It was a special time for a special class, which is why they made a morning of it at Kapolei.
The Hurricanes gathered, 17 strong, for a ceremony to honor the college-bound student athletes. Among the 17, who were with family at the breakfast event in the school gym, was pitcher Trey Kamachi-Allen. The senior is on his way to Arizona State, his school of choice.
For four other schools, Kamachi-Allen was their choice long before ASU turned up at the Area Code Games in August. Once the Sun Devils connected with the Kapolei ace, it was an easy pick.
“It was hard, but Arizona State been my dream school since I was 9,” he said.
In addition to Pac-12 schools, he also had offers from Hawaii and Kansas.
“I used to live in Utah, but we used to go down to Arizona for spring training,” Kamachi-Allen said.
Track and field champions Charlinda Ioane and Devin Jenkins were also present.
“I’m really excited. It’s an opportunity to stay home,” said Ioane, who will compete for shot put and discus state titles later this week. She’ll be at the University of Hawaii this fall.
“I want to go into athletic training. I went through it and a lot of people helped me, and I want to help other athletes do it, as well,” she added.
Jenkins, the state’s reigning champ in the 100- and 200-meter dashes, is heading to Southern University in Louisiana.
“I want to study mechanical engineering and they have one of the best programs in the country,” said Jenkins, who also considered Florida A&M, Arkansas and UCLA. Southern was the only school to offer a full scholarship. He plans to also play football beginning in his sophomore year.
Softball ace Winona Pauline opted to attend Eastern Arizona, a two-year school.
“I wanted to go to a JC or a four-year, but at a JC, I want to get comfortable with college in a smaller classroom so I can stay focused,” said Pauline, who turned down an 80-percent offer from Oregon.
The Hurricanes had already signed letters of intent, but yesterday’s ceremony gave the school a chance to honor them as a group. In addition to breakfast, the student-athletes received custom Kapolei hoodies produced for yesterday’s event.
“You folks will always be a Hurricane, but we want that same effort on the field and in the classroom. Once you get that degree, you have it for life,” athletic director Darren Camello said.
See video interviews of the Hurricanes at www.hawaiiprepworld.com.
Kapolei class of 2012, student-athlete signees
Aimee Aipa, softball, Southern Nevada
Hailey Berg, soccer, Peninsula College (Wash.)
Robbie Depp, baseball, Norfolk State
Richard Gallarde, soccer, Peninsula College (Wash.)
Charlinda Ioane, track and field, Hawaii
Devin Jenkins, track and field, Southern
Misty Kaiwi, soccer, Peninsula College (Wash.)
Trey Kamachi-Allen, baseball, Arizona State
William Leskovec, baseball, HPU
Mikela Manewa, softball, Southern Nevada
Cesar Mason, football, Pacific (Ore.)
Toe Motu, basketball, Northwest Nazarene University
Winona Pauline, softball, Eastern Arizona
Nathan Shirey, track and field, Oregon Tech
Preston Wallace-Williams, soccer, HPU
Rowen White, soccer, Peninsula College (Wash.)
Kiatrell Zachery, football, San Jose City College
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