Iolani Alumni

Event Date: Sunday, July 13th, 2008

Taylor Takata ‘00, who recently qualified for the U.S. Olympic judo team, will hold a judo clinic on Sunday, July 13th in the ‘Iolani School athletic complex.

The first session will be held 9 a.m. to noon for children ages 12 and under. The second will be 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and is for ages 13 and older.

Cost is $35 per session for participants, $10 per session for spectators.

The seminar will focus on the latest judo techniques at the Olympic level from a world-class coaching staff, featuring Takata, two-time World Judo bronze medalist Danieska Carrion, two-time U.S. World Judo Team member Todd Brehe, and U.S. National Judo Team member Jeff Sato.

Funds raised from the clinic will help cover the traveling costs and training expenses for Takata as he prepares for the Olympic Games in Beijing. Donations can also be made to Friends of Taylor Takata at American Savings Bank.

To register for the clinic, e-mail nicholasklee@gmail.com or call 348-3267.

Washington State standout guard Derrick Low ‘04 was not among the 60 players selected in the NBA Draft, but his dreams of making the NBA are still alive. Late yesterday evening, Low was invited to join the summer team for the Dallas Mavericks.

The Mavericks roster features potential Hall-of-Famer Jason Kidd and veteran scorer Jason Terry as well as reserves Tyronn Lue, who is in his 10th year and with his 6th NBA team, and Jose Barea, who started on the Puerto Rican National Team that captured the silver medal at the 2007 Pan Am Games.

As a member of the Mavericks, Low will participate in the Las Vegas Summer League (July 12-20) and the Rocky Mountain Review (July 18-25). Select games for each league will be televised on NBA TV.

From HawaiiHoops.com: Watch as former Washington State guard Derrick Low ‘04 works out for the Phoenix Suns (Interview about 6 minutes in).

Despite also working out for the New Jersey Nets, Golden State Warriors, Seattle Sonics and the Dallas Mavericks, Low is not expected to be among the 60 players selected in the NBA Draft (Today at 1:00pm HST on ESPN), but is hoping to receive a free agent offer in the next few days.

Read more from the Honolulu Advertiser »

Update: Tickets will be available at the door for $40.

Paliku Winchester, the 5-year-old son of Kanoe ‘89 and Rena ‘89 (Duque) Winchester, is in need of your kokua.

On February 21, 2008, Paliku was diagnosed with lymphoma, a fairly rare form of cancer that originates in the lymphatic tissues and, according to statistics, affects 1 out of every 100,000 children in the United States each year.

Since his diagnosis, Paliku has undergone numerous medical tests - bone marrow, various blood tests, spinal taps, scans, x-rays, and ultrasounds among others - and has begun the process of chemotherapy which will continue for the next two years. Three days a week he travels to Kapiolani Hospital for treatment and the remaining days of the week he is treated at home.

The Winchester family is accumulating a sizable amount of medical debt and Rena is not able to return to work on a regular basis. To help alleviate the expenses, please consider making a donation. This will allow the family to focus on Paliku’s fight against this disease.

What: Benefit Fundraiser for Paliku
When: Sunday, June 29, 2008, 9:00am - 1:30pm
Where: Pacific Beach Hotel (Changed from the Pagoda Hotel)
Cost: $40 (includes pupus and entertainment)

Email friendsofpaliku@yahoo.com for tickets

To make a monetary donation, stop by any Bank of Hawaii branch or mail a check to:
Friends of Paliku
c/o Winchester Family
P.O. Box 701366
Kapolei, HI 96709-1366

(Make the checks out to “Friends of Paliku”)

Event Date: Saturday, August 2nd, 2008

UPDATE (July 1st): Tickets are SOLD OUT! The Association has started a waiting list. To place your name on the waiting list, please contact Norma Murayama at 808-943-2322.

For the first time since the event started 12 years ago, tickets for the Touch of Iolani may sell out before the end of the discount period (which is June 30th)… So, get your tickets now!

Set for Saturday, August 2, 2008, the 13th Annual Touch of Iolani is brought to you by the Iolani Alumni Association and the Class of 1989.

This year’s theme is “The Red Event” and features food from the following restaurants:

• Big City Diner
• Sam Choy’s
• The Willows
• Sansei Restaurant
• The Beach House at the Moana Surfrider, A Westin Resort
• Hawaii Prince Hotel
• Atlantis Seafood & Steak
• Roy’s Restaurant
• Tango Contemporary Cafe
• Bali by the Sea
• Great Harvest Bread Company

Drinks will be provided by Anheuser-Busch and Kai Vodka.

Tickets are $60 if purchased before June 30, 2008, and $65 after June 30. Discounted tickets of $55 are available for the reunion classes ending in “8″ and “3″.

Click here for the order form. Call (808) 943-2322 for more information.

Former Iolani and University of Hawaii basketball standout Bobby Nash ‘03 has signed to play professionally with the Shiga Lakestars of Basketball Japan.

Also known as the “BJ League“, the Basketball Japan League will be entering its fourth season and is composed of 12 teams separated into two divisions. Shiga competes in the Western Conference and is one of two expansion teams added to the league for the 2008-09 season.

Compared to the more established JBL (Japan Basketball League), the BJ League, though newer, is generally considered the more entertaining of the two leagues and draws a larger audience. The BJ League places fewer restrictions on the acquisition and participation of foreign players as opposed to the JBL which focuses on featuring the top Japan-born players due to its affiliation with the National Team.

With the NBA season now officially over, all attention turns to the 2008 NBA Draft which takes place in just over a week at Madison Square Garden on Thursday, June 26th.

Unlike other professional drafts, the NBA Draft consists of just two rounds (only first-round selections receive guaranteed money). Washington State guard, Derrick Low ‘04 is expected go late in the second-round, at best, but will likely have more than a few opportunities to tryout as a free-agent if he goes undrafted.

Thus far, Low has worked out with the New Jersey Nets and has other workouts scheduled with the Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks.

He is currently based out of San Francisco where he trains with little known, but well-respected workout guru Frank Matrisciano. Matrisciano, who’s clients include a number of current players in the NBA and overseas, puts his clients through rigorous workouts he calls “chameleon training” which teaches them to overcome obstacles and adapt to their surroundings. Some have called it the “most mind-boggling, body-aching workout, period.”

Read more about Matrisciano and his workouts »

Seventeen seniors in the Class of 2008 have been honored as Valedictorians for the exemplary academic record over the course of the last four years. Together their cumulative GPA was 4.30.

The 2008 Iolani Valedictorians:
• Signe Chambers (Washington University - St. Louis)
• Alanna Cooney (Washington University - St. Louis)
• Aaron Fong (Pomona)
• Jonathon Fung (UH - Regents Scholar)
• Ryan Gomoto (USC)
• Allison Hasegawa (Colorado College)
• Kimberlee Hashiba (Northwestern)
• Pamela Ho (USC)
• Kate Ikehara (USC)
• David Jaress (University of Chicago)
• Scott Kaneshiro (Harvard)
• Leslie Kim (Harvard)
• Clay Ozaki-Train (Arizona State)
• Christine Tamaru (Whitman College)
• Kyla Teramoto (Santa Clara)
• Marisa Wang (UPenn)
• Zhuangjun Wang (USC)

Why so many? To select their valedictorians, Iolani determines the lowest possible GPA of the students who only received As throughout their high school career (regardless of Honors or AP classes) and sets that as a baseline. All students with cumulative GPAs above the baseline are considered valedictorians.

(In theory, the baseline GPA could be set at 4.0 if a given student took no Honors or AP courses but earned all-As. In that case, all students with GPAs above 4.0, even those who didn’t get all As, but took Honors and AP courses, would be considered valedictorians.)

With a dominating performance at the U.S. Olympic Judo Trials, Taylor Takata ‘00 punched his ticket to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Takata will represent Team USA in the 66kg division (145.5 lb) after defeating No.2-seed Jeremy Liggett in the finals last Friday.

To reach the finals, the top-seeded Takata pinned eighth-seed Tanner Singh in the quarterfinal rounds then held off No. 4-seed Justin Flores in the semifinals.

Takata is just the third judoka from Hawai’i to represent the U.S. in the Olympics and the first since Clifton Sunada in 1996.

[Photo: US Judo]

Don’t miss your opportunity to watch The Makaha Sons live at Iolani School tomorrow afternoon in a FREE CONCERT sponsored by the Iolani Alumni Association. Open to Iolani Alumni and Friends. See you all there!

Date: Saturday, June 14, 2008
Time: 5:30 pm
Admission: Free!

Location: Upper School Courtyard (Between the I-Building & Chapel)

Parking: Structure on Kamoku St., Stalls on La’au St., Baseball Field

Food & Drinks: Concession stand will be run by the Iolani Boys’ Varsity Basketball Team (All proceeds will go to support Paliku Winchester, son of Kanoe ‘89 and Rena (Duque) ‘89 Winchester, in his fight against cancer.)

Other Notes: Seating will be on the lawn, so please bring your own chairs and blankets. Outside food is also welcome. No Alcohol.

Of the 228 Iolani seniors attending one of more than 94 different universities, 23 will be heading to Santa Clara University next fall, the most of any college. Coming in tied for second with 21 students apiece were the University of Southern California and the University of Hawaii.

The tuition at Santa Clara for the 2008-09 school year will be $34,950 (fees included). Along with an estimated $11,070 per year for room and board, the grand total for a single year at Santa Clara, not including the record-high prices for plane tickets, is $46,020.

The University of Hawaii, by comparison, is just $5,952 per year ($2,976 per semester) for a full-time student, just more than a third of the current Iolani tuition. Room and board on campus is estimated at $7,500 per year.

Tuition and fees at USC comes to $37,692. Together with room and board ($11,298), a one-year education from the University of Southern California comes to $48,990.

New House or College? The total cost of an education for one year at Santa Clara equates to $3,835 per month which would nearly cover the mortgage payment for an $800,000 home (assuming 20% down and a total loan amount of $640,000 at 6.0% over 30 years). Unreal!

The start date for the 2008 Iolani Alumni Basketball League is closing in, so get your team together, pull your jerseys out of storage, dust off the kicks and grab the Icy-Hot because the first set of teams will take the court in less than a week.

Check the Schedule »

From Monday, June 16th until Saturday, July 26th, 19 teams representing more than 28 years of alumni will compete for the coveted Iolani Alumni Basketball League title.

This season, the league is split into four divisions (A,B,C,D) and two levels of play. In the top level, teams in the A Division will compete in a double-round-robin format to determine a champion based on overall record. In the second level, the teams with the best record in the B, C and D Divisions (along with one wild-card team) will enter a four team playoff to determine the champion.

Northwest Arkansas first baseman Kila Ka’aihue ‘02 will be in the starting lineup for the North Division at the 2008 Texas League All-Star Game at Hammons Field in Springfield on June 25th.

Ka’aihue, a fan favorite for the AA Naturals, is currently second in the league in home runs (13), 5th in slugging percentage (.556) and 10th in RBIs (39). During the month of May, he batted .400 (22 for 55) with 4 HR, 15 RBI, an on-base percentage of .521 and slugging percentage of .655.

Northwest Arkansas is the Double-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals.

Marlene Zeug, a 1991 Punahou graduate and former player at Colgate University, has been hired as the new head coach of the Iolani Girls Varsity Basketball team. Expected to assist her are former boys’ coaches Glenn Young ‘59 and Rodney Veary ‘70.

Zeug, a former head coach on the Intermediate and JV at her alma mater, most recently was an assistant on the Varsity staff during their run to the state finals in 2003. She succeeds Glenn Takara ‘80, who stepped down this season after 8 years with the program.

[Photo: Honolulu Advertiser]

Despite nursing a sore right quadricep that nearly kept him out of the postseason, Christian “CJ” Johnson ‘06, a sophomore right fielder at Central Arizona College, was named to the 2008 JuCo World Series All-Tournament Team. Through the first four games as the team’s designated hitter, Johnson batted .588 with 10 hits, 3 doubles and 9 RBI. He finished the World Series batting .435 with 2 home runs and 19 total bases.

For his performance during the regular season where he batted .385 with team-highs in slugging percentage (.583) and doubles (20), Johnson was named to the AJCAA All-Conference Team as well as the NJCAA Division I All-Region I Team. He also received the 2008 NJCAA Division I Rawlings Gold Glove for his excellence in right field after finishing the season without an error in 59 chances. For his career, Johnson committed just one error in 162 chances with 24 assists and 5 career double-plays from the outfield.

Johnson has signed with the University of Hawaii for the 2009 season, but could be selected in the 2008 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft which runs today and tomorrow.