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I know my opinion may be biased but don't you think that the West Hawaii Today Sports section is looking great? With so much to cover from Pee Wees to high schools to college and pros, I feel that both Brian Perdue and Ron Eland are doing a terrific job.

Over the past two years both Perdue and Eland have not only improved their sports section, they've also become upstanding members of our local community. I know that they can never please everyone but keep in mind that they are open and willing to try new things to satisfy the readers.

There are a lot of sports going on all over the island each week and there's no way that they can be experts in horseshoes or high school golf without the help of athletic directors, coaches, event organizers or even volunteer parents. I, for one, applaud their efforts and hope that many others do also but if not, don't hesitate to call them up and contribute event info, scores, highlights, nice compliments or the always valuable "constructive criticism".

Thanks to the superb race coverage of the WHT Sports Duo I was able to take some time off last week and enjoy a fun trip to Kauai and Oahu. Since returning home I've realized that March Madness not only applies to N.C.A.A. basketball but also to our many, many swim, bike and run events all over the state and our island.

Just last weekend we had another double header of events with the Hilo to Volcano Ultramarathon and Relay on Saturday and the 10th Annual Pedal-2-Paul's bicycle and running time trial on Sunday.

Over on the Hilo side, Gary and Millie Cooke and the Big Island Road Runners Club carried on the long standing tradition of the 31.1 mile Hilo to Volcano event by keeping things free, casual and fun! Unfortunately I was unable to get results before my Thursday deadline but I'll do my best to get them for next Friday's column.

Here on the Kona side, Team Mango supplied the aerobic and sometimes anaerobic fun with their annual 5 mile pedal and plod from the bottom of Hualalai Road at the Kuakini intersection up to the historic Paul's Place in Holualoa. Although 5 miles uphill may not sound very tough, just try it sometime and you'll see what a quad burner it can be.

Last year's top wahine runner Rani "The Road Runner" Tanimoto took off first with all the other cyclists beginning one at a time several seconds apart. The format and goal are simple; run or ride as fast as you can up to Paul's. No judges, scores, etc. Just you against the clock.

As everyone did their best to hammer up the hill it was the day's final rider to start, Thomas Pavel, who clocked in first. Pavel made his way up to Paul's in 21:41.

Next up in the road bike division was Dave Hien at 27:01. Taking third overall and first for the mountain bikes was Mike Tanabe at 27:54. Wrapping up the top three road bikes was Rob Enright with a solid finish time of 28:40.

Mary Osborne's time of 29:40 placed her first in the ladies road bike category. Osborne's time was 10 seconds better than her second place time from one year ago.

In the running category, The Road Runner blazed up Hualalai in 37:10 to repeat as the ladies champ. Tanimoto's 2001 time of 35:55 continues to stand as the wahine course record.

The same morning that saw Team Mango hammer up Hualalai, a few of our local cyclists were over on Oahu taking on the challenge of the always tough Tantalus Time Trial. The short but very steep climb up Tantalus attracted a strong field of 68 riders.

Kailua-Kona's Gary Shields won the race last year and once again was on hand to go up against most of our state's best climbers. Last year Shields became one of the very few who have ever broken the elusive 20 minute barrier. On Sunday he once again rode well but ended up at 20:05. When all the dust had settled his time was good enough for second overall and first in his category.

The lone rider to better Shields' time was our state's best young rider, Thomas Novicoff of Oahu. He pounded the pedals to the top in an awesome time of 19:18. Just last month Shields and Novicoff raced each other at the Castle To Hanauma Time Trial with Shields coming out on top 28:42 to 29:25.

Closing out Sunday's top five overall was Rod Raymond at 20:07, Everett Sakai in 20:11 and Ray Brust at 20:16. Following Shields on our Big Island mens list was Grant Miller in 26th place overall at 24:17.

Monique Mata, the ladies champ from the Castle To Hanauma race, once again proved to be the days best wahine time trialer. Mata clocked in at 22:19 which placed her 14th overall. Michelle Foster, who like Mata is also from Oahu, rode to second at 23:21. Carol Jaxon at 27:20, Diane Treister in 27:21 and Kailua-Kona's Janet Higa-Miller at 27:38 closed out the wahine top five. Finally in a bit of catch up news, Lanihau Center and JTL Timing teamed up to put on their 8th Annual Leprechaun Run. The Runnin' O' The Green took place on everyone's favorite Irish holiday, St. Patrick's Day.

Kicking off the festivities was the Leapin'Leprechaun 1 Miler that wound around the Lanihau Center parking lot. Topping the group was Carl McCluskey at 8:19. McCluskey easily won his 50-59 age group. Close behind him was Tyler Foster in 2nd overall and first for the boys 10-13 with a time of 8:29.

Best in the Wee Wahine category was the duo of Stephanie Okumura and Meilyn Quitiquit at 8:48 and 8:49. Closing out the top five overall and easily winning his 1-6 age group was the awesome Bram Paikuli with a great time of 8:59.

The 3.1 miler saw U.H. Hilo Vulcan runner Tim Marr blitz the field with a fast time of 16:39. Last year's winning time was 19:29. Marr's Vulcan teammate Ikaika Ho took second at 17:13. John Beitler closed out the quick top three with his time of 18:29.

Eva Glasrud of New Hampshire took the ladies Leprechaun title in 21:26. In last year's ladies race Glasrud took fifth at 24:32. Aja Reyes took second at 21:55. Both Glasrud and Reyes competed in the 19-and-under age group. Wrapping up the top group was Jan Yoshioka at 24:47 and Tammy Kelly at 24:52.

In the 6.2 miler U.H. Hilo Vulcans once again dominated the top spots with former Parker High School champ Alastair In taking first in 37:52. Despite a slight detour in the final mile his teammate Paul Moth took a solid second at 38:11. Owen Kano wrapped up third at 39:07.

The Mad Month of March wraps up this weekend with the always spectacular 21st Annual Mac-A-Thon. The Easter Saturday celebration begins at 7:00 a.m. near Honaunau Bay.

Besides the 3.1 and 6.2 mile running events, the Keoua Honaunau Canoe Club fund raiser will also keep everyone entertained and well fed throughout the morning. Their traditional mac-nut pancakes should not be missed. Call 328-8442 with any questions.

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