Congratulations to Xavier High School for winning the first annual Keitani Graham Interscholastic Track & Field Tournament among the public and private high schools in Chuuk State. We are grateful to the Interscholastic Sports Commission (ISC) for naming this annual high school track & field meet, probably the largest in all of Micronesia, to this son of Chuuk.
Highlights from the First Annual Keitani Graham Interscholastic Track and Field Day 2013
By Gabe Rossi
Chairman, Interscholastic Sports Commission (ISC) | Weno, Chuuk. FSM.
Track and field day 2013 has come and gone. And yet this was everything but ordinary. Sure there were the major events: the one-mile relay, marathon, sixty-meter and one-hundred meter races. Sure the competition was fierce and the teams were high-spirited. And of course some athletes were highly decorated while others were disqualified. But something much greater happened at this track and field day.
This past March the Interscholastic Sports Commission (ISC) had a preparatory meeting for track and field day. In the meeting the representatives from each school voted to change the name of the event. Chuuk’s favorite athletic competition was renamed to honor the late local Olympic hero, Keitani Graham. The Annual Keitani Graham Interscholastic Track and Field Day was born.
As a volunteer from the United States I cannot possibly convey the importance the late Keitani Graham has had on the youth in Micronesia, especially Chuuk and his village, Penia. Throughout his life he has inspired the youth to compete hard, demonstrate good sportsmanship and bask in the natural high that good competition offers. Through competition the non-profit organization Keitani and his father, Clark, started, SHIP/HOOPS (Society for Historic Investigation and Preservation/Helping Ourselves: Outreach Programs in Sports), they hoped to not only retain cultural values but also build a drug free and violence free community through honest, fair competition. As an Olympian, Keitani embodied these principles and dedicated his life’s work to building them from the ground up in Chuuk. He started a school in Penia, Akoyikoyi school in which SHIP/HOOPS is continuously investing in the youth through education and sports programs.
This year’s track and field day sought to keep alive Keitani’s legacy and life’s work. The Olympic banner Keitani brought back from competing in the 2012 London games, and carried by the Akoyikoyi first graders during the opening ceremonies at track and field day says it all: “Inspire a Generation.” Keitani inspired the youth of Chuuk when a week after returning from London he went to Anderson Field and, machete in hand, with his Penia relatives, he humbly cut the grass so the Penia/Peniasene youth could have a track and field day. Keitani inspired the youth by remaining drug free. Keitani inspired the youth by dedicating his life to others rather than himself.
And it all started at track and field day.
During the opening ceremonies, Clark Graham spoke to the athletes about Anderson Field, the place Keitani trained and first formally competed against other athletes from 1991-1995. Clark later recounted Keitani’s last race in Keitani’s favorite event, the sixteen-hundred meter (eight lap) race, highlighting how, as a fifteen year-old senior Keitani came from behind to out pace the leader on the final straight away.
The fact that Keitani’s favorite event was the eight lap, rather than the one-hundred meter, speaks volumes about the type of competitor he was. The short sprints are always the most anticipated and most cheered for races throughout the week. And, as a result, the most glory-filled. Keitani did not seek glory. Rather the eight-lap race requires dedication to a work out regimen, discipline and sacrifice. I am not saying the other races don’t need those things, but the grueling nature of running eight laps under the Micronesian sun as fast as one can separates the true competitors from the posers. Keitani was not a poser.
This year Joab Kanai from Palau, a fellow Xavierite, Keitani’s alma mater, honored Keitani by coming from behind on the last lap to win the eight lap. As most are probably aware, Keitani graduated from Xavier, went to high school in Hawaii before going to the College of the Holy Cross as a decathlete. Not only did Mr. Kanai honor Keitani by winning the eight lap, but Joab is also the most likely candidate to become the next decathlete: his one-mile relay team won, he placed seventh overall in the marathon, he came in third in the one-hundred meter finals, he won the long-jump and he anchored many of the relays.
This year’s competition was fierce and a few Micronesian youth stood out among the rest. SJ from Chuuk High won the one-hundred meter dash and has been nominated to represent the FSM in Tahiti this summer. A young lady from Southern Nomonias Fefan, Merizen, won the marathon, anchored the winning one-mile relay team, placed second in both the sixty and one-hundred meter dashes, and anchored many of Fefan’s relay teams. Miraleen Nittu, a freshman girl at Xavier High School, won the sixty and one-hundred meter dashes. And Brenden Yamase, a junior at Xavier, was nominated to represent the FSM sixteen and seventeen year-olds this summer in the Ukraine for the one-hundred meter dash.
At the end of every competition there can only be one winner and here is the final score for the event. SDA and Pentecostal High school teamed up and came in seventh place with five points; Southern Nomonias Tonowas came in sixth with twenty-five points; Berea Christian School placed fifth with forty-one points; Saramen Chuuk Academy scored one hundred eighteen points while securing fourth place; Chuuk High School placed third with one hundred seventy-nine points; Southern Nomonias Fefan came in second place with two hundred four points; and Xavier High School won the First Annual Keitani Graham Interscholastic Track and Field Day with three hundred thirty-two points.
There were many highlights throughout this past week, but what has been far more important than all of the events is how Keitani’s legacy not only lives on in the young athletes throughout Micronesia, but how his legacy thrives in them and continues to inspire other potential athletes. The athletes trained, sacrificed and dedicated themselves to a goal by not only conditioning their bodies for competition, but, more importantly, demonstrating their spirit and willingness to follow in Keitani’s footsteps by competing fairly and courageously.
Final Team Standing by Schools
1. Xavier High School – 332 points
2. Southern Nomonias High School (Fefan) – 204 pts
3. Chuuk High School – 179 pts
4. Saramen Chuuk Academy- 118 pts
5. Berea Christian School – 41 pts
6. Southern Namoneas High School (Tonowas) – 25 pts
7. Seventh Day Adventist /Pentecostal Light House Academy (teamed up) – 5 pts
Photos available on SHIP/HOOPS on Facebook