Mid-Pacific puts its track and field success in Destiny’s hands

Some athletes need years to master the hurdles.

Destiny Look just thought it would be fun — and funny — to give it a try.

“I started doing the 300 (300-meter hurdles) in eighth grade. Me and my friend, Noah (Eldredge), said we should do hurdles for fun this season,” Look said. “I said, this is kind of fun.”

She had no idea in 2022, Mid-Pacific track and field didn’t really have anyone in the event. Longtime track and field head coach Rick Hendrix had seen Look place second in the ILH intermediate cross country championships a few months earlier.

“I asked her, are you going to do 800 or sprints for track? She said, ‘I want to do hurdles.’ I just lost my hurdles coach. I’ve never coached it before,” Hendrix said.

He studied up on hurdles.

“I followed a really good program. Taught her the beginnings of it and she’s a natural. The first week, she’s three-stepping. Sixteen steps between hurdles. After the race she said, ‘I was counting my steps. I want to know how many steps I’m taking,’” Hendrix said.

Things might have been different if she hadn’t taken the initiative.

“I did pretty good. I was winning,” Look said.

Eventually, Trey Oshiro became Hendrix’s hurdles coach. Between Oshiro and Spartans Track Club coaches Mike Harvey and Mike Davis, Look has prospered. Last spring, she finished second in the event. This year, she is the heavy favorite to take the gold in the 300 hurdles at the state championships. She is currently almost three seconds ahead of the second-best time in the 300 hurdles in Hawaii. Nationally, her 43.48 time ranks 45th. All because she thought it would be fun.

“Everything happens for a reason. It’s true. I feel like I’ve learned that. I still live by that,” Look said. “Last year, I was only able to compete in one event at states. I was kind of bummed about that. I lost. I’ve been training and it was hard to lose, but it was only my first year. That pushed me to work hard and I got a PR in 300 hurdles this season, so I think everything happens for a reason.”

She also ran last year’s state meet on a torn quadriceps muscle.

“I tried to convince my coach to let me do all my events,” she said.

That’s the Look that coaches at Mid-Pacific have learned to embrace. Five sports as a freshman, starter on their state-title volleyball team. She would do more if possible. She started with gymnastics as a 3-year-old. Soccer began at 5 and stopped after she played for MPI’s D-II league championship team as a freshman. She also did cross country and basketball for the Owls. Look has learned that even she has limits at some point.

Look’s vision is simple and powerful. Don’t waste a single iota of energy on the uncontrollables. She funnels her time, thoughts and effort into only what really matters.

Coming into last weekend’s track and field meets across the state, Look had already posted the No. 1 times in the 100-meter hurdles (14.9 seconds) and long jump (18 feet, .5 inches) in addition to the 300 hurdles. Her high jump during this high school season is 5-2, but last summer, she topped out at 5-6. She has also had the third-best 400 dash time (58.44) and eighth-best 100 dash (12.59).

Competing in just two or three events at weekly meets, Look hasn’t had a lot of opportunities to build up her numbers in some of them. The plan is to pace her work load, then unleash the 6-footer at the ILH championships and state championships, where an individual can do a maximum six events.

Track began when she was 6 and it came to her with great ease.

“I remember going to UH track, where we had most of our meets. I ran for the first time and I won. It was the 100, 200 and 400. I was surprised,” Look recalled.

In her own eyes, playing on a boys soccer team didn’t reveal that she was exceptionally fast, but she was.

“I don’t think I ever lost in the 100, 200 and 400 when I was little. I lost in eighth grade in the 100 at ILH (intermediate) champs. I don’t know who (the champion) was. I was a little shocked, but you can’t win them all,” Look said. “Everything happens for a reason. I had to go home and think about it. Lift a little harder. Work harder. It’s not a fun feeling to lose.”

Look is a rare combination of underdog mentality and killer instinct — a workaholic who has rarely been satisfied with a single performance.

Over the weekend, she posted a 44-second time in a 300 hurdles event at Mililani. Her timing wasn’t right, and she took off with the opposite leg on the first hurdle. It was still just a fraction of a second off her PR, but Look was almost beside herself with displeasure.

Perfectionist. It can be a compliment. It can be a curse. A superpower. Kryptonite. This is the conundrum for an athlete who already has All-America status in three events thanks to a superior performance in the offseason on the mainland. The energy level, fiery passion and daily work ethic are crucial to Look’s journey, the dream of competing in the heptathlon at the Olympics someday.

All of that, however, has to be contained like a flame.

On the first day of volleyball season as a freshman, in the fall of 2022, she was randomly injured in a school hallway, where some students had been roughhousing. She suffered a broken arm, got a cast put on it, and showed up for practice that same day expecting to take the court.

Wisdom prevailed. Look didn’t get on the floor until the last day of the season after her arm healed.

It was two weeks before the 2023 HHSAA state track and field championships when Look suffered a torn quadriceps at the ILH championships.

“We had to carry her off. That’s her weakness. She said, ‘Coach, I’m OK.’ She’s just got to communicate better with us,” Hendrix said.

Look insisted on competing at states. She is still just a tiny bit frustrated that she couldn’t talk her coaches into letting her compete in her usual load of events. Hendrix stood his ground.

During the recent winter season, following a busy ’23 calendar year that included five sports, her body gave out. Look suffered a torn PCL and a strained MCL. Her doctor’s prognosis: six to nine months of rehab, rest and healing. That was three months ago. Her progress was so swift, her doctor kept making updates.

“The doctor said she’s out. OK, that’s the season for her,” Hendrix recalled. “She went to PT (physical therapy) and worked on it. By February, he said, you can run straight (sprints). A couple of weeks later, you can do curves (300 hurdles). A couple more weeks later, you can do jumps. She just got cleared two weeks ago to run without restriction.”

Look did the improbable. Perhaps, it was impossible, except in the eyes of her family, teammates and coaches.

Look calls mom her “strength coach.” Michelle Look played volleyball at Punahou, then Loyola Marymount. She has enjoyed her daughter’s feats on the volleyball court but ceded to track long ago as Destiny’s most cherished sport. The work in the weight room began long before the injuries, and turned out to be a double blessing since.

“The weight room is like the psych ward, where you go when you’re mad or sad. The injuries were unexpected, but that’s what the weight room is. Trying to get through any kind of injury is very difficult, but having somewhere to channel your energy is very important,” Michelle Look said.

All of the circumstances — while maintaining a cumulative 3.6 grade-point average — could have overwhelmed most student-athletes. Look just won’t give in. There wasn’t and still isn’t the slightest doubt about overcoming any odds. Her brain isn’t wired to even discuss injuries. She mentions the quad injury because of the limitations placed on her at states. She never mentions the knee injury at all. Ever.

“Des won’t talk about it because she doesn’t want to make an excuse for her performance,” Michelle Look said. “It’s been a learning experience. She has more grit and heart. Her brain and mental toughness are incredible.”

Look’s mother also did track and had a high jump of 5-4. She also did the 400, triple jump and high jump.

“I ran track during Natasha Kai’s time,” she recalled. “I enjoyed track a lot, but I liked volleyball better. Des is the opposite. She can do anything, and that’s a super wonderful thing, but what we’ve been working on this year is long-game mentality. She wants to do every event, every time. Her competitive nature is so high that you have to walk her back from that line sometimes. We’ve really tried to make it a building season. She’s getting better at it.”

Adrian Peterson suffered ACL and MCL tears in December 2011, then returned nine months later to rush for 2,097 yards and 12 touchdowns for the Minnesota Vikings.

Look’s role model among heptathletes is Anna Hall, who suffered a PCL injury one week after Look’s PCL tear.

Look never mentions the coincidental timing of her injury and Hall’s injury.

“She’s the No. 1 track heptathlete. That’s definitely for me. I did a heptathlon in Oregon last summer at the Junior Olympics. That’s seven events. I actually liked it. It’s all the events I usually do,” she said.

Michelle Look saw the added fuel her daughter gained by following Hall’s comeback. Hall required surgery on her PCL. Look’s PCL healed over time.

“It was shocking when the doctor said it would be six to nine months. Their rehab lined up. Des got to see the same things that Anna Hall was posting,” she said.

Look was cleared to compete within a few months after her PCL injury. Gradually, she was given more latitude. Two weeks ago, she got to go-ahead to do all her events.

“Anna Hall just came back this past Saturday,” Michelle Look noted. “The PCL is your hardest ligament. It’s a random injury.”

Hendrix’s perspective goes beyond the high school season when it comes to Look.

“It’s hard to hold her down, but she shouldn’t do four, five events,” he said of the regular season. “The main goal is state, then in the summer, it’s nationals.”

He sees a similarity between Look and former Kaiser standout Kristen O’Handley.

“(O’Handley) almost won states by herself for Kaiser. She went on to run the heptathlon — first at Portland State, then she went to Tulane,” Hendrix said.

O’Handley finished seventh in the heptathlon at last year’s NCAA Track and Field Championships.

“That’s who I compare her to. The difference is (O’Handley) pole-vaulted and Destiny high-jumps,” he noted.

The competition is very tough in the 100 hurdles. Punahou’s Nala Stojadinovic recorded a time of 15.04 early this spring. On Saturday, she posted a 14.69, surpassing her 2023 state-meet time of 14.73, which was good for runner-up behind Tatum Moku. In the same race on Saturday, Look false-started.

“She wasn’t used to that starter. He delays a little more than most of them,” Hendrix said.

It’s on Look, he added, to understand the timing of different starters and when they pull their triggers to start races.

“He might be the same one at states,” he added.

The state-meet record for the 300 hurdles is 42.8, held by Vera Simms of Mililani since 2000.

Starting just her third year in the event, all the work Look has put in with club track has reinforced her belief. There is excellence and there is imperfection in every race.

“I can feel it whenever I’m running. My arms aren’t moving correctly. I almost hit someone to the side. Or I kick the hurdle,” she said.

Stojadinovic is more than a rival.

“I love Nala. That’s my (club) teammate,” Look said.

In the end, her friend is simply an opponent during race time. Look is competing with herself, her times, her dreams on the national and international level.

“My goal is a 13.8 by the end of senior year,” she said.

The 300 hurdles, without tight competition, would seem to be where any favorite could lose ground. Yet, Look’s 43.48 is a huge improvement on last year’s state-meet time of 45.71, when she placed second behind the champion, Stojadinovic (45:15). The defending champion has not approached last year’s time just yet. Her PR this season is 46.39. The coordinated buildup is yet to come.

For Look, 43.48 will not stand very long

“That was in the first race I did this season,” she said. “I’m training like there’s people in front of me nationally wise. My biggest competition is me and the clock. I need to get down to 40 (seconds) by states. I can do it. I know I can. It’s just a matter of putting the pieces together.”

The jump events are Look’s definition of fun. Last year’s state champion, Charli Kennedy of Le Jardin, has matched her winning high jump of 5-6 this spring.

“It’s definitely a fun event. I love doing it. It’s definitely a favorite event,” Look said.

The long jump is, like the high jump, very competitive. Look has the longest distance this spring statewide at 18-0.5, but Kelsey Carvilla of Le Jardin is close at 17-6. Kapaa’s Kanoe Haneberg is right behind at 17.575. Haneberg has made, literally, a big leap since posting a 16-0.25 last year. With a long jump beyond 18 feet, Look is not surprised.

‘”When I did the 17-6.5, I was a foot behind the take-off board. That was two weeks ago,” Look said of the Ralph Martinson meet.

She returned to Punahou’s track a week later and cracked 18 feet.

“I’m aiming for 19-2,” Look said.

It was Moku who reigned in the long jump last year at 18-05.75, recording an epic day in multiple events, including the pole vault.

“Tatum was my biggest inspiration last year,” Look said. “I haven’t tried pole vaulting. I don’t think I would try.”

The path and process, action and competition, mean a lot to Look. Mention the possibility of four individual gold medals and it isn’t as interesting.

“I don’t necessarily care about the medals. Just being able to know I’ll hit PRs really good because of all the adrenaline I’ll have at states. All the people. All the pressure will be on and I’ll perform better,” Look said.

Time is precious to a scholar-athlete. Look spends her fragments of free time doing what matters most on the track — giving back.

“We never had more than two hurdlers from seventh to 12th grade,” Hendrix said. “This year, eight seventh-graders show up. They want to do hurdles. How come? They say, ‘We saw Destiny doing it on social media and TV, so we want to try it.’”

Look embraced the young, first-time tracksters.

“It’s really cute. It’s awesome,” Michelle Look said. “She loves to coach. It’s an awesome thing, the camaraderie, to see the effect she has on people. You look up to other people, but I don’t think she knew people were looking up to her. She loves the kids. Teaching is something she loves.”

Being a big sister is natural for Look, who has a younger brother, Roman, 9.

“Destiny said, ‘I want to help them at practice,” Hendrix said. “She started working out with the girls, being supportive. It was good to see. She brought girls into the program. That was pretty awesome. She would go to some of the meets and support them when they thought they didn’t do as good. They tell Destiny she’s a star, but she said, ‘No, no, no. I’m just your teammate.’”

Hendrix has been there since 2010, not long after Mid-Pacific split off from Pac-Five’s track and field team. He became the Owls’ head coach in 2016. Now, plans for a track on campus have been approved.

“Hopefully, it’ll be ready soon, by Destiny’s senior year. It’s going to be a big part of the P.E. classes,” Hendrix added.

Look is in the midst of achieving what few other sophomores have in track and field history. Staying healthy is the essential ingredient to her summer plans — another dip into the world of the heptathlon.

“I could see it because she’s an athlete who could do all the events. She could even probably do the 1,500 and 3,000 if she wanted to. The heptathlon is her goal to continue on in college,” Hendrix said.

There will be challenges.

“Probably the shot put. She needs to build a little more upper body strength. Also the javelin. She’s improved so much on her long jump, hurdles and speed, the 100 and 200. She’s gained a lot in the last year.”

This academic year, Look took Hendrix’s advice and pared down a bit. No soccer. A stronger, possibly more durable Destiny Look is someone opposing coaches take note of.

“I first recall seeing Destiny during the 2022 track season, which was her eighth-grade year. I remember turning to my assistant coach at the time and told him, she’s going to be a problem to us for a long time,” Hanalani coach Jeremy Honold said. “She’s top 10 in the state in seven events and she’s only a sophomore. She’s one of the kindest girls in the sport and will never say it, but I’ll say it for her. Track and field is her world for the next three years. No one will stop her.”

Harvey, the Spartans TC coach, is also the head coach at Maryknoll. He has guided and trained many of the state’s top track athletes for decades.

“I noticed Destiny her freshman year. She was running the 300 hurdles and she was so far ahead of the competition, I thought she was a finisher from the last race,” he said. “She’s fearless. That’s a coaching point that is next to impossible to develop. An athlete has it or they don’t. I’m from the old school, so she reminds me of Jackie Joyner-Kersee. I’m proud to work with her. I look forward to her bright future. L.A. (Olympic) Games 2028. She’l be ready!”

DESTINY LOOK

Mid-Pacific track • Sophomore • track and field, volleyball

Q&A

>> Top 3 movies/shows

1. “Vampire Diaries”

2. “White Chicks”

3. “The Hunger Games”

“I’ve seen ‘Vampire Diaries’ three or four times.”

>> Top 3 foods/drinks

1. Acai bowl (Down to Earth)

2. #2 Udon with beef and egg (Udon Yama, Waikiki)

3. Chicken burrito (Bowles Burritos)

>> Top 3 homemade food

1. Grandma’s steak

2. Grandma’s garlic chicken

3. Grandma’s chicken katsu

“I don’t usually know what she’s cooking until I come home from practice. My grandma (Sarah Look) loves looking online for new recipes. I think I can make the steak.”

>> Top 3 music artists

1. Drake — “A Little Bit”

2. Kanye West — “Runaway”

3. Maoli — “Mercy”

>> Favorite athlete: Anna Hall (heptathlete)

>> Funniest teammate: Trey Bonilla and Kekai Hackworth

“They’re like one person combined.

Whenever one says a joke, they say the same thing at the same time. Whenever they’re not together and one is across the field, one is always waving to the other.”

>> Smartest teammate: Danielle Cunningham

“I know her a lot better than some of my other teammates. She has a lot of knowledge of life and school. She was also my volleyball teammate.”

>> GPA: 3.6

“I try and do what I can in school, but if I have all my hard classes in one day, I don’t have enough time to do homework in class.”

>> Favorite teacher: Mr. (Ryan) Darnell “He’s my U.S. History teacher this year.

He’s just so funny. Me and my friend joke with him a lot.”

>> Favorite class: U.S. History

>> Favorite motto: Everything happens for a reason.

>> Hidden talent: Painting acrylic nails

“I just do my own. I’m starting to get good at it.”

>> New life skill: Learning to drive

>> Bucket list: “Travel to Italy, Greece,

France, Bora Bora, Japan. I want to compete in the Olympics. Buy a farm probably in Waimanalo area.”

>> Time machine: “I would want to go

back to the 1500s during the art renaissance. All when the big painters were still alive and doing art. I’d go to their art studio and watch them paint. I’d also go back to when dinosaurs were around.”

>> Youth sports: “I did gymnastics when I was 3. I did it for four years. I miss it sometimes. My first main sport was soccer. I was about 5. I played until I was 13.”

>> Shout-outs: “Coach Rick Hendrix.

Michael and Joanne Wood. They’re the reason why I’m able to go to Mid-Pacific and do any of this. Coach Trey (Oshiro) and Coach Michael Harve and Coach KJ Davis (Spartans Track Club).

My strength coach is my mom (Michelle Look).”