He would be having the time of his life without the hunt.
Yet, here he is. Kalei Harbottle. The breadth of his people skills is real. Future talk show host? Future coach? Maybe and maybe.
For now, all Harbottle did is blow people’s minds by putting the shot 61 feet a few weeks ago at the Kamehameha Invitational.
Then, two weekends ago, the Warriors senior surged to another stratosphere with 64 feet, 3 inches at an ILH meet at Punahou’s Alexander Field. That is believed to be a non-HHSAA record.
“At Kamehameha Invitational, it was our first meet at home, my ring. I tried to get a big one out there. I didn’t win the discus (154 feet), but I had fun. I know what things I have to work on,” Harbottle said.
Going into the meet at Punahou, it was a week of treatment for an oblique injury. The last thing on anyone’s mind was a throw beyond 60 feet.
“It was the same flow state that I had at Kamehameha. Just go easy, 70, 60%. My first throw was 59 (feet), then 58, then 61-3,” he said. “I was pretty happy about that, but I thought, let’s get a big one.”
“I don’t want to think about throwing all meet. I don’t want to overthink,” he said. “Coach Max (Kanoa) told me, ‘You have it. Go for it. You’re well-rounded in this sport. Have fun.’ It did feel good. That last throw, I had a little clap before it.”
His teammates won’t say a lot about the numbers, but they have stacks of memories with their favorite state-title-contending shot putter.
“My favorite memory of Kalei,” teammate Berta Ah-Kiong said, “is after Kamehameha Invitational, we went to get Wing Stop, and while we were driving, Kalei was screaming the song ‘Linger’ by the Cranberries at the top of his lungs.”
This was a shy kid whose mother was a kumu at his middle school, Kamehameha, and who gradually gravitated to the joys of life and Hawaiian culture as Warriors do.
“I met Kalei when he was in eighth grade,” said Chawai Manuel, a fellow thrower. “I remember him being quiet and very to himself. It was only in his junior year that he truly opened up and started being the goofy kid he is.”
Harbottle hit the two new high-water marks while struggling with an oblique injury, which is not to be fooled with. The injury was enough to knock Harbottle out of the most recent ILH meet on Saturday.
“I’m just surprised that it’s quite early and quite young in the season,” said his father, Kawika. “Dude, this is not your max. When he hit his 64, I have not seen you throw that smooth before. You’re strong enough, work on getting smoother. Just maintain the lifting you’re doing.”
The HHSAA record of 59-8 is one of the most prominent hallmarks of all. Kaione Crabb of Punahou set the mark in 1997 at the state meet at Kaiser Stadium, just weeks after crossing the 60-foot barrier.
To his teammates, the circle of throwers, the true hammers, Harbottle is as personable as they come. It is always one of the most unique of circles, discus throwers and shot putters from different schools sometimes training together, sharing pointers and bonding over some of the most ancient of sporting endeavors.
“My favorite memory with him are the times when he tries to coach me with the drills he uses,” Manuel said. “When I can’t do it, he makes sure to get the attention of everyone so they can all get the same laugh he’s getting at. It’s all good because he’s someone who brings us all together and makes the throwers truly feel like a tight-knitted family.”
Harbottle is the glue man who happens to be chasing a state mark that has rarely been approached. Last year, Javian Goo of Kapolei got in the neighborhood at 56-9.5, while Harbottle placed second at 55.85 at the HHSAA meet at Kealakehe. In 2015 at War Memorial Stadium on Maui, ‘Iolani’s Kamuela Borden won with a distance of 57-3.75.
When Harbottle took second last year, there was disappointment. Sourness. Bitterness. He turned those ingredients into fuel. So much so that his teammates can’t deny his buy-in. He leads by voice, but mostly by example.
“I’m so serious at practice and they’re trying their hardest to make jokes about me. They say the funniest things,” Harbottle said of his teammates. “Kaimana (Fake) humbles me a lot. He tries to get in my head. … He’s my brother.”