HONOLULU – Joining the University of Hawai'i women's track and field program as assistant coach overseeing throws is Kaopua "KP" Sutton, head coach Tim Boyce announced. Sutton was born in Kailua-Kona and raised in Kea'au, Hawai'i. 
 
"I look forward to Kaopua's arrival and can't wait to meet and start working with her," Boyce said. 
 
Sutton brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to Manoa as a coach and as a decorated collegiate athlete.
 
"I strive to teach my athletes to expect and prepare for success both on and off the field, and that they are responsible for the actions and attitudes they exhibit," Sutton said about on her philosophy on one's character.  
 
Sutton spent the 2018 season as the assistant coach for the men's and women's track and field team at Knox College in Galesburg, Ill. Under her leadership, the Prairie Fire men and women finished seventh and eighth, respectively, at the Midwest Conference Championships.
 
Prior to Knox, Sutton was a graduate assistant overseeing throws for two years at Central Arkansas in Conway, Ark., where she helped lead the throwers to 13 Top 10 all-time school performances and an eighth place finish at the Southland Conference Championships. She also helped guide two combined-event athletes to second and fifth place finishes at the SLC Championships. 
 
Sutton spent a semester at the University of Minnesota Morris, where she competed and served as a volunteer coach. She won the 2015 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) championship in shot put, was the conference runner-up in the weight throw. She placed 10th in shot put during her third trip to NCAA Division III Championships while also helping to coach six all-conference athletes.
 
From 2011-14, Sutton had an illustrious career at Carleton College in Northfield, Minn. At Carleton, Sutton captured the national championship in the discus in 2014. The shot put All-American holds the indoor and outdoor school record in addition to the discus mark. She also won the discus title at the 2014 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship and was second in both the indoor and outdoor shot put during her senior year in which she served as team captain.
 
Sutton graduated with a degree in geology from Carleton College in 2014. She earned her master's degree in exercise science from Central Arkansas in 2017.