“Every once in a while, you have those good days when it feels like you’re flying.” Kanoa Blake ’23 shakes his head, thinking about his big win. Originally from Newport, Oregon, where distance running is big, freshman Blake surprised everyone—including himself—when he placed first in the BIIF (Big Island Interscholastic Foundation) Cross-Country Championship, the biggest race on the island with hundreds of runners and eighteen schools participating. The boys varsity race had a field of eighty-eight runners, including HPA’s top seven.
In the end, I felt like I still had a lot left in me. I’m still figuring out what kind of runner I am, what it means to give everything I’ve got.”
— Kanoa Blake ’23
Ahead of the race, Blake had no particular plan, other than to give it his all and shoot for a course time of under seventeen minutes. But early on, he knew it was going to be a special race. Blake explains: “I surged early because I felt so good; I knew this course well, knew I picked the best place to turn it on. Then the other runners kept dropping off.” In the end, Blake was flying solo out front, a full forty-five seconds ahead of the second-place runner, with a personal best time of 16:25. “In the end,” he explains, “I felt like I still had a lot left in me. I’m still figuring out what kind of runner I am, what it means to give everything I’ve got.” Blake knows he has a lot left in him and three more years to show the world what kind of high school runner he can be.
Blake is a rising star on a young team. Coach Mark Ravaglia notes: “I’m lucky to be working with a young team. Of the six runners going to States in Maui, two are 9th graders, one is a 10th grader, and three are 11th graders. They’ve all gotten a lot faster this year, but more than that, their enjoyment of running has also grown.” This young team has a great future ahead in seasons to come.