Mililani senior running back Vavae Malepeai and Seabury Hall junior harrier Ava Shipman had standout individual performances over the weekend to help their respective teams to victory. ScoringLive photo illustration

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Male Athlete of the Week: Vavae Malepeai, Mililani football
Vavae Malepeai has had a lot of superlatives in the many games he's suited up over the past three seasons for the Mililani football team, but none more productive than Friday night.

Malepeai, a senior running back, rushed for a career-high 272 yards and five touchdowns in the Trojans' 60-36 win at Moanalua.

"It was a great performance, obviously, but like anything if you don't have a block it doesn't matter how good of a running back you are, so Vae and the offensive line did a great job," said Mililani coach Rod York, whose team played without starting quarterback McKenzie Milton (shoulder). "With McKenzie being out, we definitely relied on our run a little more and it shows that we can go with our ground game if we need to and keep off the pressure from the backup quarterbacks."

Malepeai, a 6-foot, 200-pound University of Oregon-commit, carried a season-high 24 times and scored on runs of 55, 5, 1, 18 and 86 yards. He averaged a gaudy 11.3 yards per rush.

York said Malepeai has taken the lead for the offense in trying to fill the void left behind by the injury to Milton, last year's All-Hawaii Division I Offensive Player of the Year.

"It's him mentally; he's honestly taken on the role that it's on him. He puts the pressure on his shoulders and he's actually being more vocal with the o-line," York said. "It's the first time we're really seeing him getting on the guys. Usually he's like, ‘good job boys, let's keep it going.' Now it's like, ‘Hey, don't miss your block. Let's go!' So there's more urgency on his part that I see that I didn't see before and it's actually every player now. It took an injury like that to McKenzie to for the team to realize that we have to do a lot better individually so that as a team we can be better, but Vae's taken it on his shoulder and is pushing a lot more and that's trickled down to the rest of the players."

Malepeai's durability cannot be understated. As a sophomore he ran for 1,350 yards on 239 carries and followed that up with 221 rushes for 1,337 yards last season. Through Mililani's first eight games this season, Malepeai has carried 133 times for 1,082 yards. He has 65 rushing touchdowns in his career and has missed just one game over that span.

"He definitely puts in a whole lot of work and that shows by the fact that his 40(-yard dash time) went from a 4.8 (seconds) to 4.47, electronic-timed; that's tremendous work in the offseason," said York, who noted Malepeai workouts with Tactical Strength and Conditioning as well as personal training with former University of Hawaii defensive back Kenny Patton. "They lay the groundwork for him to be that durable. The other thing is Vae is sore, he's banged up, but you can't tell in games because he pushes through the pain."

Malepeai has even seen some time at defensive back this season. He intercepted a pass against Aiea and forced a fumble a week later against Farrington.

"Our (defensive backs) weren't performing so we brought in Vae," York said. "He had that pick, he's broken up a couple passes, but the biggest thing we get out of him there is that he makes those tackles. It just has everything to do with the fact that it's crunch time, so we're trying to find the best eleven (players)."

The Trojans (7-1 overall) finished the regular season undefeated and had already clinched the Blue Division's top seed in the 12-team Oahu Interscholastic Association D1 tournament before the weekend, but York largely stuck with his starters for most of Friday's game.

"Because we play to win," York said. "A lot has to do with that game setting the tone for us in the playoffs. Because we're going to have a bye week, we used it as kind of like a scrimmage, so to speak, where whatever we did in that game is what we're going to do in the next games and we also used it to evaluate the two quarterbacks (sophomore Kaysen Higa and freshman Dillon Gabriel)."

Mililani has a bye this weekend and will host the winner between Friday's first-round game between Moanalua and Leilehua in next weekend's quarterfinal round.

Female Athlete of the Week: Ava Shipman, Seabury Hall cross country
Female Athlete of the Week: Ava Shipman, Seabury Hall cross country
It wasn't that long ago that Ava Shipman was new to the sport of cross country and looking up to the exploits of her former Seabury Hall teammates. Fast forward to present day and it's Shipman who is being looked up to by her peers.

The junior solidified herself amongst the top distance runners in the state by winning the Seabury Hall Invitational Saturday, completing the three-mile course in a time of 18 minutes and 52 seconds, while also helping the Spartans claim the team title.

"It was probably her best race she's ever run," Seabury Hall coach Bobby Grossman said.

It was Shipman's first individual win of the season. She placed sixth (19:10.24) at the Iolani Invitational at Kualoa Ranch on Sept. 19, which featured several powerhouse teams from the U.S. mainland. Shipman held the early lead at the Honolulu Marathon/Kaiser Invitational at Patsy T. Mink/Central Oahu Regional Park a week later, but ended up dropping to fourth.

"She wasn't really happy with her performance at the Kaiser meet and she wanted to have a good performance last week because I've tried to get her to lead and to stay with it. I wanted her to push the pace (at CORP) and she went out and then she started thinking, she allowed the event to be a bit much for her, but we had a little talk afterward."

Shipman blew away the field Saturday, finishing 56 seconds better than her nearest competitor, teammate Veronica Winham.

"Most of the time she wins by 25, 30 seconds, but this time she was about a minute up," Grossman said. "She was able to relax and push the pace. She wasn't really getting a push from the main competitors, who were on Oahu, so about getting her to aggressive on her own. She learned from a lot from those first two races though. There was no mainland team last week so she could just relax and run."

Shipman finished 11th at last year's state championship meet as a sophomore, helping the Spartans to their third consecutive Division II state crown. Grossman said Shipman's times this year probably put her in the top four individually statewide.

"It's very competitive when it comes to the state level," Grossman said, noting that Iolani's Amanda Beaman — a two-time state runner-up — as well as Pac-Five's Jordan Jones — who won the Kaiser Invitational — and Mililani's Vanessa Roybal as other top harriers. "The other runners have to push and show up week to week, but she isn't going to be pushed as much here on Maui, so getting to run those two preseason races (Iolani and Kaiser) is very beneficial not only to her, but the entire team."

Shipman captured the state championship in the 1,500-meter run last spring in track and field, which Grossman hopes she will parlay to this month's state cross country championships at Seabury Hall on Oct. 31.

"I think that gave her a little taste of success and now she's probably one of the top runners when it comes to effort, practice, doing the things she needs to do and staying healthy," Grossman said. "It definitely helps to have home-course advantage going up at states."

Shipman picked up the sport as an eight grader and one of her mentors was Grossman's daughter, Dakota, who won four consecutive individual state championships and was inducted into the Hawaii High School Athletic Association Hall of Honor in 2014.

"There's a little bit of pressure on (Shipman) because everyone is always asking her if she's going to win and it will happen five times a day," Grossman said. "It's the same thing that Dakota went through. In fact, I remember her telling me that Ava would be one of the ones that would ask that her that."

Grossman describes Shipman as a "really, really good person.

"She's a straight-A student — someone who is inspiring to try to go an Ivy League school — and she's really accepted the role of giving back and helping others. She feels good when others do good on the team, which is important to me and important to her. Everybody on the team likes and it's made our season a lot better this year because of her."

AIR RIFLERY
Zane Ogoso, Pearl City — Shot a total score of 517.07 in a win over Kalani

Danielle Tanabe, Pearl City — Shot a total score of 526.13 in a win over Kailua

BOWLING
Blaise Dela Pena, Pearl City — Rolled a high game of 234 and three-game series of 628 in an OIA West boys' meet

Chayenne Kuamoo-Malama, Waipahu — Rolled a high game of 249 and a three-game series of 568 in an OIA West boys' meet

CROSS COUNTRY
Zebadayo Bartholomy, Kealakehe — Won the boys' race at the Seabury Hall Invitational in a win of 16 minutes, 30 seconds

Amanda Beaman, Iolani — Won the girls' race at the Punahou Invitational in a time of 18 minutes, 55.99 seconds

Kaeo Kruse, Kamehameha — Won the boys' race at the Punahou Invitational in a time of 15 minutes, 34.87 seconds

Zoe McGinnis, Hawaii Prep — Won the girls' race at a Big Island Interscholastic Federation meet at Hawaii Prep in a time of 22 minutes, 34.22 seconds

Louie Ondo, Waiakea — Won the boys' race at a Big Island Interscholastic Federation meet at Hawaii Prep in a time of 17 minutes, 7.84 seconds

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Bailey Choy, Iolani — Had 21 assists, 11 digs, three kills and a block in a win over Punahou

Moea Kekauoha, Iolani — Had nine kills, five digs and an assist in a win over Kamehameha

Telly Koon, Christian Liberty — Had 14 kills in a win over Hawaii Academy of Arts and Sciences

Jojo Kruize, Moanalua — Had 13 kills, seven digs and five blocks in a win over Kahuku

Ana Ogilvie, Iolani — Had 15 digs and four assists in a win over Kamehameha

Ashley Pawlak, Mililani — Had 15 kills, three digs, two aces and a block in a win over Nanakuli

Angela Reinking, Christian Liberty — Had 23 assist in a win over Hawaii Academy of Arts and Sciences

Amber Tai, Kailua — Had 11 kills, three digs and three aces in a win over Castle

FOOTBALL
Kesi Ah-Hoy, Kahuku — Rushed for 152 yards and three touchdowns on 22 carries in a win over Waianae

Ola Aina, Punahou — Intercepted two passes in a win over Iolani

Chayce Akaka, Baldwin — Threw for 254 yards and two touchdowns on 12-of-24 passing in a win over Lahainaluna

Cain Asiata, Kaimuki — Had two sacks in a win over Kalaheo

Kaeo Batacan, Kamehameha-Hawaii — Rushed for 114 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries

Kelsan Cacoulidis, Konawaena — Had seven tackles, including two sacks, in a win over Hawaii Prep

DallasJ Duarte, Kamehameha-Hawaii — Threw for 223 yards and a touchdown on 16-of-19 passing in a win over Honokaa

Tanielu Evailmalo, Saint Louis — Made three tackles, including two sacks, and forced a fumble in a win over Kamehameha

Austin Ewing, Konawaena — Threw for 270 yards with three touchdowns on 17-of-29 passing and rushed for another score in a win over Hawaii Prep

Ansen Faamasino, Farrington — Had a sack and recovered a fumble in a win over Campbell

Challen Faamatau, Farrington — Rushed for 114 yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries in a win over Campbell

Ace Faumui, Radford — Rushed for 134 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries in a win over Nanakuli

Michael Feliciano, Moanalua — Caught 10 passes for 152 yards with a touchdown and rushed for another score in a loss to Mililani

Tainoa Foster, Kamehameha — Made eight tackles, including two sacks, in a loss to Saint Louis

Kamaki Gouveia, Baldwin — Rushed for two touchdowns in a win over Lahainaluna

Kaysen Higa, Mililani — Threw for 206 yards and two touchdowns on 12-of-20 passing in a win over Moanalua

Kahale Huddleston, Hilo — Caught two touchdown passes in a loss to Kealakehe

Ramon Kahili-Frantela, Nanakuli — Had four tackles, a fumble recovery and intercepted a pass in a loss to Radford

David Kalili, Kamehameha-Hawaii — Had two interceptions in a win over Honokaa

Nicholas Kennedy, Iolani — Caught 15 passes for 169 yards in a loss to Punahou

Algene Kelekolio, Konawaena — Rushed for 121 yards with two touchdowns on 12 carries and caught a touchdown pass in a win over Hawaii Prep

Nick Kernaghan, Campbell — Had 10 tackles in a loss to Farrington

Ty Keough, Leilehua — Caught six passes for 116 yards and a touchdown in a loss to Kaiser

Drew Kobayashi, Saint Louis — Caught six passes for 121 yards with a touchdown in a win over Kamehameha

Riggs Kurashige, Kealakehe — Caught three passes for 112 yards with a touchdown and rushed for another score in a win over Hilo

Hirkley Latu, Kahuku — Had two sacks in a win over Waianae

Keoua Mahiko, Kaiser — Intercepted two passes in a win over Leilehua

Joe Maneafaiga, Pearl City — Rushed for 122 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries in a loss to Kalani

Johnny Morrison, Kapolei — Had three sacks in a win over Aiea

Kurt Napoleon, Kapaa — Threw two touchdowns passes and rushed for another in a win over Waimea

Andrew Neves, Kaimuki — Caught seven passes for 192 yards and a touchdown in a win over Kalaheo

Kumoku Noa, Kamehameha — Caught nine passes for 196 yards and two touchdowns in a loss to Saint Louis

Kaimana Padello, Mililani — Had three sacks in a win over Moanalua

Anthony Palleschi, Hawaii Prep — Had 11 1/2 tackles, including a sack, in a loss to Konawaena

Keanu Pratt, Kaimuki — Threw for 237 yards and two touchdowns on 11-of-22 passing in a win over Kalaheo

Jared Puu-Robinson, Punahou — Forced a fumble and had a sack in a win over Iolani

Thomas Reid, Radford — Forced a fumble and scored on a 66-yard fumble return in a win over Nanakuli

Austin Santos, Johnson, Konawaena — Had 10 tackles, including three sacks, in a win over Hawaii Prep

Ezra Savea, Kapolei — Scored on a 64-yard interception return in a win over Aiea

Tyson Shimabukuro, Saint Francis — Rushed for 118 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries in a win over Pac-Five

Sean Silas, Kalani — Rushed for 153 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries in a win over Pearl City

Dillon Sunday, Radford — Had 6 1/2 tackles, including 3 1/2 sacks, in a win over Nanakuli

Ramsey Tacadena, Mililani — Intercepted two passes in a win over Moanalua

Tua Tagovailoa, Saint Louis — Threw for 322 yards with four touchdowns on 21-of-35 passing and rushed for another score in a win over Kamehameha

Wayne Taulapapa, Punahou — Rushed for 151 yards and four touchdowns on 11 carries in a win over Iolani

Ronson Timbreza, Saint Louis — Intercepted three passes, including a 52-yard pick-6, in a win over Kamehameha

Isaiah Tufaga, Saint Louis — Made three tackles, intercepted a pass and forced a fumble in a win over Kamehameha

Jordan Walker, Radford — Had nine tackles, including two sacks, in a win over Nanakuli

Brennen Weiss, Nanakuli — Intercepted a pass and forced a fumble in a loss to Radford