. As the cross country and track coach is Coach Bobby Grossman, her dad, Isabella trains year long and hopes to run competitively in college, like her two older sisters did.
Kailana, the MIL runner-up champion of the 1,500 and 3,000, finished 10th in the state 1,500. In the girls state 3,000, she finished ninth behind Isabella and Layne, who finished 3rd at MILs, was 12th.
Micah Brighton, a junior at Seabury Hall has been running track and cross country his whole high school career. Last weekend at the MIL finals, he placed first in the 3,000 meter run at War Memorial Stadium in Wailuku. The 3,000 meter run is almost two miles around the track and Micah ran it in 9 minutes and 25 seconds.
Micah placing first in this race is a big accomplishment for his school as a whole because a Seabury boy has not had this title in over five years. The junior also anchored the state-qualifying 4×400 relay at MILs to end the night, which also included senior Cody Frampton, and juniors Zach Bush and Jacob Romero.
“[The competition of the MIL boys division] has been tougher this year than it has in the past,” Micah said. “We got a lot more faster guys and I feel like in general Hawai’i has always been a slower state but it’s started to get more competitive.”
Going into the state championship, Micah had hoped to drop his time in his 3,000 meter run.
“I feel pretty ready, I feel like it’ll be fun,” Micah had said before his race.
He unfortunately was feeling under the weather but still ran it in a quick 9 minutes and 30 seconds which placed him 16th in the state. Sophomore Finn Hensley finished 15th best in the Hawai’i.
Jacob Romero, a junior at Seabury Hall runs year round for the cross country team and the track team. At the MIL finals, he qualified to compete in the 800 and 1,500 at states. He medaled with an 8th place in the 800 and 9th in the 1,500.
“Obviously I would have wanted a medal in the 1500,” Jacob said, as state medals are awarded to top 8th placers. “But I am grateful for the opportunity and ability to be at the point to have even made the final considering last season where I didn’t even make states in an event.”
During finals, Jacob ran the 1,500 meter in 4 minutes and 23 seconds. This boys race is considered the fastest field in Hawaiʻi history with the winner, Kalani’s Yuta Cole, breaking 4 minutes. He came back and ran the 800 meter run in 2 minutes and 3 seconds — he went from the 22nd seed to top eight.
“Overall I’m grateful to have been able to make the finals in two events this season and can’t wait to improve on my performance next season.”
