College athletes from Hawaii enter UH med school

There was a Kenny Niumatalolo sighting Friday at Kaimuki High School. No, the Navy football coach isn’t recruiting a Bulldog, at least that we know of. UH spokeswoman Tina Shelton tells us the former Radford and University of Hawaii quarterback was there to see his nephew begin his career as a student at UH’s John A. Burns School of Medicine.

David Niumatalolo, a former Kahuku standout, played defensive end at New Mexico State while earning a 4.00 GPA majoring in biology. Niumatalolo was one of 66 entering MD candidates to be cloaked in the white coat ceremony. He was among 1,880 applicants for the UH med school’s class of 2017.

Hawaii plays football at Navy this season on Nov. 9.

I also just received word that former UH basketball player Courtney Gaddis is also among the entering medical school class. Gaddis was a hard-working walk-on from Kalani High School who improved enough to become a valuable member of the Wahine playing rotation. She earned all-WAC academic three consecutive years as an undergrad, majoring in biology.