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During the month of May I was awed and inspired by a different athlete each week. This made choosing a Sportsperson Of The Month very difficult.

Early on Noelani Vargas was my front runner with a strong triple header performance at the North Hawaii Community Hospital Fun Runs and the Cinco de Mayo Splash. At the Fun Runs Noelani doubled up with a 13 second victory over her sister Kela in the 1 miler with a time of 7:40. Then just minutes later she completed a tough 3.1 mile cross country course in 1st for the 1-12 age group at 30:12. She wrapped up her athletic weekend the next morning at Anaehoomalu where she took 3rd overall in the 400 yard Little
Splash for youth 7-12 years old.

A few weeks later I couldn't help being amazed by Steve Browoski's five gold and two bronze medal haul at the United States Masters National Swimming Championships over on Oahu. One of Steve's relay golds set a national record while his individual golds were just a teensy bit short of his previous world marks. Although Steve's success at the races was amazing I was actually even more impressed by the hard work he put into his
training, coaching and family each and every day.

With my mind already filled with good choices I ended up being even more confused as 20-year-old James Cotter raced head to head with the best of the best at the 20th Annual Keauhou Kona Half Ironman Triathlon. Cotter's phenomenal performance placed him 3rd overall with a great time of 4:11:07.

Finally there was Jim Mellon who had outstanding races just about every weekend of the month. After mulling over all four very deserving candidates I decided to go with Mellon as my Frozen Pea Productions Sportsperson Of The Month.

Mellon, who lives and trains on the Hilo side, has been working hard and improving steadily over the past few years. It wasn't that long ago that he was thought of mainly as a swimmer. For many years Mellon has been a regular in the lead group at any ocean swim event whether it's one mile or twenty six.

Now like many Island athletes Mellon has the multisport bug which led him to his first Ironman finish last October. During the month of May his hard training paid off giving him first overall victories at both the Cinco de Mayo Splash and the Peaman Mother's Day Classic Biathlon. At the Mom's Day race Mellon finished the 3/4 mile swim in first then with his improved
running easily held off his pursuers for a winning margin of 1:19 over the Zen Master of Multisport Jah Peaple.

Mellon's awesome month was capped off by a solid race at the Keauhou Kona Tri where his time of 5:33:43 earned one of the 30 much sought after Hawaii Ironman World Championship qualifying spots. Mellon is a great example of what you can do with dedication and smart training. Look for Mellon to have a great day at Ironman on October 19th.

Our June sports calender looks to be a lot of fun and last Saturday's 2nd Annual Hawaii County Emergency Medical Services 911 Family Fun Run/Walk kicked things off on the right foot. It was nice taking a road trip over to the Hilo side and fortunately we were greeted with sunny skies.

Although it heated things up a bit for the 3.1 mile run and 2 mile walk it didn't seem to slow the leaders down too much especially Hilo's Jason Thorp who took off fast and never slowed down. Thorp who placed 19th last year in 20:04 led from wire-to-wire and blazed the course with a massively improved time of 17:18.

The nice weather and the flat fast course from Coconut Island to just before the lighthouse on Bay Front Drive was perfect for fast times and close races. The battle for 2nd and 3rd came down to the last few strides as Hilo's John Beitler and last year's 10th place finisher James Murphy hit the home stretch almost elbow to elbow. Beitler ended up being just a tad quicker as he clocked in at 18:43 to Murphy's 18:45.

The wahine duel was also very exciting with Kealakekua's Rani "The Road Runner" Tanimoto taking the lead for the first mile and a half but just after the turn Jeannie Wokasch of Honolulu went by and took the lead. The duo stayed close most of the way back until Tanimoto shifted gears and pulled away for the wahine crown as well as a 4th overall finish in 19:05.

Race organizer Jesse Ebersole had enough energy to put on a great event and run it pushing his son in a stroller. Ebersole edged past Wokasch for 5th overall at 19:18. Wokasch followed in 6th overall and 2nd for the wahine in 19:26. Last year's 13th place finisher Adam Busek moved up to 7th overall and 5th for the kane with a solid time of 19:32.

Wrapping up the wahine top group was Sandra Reid of Bhangladesh in 3rd at 21:40, Michelle Shepard-Gates of Kurtistown in 23:00 and St. Joseph's High School running champ Elisa Ciez who clocked in at 23:56.

A total of 137 finished the 3.1 miler and another 142 completed the 2 mile course. I'm glad that the turnout was so good since Ebersole and his fellow firefighters did such a terrific job with their second year event. All proceeds from the event will be donated to the New York Firefighter 9-11 Disaster Relief Fund.

As usual, last weekend's off-island racing report brings us good news. The Big Island foursome of Grant Miller, Chris Seymour, Chris Clark, and Mike French teamed up to win the rugged and grueling 24 Hours Of Hell In Paradise Mountain Bike Race. The awesome team battled sleep deprivation and a tough course with 2 major hill climbs, 4 miles of technical single track and 2 water crossings to win by 10 minutes.

The race began at 9:00 a.m on Saturday and, of course, finished at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday. The lead changed hands several times during the night but during the final few laps our Big Island crew was able to dig deep and pull away for the impressive victory.

This weekend's fun looks to be on Sunday, June 9th as our Island keiki will challenge themselves at the YMCA's Y-Not-Tri while more Island keiki and adults will join the Big Island Road Runners Club for a 2 and 4 mile fun run/walk at Richardson Ocean Park in Hilo. The Y-Not-Tri will begin at the Kailua-Kona Pier at 8:00 a.m. and the B.I.R.R.C. event will also get going at 8:00 a.m. For Y-Not-Tri info call 329-YMCA. As for the run contact Millie Cooke at 959-6438.

A few changes and new events to watch out for will be the Peaman Dads Day Stroke and Stride will be shortened to a 1/2 mile swim and 2 mile run. In addition to the distance change, a swim-run-paddleboard division will be added for both Peas and Pea Wees who want to prepare for the Hapuna Lifeguard Challenge on July 20th at 9:00. The paddleboard distance at the Pea event on Sunday June 16th will be 1.2 miles for Peas and a 1/4 mile for
the Pea Wees. Relay teams are welcome to join the fun. Call 324-PEAS for more details.

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