HPA & Honokaa Excel in BIIF Wrestling

Geo Chavez-Pardini undefeated in 4 years of BIIF wrestling

   KEAAU – This past Saturday was a day filled with spills and thrills as grapplers from various Eastside schools took on the Westside in Big Island Interscholastic Federation wrestling.

   Kamehameha played host to the third and final all-schools meet prior to the BIIF wrestling championships, at Keaau on Feb 13, and wanted to use a four mat system, maximizing the number of matches each athlete was afforded.

   But as fate would have it one of the wrestling officials was not able to make the meet and only three mats were used.

   For the first time this season at BIIF all-schools meet coaches assembled their athletes in a “dual meet format” in order to provide the best competition available.

   “We wanted to guarantee that kids would be exposed to a variety of competition and the dual format helped to achieve that goal,” Kamehameha coach Marlon Miller said.  “In some past meets I’ve had my own kids wrestling each other and that is a waste of travel funds.”

   With the dual meet format in place wrestlers from the Eastside were pitted against competition from the Westside.

   “We only have a total of six meets prior to the BIIF championships and half of those are all school meets and the other half are divisional meets,” Miller said.

   In first round action Hawaii Preparatory Academy was pitted against Waiakea which featured some great performance by both schools.

Bronson Kobayashi

In the 140 weight class Waiakea’s Tyler Yonemori continued his winning ways by pinning his opponent.  Yonemori, which has wrestled at both the 140 and 145 classes, is a formidable opponent that has HPA senior Bronson Kobayashi at 145 hoping for a rematch.

   “I wrestled Tyler twice this season,” Kobayashi said.  “The first time I beat him 8-6, and in our second meeting he beat me 4-2.”

    Both Yonemori and Kobayashi’s only loss this season has been between each other and the question looms on who would win in the BIIF finals.

    In Saturday’s match Kobayashi went against Waiakea’s Kawika Nihoa which saw a defensive battle throughout the three periods. 

   Kobayashi began with several head taps and attempted to get the first take down without any success.

    “I didn’t know what to expect against the Waiakea guy,” Kobayashi said.  “I tried to take his focus off the match with the head taps.  I think the Waiakea coaches are really good and this was a tough match for me.”

    Kobayashi scored the first three points of the match with four seconds remaining in the second period with a near fall, and then had to hang on the rest of the way to escape with a narrow 3-2 win over Nihoa.

Keoni Colson

Ka Makani teammate Keoni Colson went against Warrior Henry Kiman in the 152 class.  Colson scored in rapid succession building a 5-0 lead during the first period and winning by a technical 17-2 score with 43 seconds left in the second period.

   “I always go all out during my matches, no matter who I’m wrestling,” Colson said after the match.  “I got most of my points by turning him by fighting for the inside position.”

   Colson’s, last year’s BIIF champion at 145, victory left him undefeated in BIIF completion this season.

    Also undefeated is HPA’s Grayson Braham at 160.  In Braham first match of the day the senior went against Waiakea’s Jordan Maglinti and scored the first two points of the match in the first five seconds to take the lead 2-0.

   Braham, who is an outstanding wrestler, wasted little time placing Maglinti into a half-nelson and cradled him over into the pin position.

   “I used a cross-face cradle and then I pinned him with a Turk ride,” Braham said after his match with Maglinti.  “I like wrestling because it’s one on one, face to face, and it comes down to what you do.”

   Braham is not the only wrestler in the BIIF that is undefeated at 160 pounds.  Honokaa’s Geo Chavez-Pardini has spent his entire four seasons in league competition without a loss and on Saturday he displayed his wrestling skills.

   Chavez-Pardini went against Hilo’s Cullen Mento and took the Viking down with a quick move. 

    “I used a half nelson and then sucked his arms in and rolled him over,” Chavez-Pardini said of his 35 second pin against Mento.  “I like having all the pressure placed on me on whether I win or lose.  I can’t blame anyone else; it’s all up to me.”

   The stage is now set for a match between Honokaa’s Chavez-Pardini and HPA’s Braham which will come within the next two weeks as the BIIF season winds down.

   “I’m hoping to get a match with Geo next week,” Braham said.  “I’m excited and a little nervous to be facing him.”

   The Dragons also have Kalai Nihau, 171, which is undefeated in the BIIF this season.  In first round action Saturday Nihau went against Keaau’s Treyven AhQuin-Fely and pinned the Cougar with 58 seconds left in the first period.

   “I actually bumped up to 189 to wrestle the Keaau kid,” Nihau said.  “There wasn’t anyone to wrestle in my weight class and I wanted to get a match in.”

   Nihau credits much of his success this season to Chavez-Pardini as the two will work out together during practice sessions.

   “I’m working really hear this year as it’s my senior season,” Nihau said.  “Geo has helped me a lot as I’ve been practicing with the best wrestler on the island.”

   Dragon teammate, Jessica  Muscat, at 175 has only lost one match during the season and looked good while facing her competition on Saturday.

   In Muscat’s first match of the day the Dragon bumped up into the heavy weight bracket and placed her opponent in a half-nelson then rolled her over and onto her back to win in the second period by pin.

   “This is my first year of wrestling as I’ve always played volleyball,” Muscat said.  “The coach had been asking me to try wrestling and this year I decided to give it a try.”

Austin Dugan

The match of the day may have been between Pahoa’s Austin Dugan and Laupahoehoe’s Lucky Baun in the 114 weigh class.

   Baun, the more experienced wrestler, went for the quick take down early in the first round and found himself ahead 5-0 in the first 52 seconds of the match.

   But Dugan, just a freshman, rebounded late in the period scoring points on a takedown and an escape while avoiding a near pin.

   Trailing by a score of 7-6 in the second round Dugan rallied to tie the match at 13 going into the final round.  In the third period Dugan took the lead 18-16 and with 46 seconds left in the match scored an upset victory over Baun with a pin.

   “My conditioning is a lot better than his,” Dugan said after his win against Baun.  “I weighed in today at 107, but there was no one to wrestle in the 108 class, so I bumped up to 114.”

   Dugan’s victory came as a surprise as Baun is considered by many to be in the top three of the 114 weight class.  But Dugan’s never give up attitude is a tribute to his hard work and determination.

   “I knew I needed to bridge early to escape being pinned,” Dugan said.  “I told myself I could win the match if I could get out of his hold.”

   The BIIF regular season concludes on Saturday with an Eastside match at Pahoa and a Westside match at HPA.

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