Pahoa’s Austin Dugan Looking for Top 3 Finish in BIIF Wrestling

Pahoa freshman, Austin Dugan, wrestling at 108 pounds

PAHOA – In their final regular season match Eastside wrestlers and coaches were scrambling to make last minute adjustments before entering the league championship scheduled at Keaau on Feb 13.

  Pahoa played host to the Big Island Interscholastic Federation’s regular season finale and Dagger coach Joe Duley was optimistic about his team’s chances of producing one or two finalist at the BIIF championships.

   “I have nine boys and one girl on the team,” Duley said.  “And the good news is that seven of those kids are freshmen and sophomores.”

   One of those freshmen, Austin Dugan, has Pahoa’s best chance at making the top three in the 108 class during the BIIF championships according to Coach Duley.

   Dugan often has difficulty finding opponents in his lightweight division and during the season has been bumped up to the 114 class in order to compete.  Last week Dugan upset Laupahoehoe’s Lucky Baun at 114 and this past Saturday the young Dagger found opposition at 108 against Keaau’s Kainoa Santiago.

   Dugan, a lightning quick, hard-nosed grappler, wasted little time getting an opening period take down and two points on his way to a pin with 26 seconds left in the first period.

   “I got him in a half nelson and rolled him over,” Dugan said of his victory. “I’ve been learning a lot this year and most of the time I wrestle people who know more than me.”

“I think I can do all right at the BIIF championships if I work hard and stay focused,” Dugan said. 

  Coach Duley used two mats during Saturday’s day long event and followed Kamehameha’s lead from the previous week of having a “dual meet system” which allowed schools to compete against each other in three rounds of action.

  During the first round little Pahoa took on the giant of wrestling, Kamehameha, as the private school Warriors dominated most of the competition.

   “I keep telling my wrestlers that if you want to be the best you have to face the best,” Coach Duley said of his scheduling Kamehameha in the first round.

    Kamehameha’s experience and sheer numbers overwhelmed the young Dagger squad which later faced Keaau in the second round.

Johansen

Warrior junior, Rustee-Ann Johansen, looked good in her match against Keaau’s Sharry Lei Fernandez.

   Johansen, the BIIF runner-up at 140 last season, began with a series of take downs and scored on a near-fall in the first period to amass an 11-3 lead going into the second.

   “I had to work on my shoots,” Johansen said.  “Every match I never shoot (go for the legs in an attempt at taking down an opponent) and I have to counter everything.”

   On Saturday Johansen worked hard on her take downs and in the second period build her lead to 13-5 before pinning her opponent with 1:07 remaining in the third period.

   “I just grabbed her arm and leg and rolled her over for the pin,” Johansen said.

   Johansen lost 15 pounds going into this year and now competes at 130 and has racked up a 19-2 overall record. 

   “I’m a little superstitious talking about BIIF’s,” she said.  “I don’t want to jinx my chances, and you never know what’s going to happen anyway.”

Isaac DeRego

Kamehameha teammate and wrestling team captain, Isaac DeRego, has been making headway in the 171 class.  On Saturday DeRego improved on his overall record by beating his Pahoa opponent.

   “I tried to stay on top of him and ride him out during most of the match,” DeRego said. 

  DeRego led 14-2 in the third period before getting the pin by using a half nelson roll over move.

  With his victory DeRego improved to 11-1 overall this season with his only loss coming to Honokaa’s Kalai Nihau by a score of 17 to 12.

   “This is going to be the first time I’ve ever wrestled at the BIIF championships,” DeRego said.  “I’m looking forward to having another chance against Kalai.”

Paleka-Kennedy

In the heavyweight division, Kamehameha’s 285 pound giant, Akoa Koa Paleka-Kennedy went against Keaau’s Johan Kalima in a clash of the titans.

   Both boys opened with a serious of head slaps to each other with Paleka-Kennedy getting the first take down of the match.

   “In the beginning he (Kalima) was pretty strong,” Paleka-Kennedy said.  “My coaches tell me to put all my weight on my opponent once I get them down and that is what I did.”

    Paleka-Kennedy stumbled onto wrestling when he was a paddler last season.

   “I got a cut and wasn’t allowed back into the water,” he said.  “That’s when I decided to try wrestling.”

    The hefty Warrior won his match against Kalima by rolling him over, onto his back, and then by placing his massive frame on the Cougar.  Paleka-Kennedy got the first round pin with 53 seconds remaining in the period.

Jesse Huihui

Keaau’s Jesse Huihui looked strong in his 130 match against Kamehameha’s Charles Aina.  Huihui got the first take down with 58 seconds left in the first period to lead 2-0 going into the second.

   Aina’s attempted leg dive was countered by Huihui as the Cougar managed to gain the advantage taking a 4-0 lead into the third period.

   During the final period Aina became more aggressive, but Huihui managed to withstand the surge and finished with an 8-4 win.

   “I was using a sprawling defensive move to keep him (Aina) down as I took the top position,” Huihui said after his match.  “I’ve been wrestling since I was in first grade and today I tried to go all three rounds to work on my conditioning.”

   Huihui goes into the BIIF championships with an 8-2 record.

   The BIIF championships will be held at Keaau on Saturday starting at 10 a.m.  The top three wrestlers in each of the weight classes will advance to the Hawaii High School Athletic Association state championships to be held in Honolulu.

Big Dog’s Revised BIIF Wrestling Top Seeds

Kamehameha's Megan Aina is the top seed at the 98 weight class

BIG DOG’S REVISED BIIF WRESTLING RANKINGS:

BOYS:

108 – Sage Aoki, Konawaena                  114 – Justin Hirae, Kamehameha

120 – Nalu Souza, Kamehameha           125 – Cheyden Quiocho, Keaau

130 – Dillon Cortes, Kealakehe              135 – Jimmy Romualdo, Kona

140 – Tyler Yonemori, Waiakea              145 – Bronson Kobayashi, HPA

152 – Keoni Colson, HPA                          160 – Geo Chavez-Pardini, Honokaa

171 – Kalai Nihau, Honokaa                     189 – Kawika Scott, Kona        

215 – Onipaa Stevens, HPA                      285 – Jordan Hao, Kealakehe

GIRLS:

98 – Megan Aina, Kamehameha               103 – Alexandra Aoki, Konawaena

108 – Danielle Hubbard, Kona                  114 – Jenna Aina, Kamehameha

120 – Jodi Ozaki, Kealakehe                       125 – Tanalei Louis, Kona

130 – Rustee-Ann Johansen, Kamehameha

140 – Pomai Pohina, Kamehameha          155 – Tracy Poch, Waiakea

175 – Kaopua Sutton, Kamehameha        220 – Kiana Mello, Kau

Note:  Coaches and wrestling fans are invited to give their own comments on who might be listed.

Kunishiges Staying fit together

Reid and Nancy Kunishige

With Valentine’s Day fast approaching it is a great time to start thinking of the many reasons to be grateful for your partner.

   If you’re fortunate enough to have found someone in your life that compliments you, is compatible to you, and shares common values, you are indeed a lucky person.

   Did you ever wonder why some couples are happy together for a lifetime, while others are in some sort of conflict almost from the beginning?

   Part of the secret may be in sharing some quality exercise time together. I’m always impressed when I see the many couples that walk around Liliuokalani Gardens.  Those couples have made the time to spend together doing an early morning or an evening walk.

   Walking is a great exercise for your body and when you share it with the one you love it makes for the ideal time to catch up on each others’ lives.

   There are many health benefits associated with walking as it is a non-competitive, low impact activity that is filled with fresh air and sunshine.

   On one of my many walks around Liliuokalani Gardens with my wife, Randee, we bumped into Reid and Nancy Kunishige.

   The Kunishige’s are in great shape as they make the time to work out in a variety of activities together.

   Reid, who teaches science at Keaau Middle School, and Nancy, a receptionist at Hilo Community Surgery Center, have been married for 20 years and have been doing physical activities together since their courtship period.

   “We’ve always been into some sort of exercise or sports activities,” Reid Kunishige said. “I was into weight training, running, tennis, free diving and some mountain biking back in my college days and Nancy loved to bowl, play tennis, going to the gym and her favorite is dancing.”

   The Kunishige’s played a lot of tennis with friends prior to their marriage and then that activity turned into golf during the marriage.

   “Before we met we were both going to the gym, so when we started dating we immediately hit it off with our interest of sports, both competitive and in trying to beat the other person,” Nancy Kunishige said.

   After the birth of their two children, Melanie 19 and Ryan 10, the Kunishige’s returned to the to the tennis courts and to the driving range to hit balls.  Nancy continues with her love for dancing, twice a week, and is now into the new exercise class of “Zumba”.

   “We’re rarely a stay at home, couch potato couple,” she said.  “We’re always on the go.”

   “We try to go walking as much as we can,” he said.  “I do a lot of bike riding with our son and Nancy adds a dance exercise class twice a week.  She also loves to play Wii Fit with the kids.”

    “It’s important for us to do things together, so that we never forget why we are still together,” Reid Kunishige said. 

   “Doing things as a couple bonds your love for each other, appreciating what the other is capable or not capable of doing, Nancy Kunishige said.  “Laughing with them and still loving them for who they are.”

    To compliment their regular fitness routine the Kunishige’s have also made a commitment to eating better by making small, subtle changes to their diet.

   “We started eating healthier, with less beef and pork and more fish and chicken,” Reid Kunishige said.  “Nancy even started making chili and spaghetti with ground chicken instead of beef. We’ve added more fruits and salad here and there and less rice.  “The real secret, I think, is smaller portions.  Using a smaller dinner plate helps mentally.”

   “You know when you’re getting old when you start to eat like your parents,” Nancy Kunishige said.  “We’re cutting out lots of junk food that we love and eating lots of smart food that we now love.”

   The Kunishige’s are a great example of a happy couple that spends quality exercise time together that helps to ensure a healthier lifestyle while promoting physical and mental well being.

   The Kunishige’s are also good role models to their children as they have planted the seeds to help promote a healthy exercise and eating routine.

   “Every marriage has bumps in the road and I think the best advice to any married couple is not to take your spouse for granted,” Reid Kunishige said.  “You should be each other’s best friend.”

   With Valentine’s Day fast approaching one of the best gifts you can give to yourselves is to take a walk around a beautiful area while enjoying each other’s company.  

   Improving your health through exercise and diet can surely improve any relationship and spending that “exercise” time with the one you love can develop into a closer friendship.

   “A long marriage is two people trying to dance a duet and two solos at the same time,” Anne Taylor Fleming wrote.

   The Kunishige’s have found the balance in both work and play as they continue to share, grow and learn in their relationship.

   After 28 years of being together the Kunishige’s are still working on the formula to a happy and healthy marriage.

   “Really, there is no secret to enjoying each other,” Nancy Kunishige said.  “Disagree; say your peace and move on to another day.

Five Simple Ways to Reduce Your Chances of Getting Cancer

Excess Body Fat Can be a high Risk Factor

Simple Ways to Reduce Your Cancer Risk

    As of late November 2009, the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) program estimated that nearly one in two men and women born in 2009 will be diagnosed with cancer at some time during their lifetime. With those depressing odds in mind, there’s no time like the present for you and your family to pursue natural ways to help ward off cancer. Here are a few to consider

 Watch What You Weigh. According to the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR), approximately 100,500 cancers that strike Americans annually are the result of excess body fat, underscoring the central role that overweight and obesity play in the development of cancer (and in the ability to survive the disease).

 Think Natural, Not Chemical. An October 2009 report by the American Cancer Society’s Cancer and the Environment Subcommittee advises the public to minimize exposure to known carcinogens (cancer-causing substances), calling for new strategies to more effectively and efficiently screen chemicals.

 High Cholesterol Is Not Your Friend. A recent large-scale study, results of which were published in November 2009, suggests that a person’s risk of cancer may be significantly lower when cholesterol levels are kept low.

 Try Sugar and Spice. Irish researchers have determined that curcumin, an extract found in the curry spice turmeric, promotes death of cancer cells. Another study suggests that certain compounds in pomegranate, a rich source of antioxidants, inhibit a liver enzyme and thus may confer beneficial effects against prostate cancer development.

 Live the Good Life. Earl Ford, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and colleagues studied data from 23,153 German men and women, ages 35 to 65 years, who participated in the European Prospective Investigation Into Cancer and Nutrition-Potsdam study. The researchers found that four lifestyle factors — never smoking, body mass index (BMI) of 30 or less, exercising 3.5 hours a week, and eating a healthy diet – slashed the risk of cancer, as well as cardiovascular disease and diabetes, by a staggering 80 percent.

HPA & Kamehameha Girls Win HHSAA Soccer Consolation Matches

Division II BIIF Soccer Playoffs, Consolation Bracket HHSAA

JN Automotive/HHSAA Girls Soccer State Championships         Waipio Peninsula Soccer Complex

Friday Results

DIVISION II:                                         Consolation Match:

MATCH 1: Makua Lani         Hawaii Prep 4

          Hawaii Prep: Kuuipo Nakon 3:00, 40:00, Noelani Enos 35:00, Jah’nae Ayoso-Purdy 46:00

MATCH 2: Honokaa 1                   KS-Hawaii 4

          Honokaa: Kimberly Kishmoto

          KS-Hawaii: Kera Akiyama 1:00, Natasha Ah Chong 41:00, Haunani Tomas 52:00, 78:00

 Semi-Finals Match

MATCH 3: Kailua  1            Kauai 0

          Kailua: Mariaa  Yoshida 49:00

MATCH 4: Kapaa 0             Pac-Five 2

              Pac-Five: Kendal Kagawa 42:00,  Ashley Haruki 52:00