HONOLULU – Cross country will be the first Chaminade University sports teams in action for the 2019-20 academic year when they compete Saturday at the University of Hawai'i Big Wave Invitational at the Kahuku Golf Course as
Shadrack Nabea begins his sixth year as head coach.
The Silverswords women's team has a good balance of returnees and newcomers. Senior
Alicia Dugan (Renton, Wash./Peninsula College/Kentridge HS) along with juniors
Riley Hallman (Renner, S.D./Tri-Valley) and
Olivia Mariucci (Templeton, Calif./Templeton) comprise the veterans.
The 'Swords' freshmen rookies have impressive credentials in their high school careers including
Alena Albertson (Austin, Texas/Cedar Park) and
Montserrat Lanfranco (Honolulu/Roosevelt) will look to make impactful debuts in Kahuku. Albertson was one of the top runners for one of Texas' top high school teams while Leong also excelled at postseason meets in Nevada. Also making her college debut on Saturday is
Hannah Hovestol (Modesto, Calif./Beacon Academy) who sat out last season to satisfy NCAA eligibility requirements. Also on the squad is freshman
Eri Leong (Las Vegas/SECTA).
Meanwhile on the men's side,
Matthew Schmidt (Hanalei, Kaua'i, Hawai'i/Hawai'i Technology Academy) is the 'Swords' lone three-year returnee although
Joseph Yoakum (Gibraltar, Mich./Wayne State/Carlson HS) proved to be a model of consistency on the race course in his first year with Chaminade after transferring from Wayne State.
The Silverswords' key returnee is junior
Beau Larsen (Papillion,Neb./Daniel J. Gross Catholic) who has been the team's No. 1 finisher in all but 10 career races. He's joined by another junior,
Elijah Bernardo-Flores (Waipahu, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Kamehameha-Kapalama) who made his collegiate debut last season and showed consistency throughout the year.
The team also has two promising freshmen.
Peyton Oshiro (Honolulu/Hawai'i Baptist Academy) was one of the state's top runners with high finishes in the Hawai'i High School Athletic Association Cross Country Championships in 2017 and '18.
Josiah Rodrigues (Honoka'a, Hawai'i/Honoka'a) was a two-sport star at Honoka'a High School, and participated in two HHSAA Cross Country Championships.
The UH Big Wave Invitational gets underway with the women's race starting at 7 a.m. The men's race will follow at around 7:45 a.m. following the completion of the women's race.
