BIIF Crowns 25 Wrestling Champions for 2010

photo by CSUAINAJR

BOYS:

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

120 – Nalu Souza, Kamehameha           125 – Kevin Antolin, Kealakehe

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

140 – Tyler Yonemori, Waiakea              145 – Kawika Nihoa, Waiakea

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

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

215 – Tim Eckert, Kealakehe                    285 – Chris Reed, Honokaa

GIRLS:

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

108 – Danielle Hubbard, Kona                  114 – Jolynn Kahala-Minczer, Kealakehe

120 – Melissa Dumaguin, Kona                 125 – Tanalei Louis, Kona

130 – Rustee-Ann Johansen, Kamehameha

140 – Jade Perreira, Honokaa                    155 – Tracy Poch, Waiakea

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

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Two BIIF Wrestlers Going for Perfection

Honokaa's Geo Chavez-Pardini - undefeated in 3 yrs. of BIIF competition

   It is said that “The most difficult part of attaining perfection is finding something to do for an encore.”  And for Konawaena’s Alexandra Aoki and Honokaa’s Geo Chavez-Pardini that encore may come this Saturday at the Big Island Interscholastic Federation Wrestling Championships

   Aoki, a senior, will see her BIIF wrestling career come to a close and with it a perfect league record during the past three years of wrestling competition.

   Aoki goes into this Saturday’s BIIF championship at Keaau as the three time defending champion in the 103 pound weight class, a division she has dominated by never losing a match since dropping a pair during her freshman year.

   “She (Aoki) is very coachable, respectful, a hard worker and a pleasure to be around,” Kona coach Wally Nakashima said.

    Aoki made it into the final round of the Hawaii High School Athletic Association state wrestling championships last year before dropping a close match to take the runner-up position.  This year Aoki is determined to turn things around and bring home a state title.

   “It’s not really about me winning all my matches in the BIIF,” Aoki said.  “It’s more important that I have quality opponents to wrestle against during the season.”

Mindy Lorance (left) and Megan Aina

Aina singled out Kealakehe’s Mindy Lorance and Kamehameha’s Megan Aina as the toughest competition that she had this season.

   Eight years of judo and a brown belt has helped Aoki throughout her wrestling career.

   “Judo and wrestling are very different in moves, but judo has helped teach me the discipline necessary in any sport,” she said.

   Honokaa’s Geo Chavez-Pardini will be concluding his junior season in BIIF competition at the 160 class.

   Chavez-Pardini won the 140 weight class as a freshman, the 152 class as a sophomore, and if everything goes as planned will emerge as the BIIF champion at 160.

   During his three years of league matches Chavez-Pardini has the distinction of winning every single match, most of which came by pin.

   “I’ve gone this far without a loss that it would be disappointing to lose at the BIIF championships,” Chavez-Pardini said.  “I’ve worked hard to get where I am and I’m not going to let anything spoil that.”

  During the season Chavez-Pardini has faced a variety of Big Island opponents and credits Hawaii Prep’s Keoni Colson as giving him the best competition.

   “I wish I could wrestle Keoni (Colson) more often as it benefits me to compete against the best,” Chavez-Pardini said.  “Keoni wrestles at 152, so I have a weight advantage, but he is a very good wrestler.”

   Aoki and Chavez-Pardini are also talented in the classroom as both have accumulated GPA’s of 3.8 and have made the honor roll for their respective schools numerous times.

   On Saturday wrestlers representing 11 BIIF schools will be competing in 25 weight divisions that will produce individual championship crowns for 14 boys and 11 girls.

   Kealakehe comes into Keaau as the defending boys and girls team champions and this season will face an uphill battle in their attempt to repeat.

   A complex system of points will be awarded during every match depending on how the match is won; pin, tech or major decision and another set of points will be given for first through fourth place finishes in each weight class.  The school with the most total number of points accumulated will determine the boys and girls team titles.

   “This weeks BIIF championships should be one of the better tournaments in recent years,” Kamehameha coach Marlon Miller said.  “No one school is the clear favorite (for the team title) and although both Kealakehe and Honokaa are probably the odds on favorites every school this year has a talent pool of wrestlers that should produce some upsets in the rank and file.”

  With Honokaa and Kealakehe being the front runners for the boys team crown Miller believes that Konawaena, Hawaii Prep and Kamehameha could play the role of spoiler.

  Honokaa coach Dan Whetstone believes that the boys from HPA, Honokaa and Kealakehe have the talent to produce two to three BIIF champions and all three should be considered the top contenders for the team title.

  Most coaches see Kamehameha as having the inside track to win the girls team title as the private school Warriors have wrestlers in all 11 weight classes.

   “After Kamehameha I think we (Honokaa) have the next largest squad with eight girls with Kealakehe and Kona both having several outstanding wrestlers and may have enough girls to pull off an upset,” Whetstone said.

   Hawaii Prep’s coach, Gary Jarvill, believes the Kamehameha girls have the best chance at winning the team title while the boy’s title is up for grabs.

   “The boy’s championship will be much closer with Kealakehe having the biggest team and returning BIIF champions from last year,” Jarvill said.  “Every team has at least one or two BIIF number one seeded wrestlers so it will be really close. Kealakehe has 12 of the 14 weight classes covered so it will be hard to displace them this weekend at BIIFs.” 

   The favorites to win individual BIIF titles for the boys are:                                      

Honokaa:  Geo Chavez-Pardini, 160, and Kalai Nihau, 171.

Kona:  Sage Aoki, 108, Jimmy Romualdo and Kawika Scott, 189.

Kamehameha:  Justin Hirae, 114, and Nalu Souza, 120.

Kealakehe:  Dillon Cortes, 130, and Jordan Hao, 285.

HPA:  Bronson Kobayashi, 145, Keoni Colson, 152, and Onipaa Stevens, 215.

Keaau:  Cheyden Quiocho, 125.

Waiakea:  Tyler Yonemori, 140.

   Favorites for the girls are:

Kamehameha:  Megan Aina, 98, Jenna Aina, 114, Rustee-Ann Johansen, 130, Pomai Pohina, 140, and Kaopua Sutton, 175.

Kona:  Alexandra Aoki, 103, Danielle Hubbard, 108, and Tanalei Louis, 125.

Kealakehe:  Jodi Ozaki, 120.

Waiakea:  Tracy Poch, 155.

Kau:  Kiana Mello, 220.

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.

Aoki Slips by Aina, 8-7, in BIIF Wrestling

Kamehameha's Nalu Souza, bottom, will win by pin, photo by CSUAINAJR

Good things often come in small packages and when it comes to prep wrestling the 103 pound weight division may see a battle between giants.

   This past Saturday Kealakehe played host to an all-schools wrestling meet which saw some of the premiere grapplers in the state going head to head.

   Kamehameha’s Megan Aina weighed in at 99 pounds while three times BIIF champion Konawaena’s Alexandra Aoki dropped one weight class to feature two of the best wrestlers at 103.

   Aina, who believes in the theory that to be the best she must compete against the best, moved up a weight class earlier in the season to challenge Aoki and lost by pin in the second round.

   This past Saturday Aina was determined to turn things around on Aoki and became the aggressor early on as she tried to keep the more experienced wrestler off balance.

   “Megan led going into the third period by a score of 7-4,” Kamehameha coach Marlon Miller said.  “But instead of wrestling to win she got conservative and wrestled not to lose.”

   Aoki overpowered Aina during the final two minute period to squeak by with an 8-7 victory. 

   “In that match Alex (Aoki) showed everyone why she is a three time BIIF champion, going on her fourth BIIF title,” Miller said.  “I am looking forward to them meeting again at Kamehameha’s Tournament on Jan. 30 and also in the BIIF Championships.”

Jenna Aina goes for the pin

While Aina dropped her close match her older sister, Jenna Aina, was able to avenge her only loss in BIIF competition by beating Wildcat Daniele Hubbard in a nail biting overtime score 9-7.

   Jenna Aina’s victories at the 114 weight class led to her capturing first in that division and provided the Warrior girls with another impressive meet.

   Warrior teammates Rustee-Ann Johansen, junior at 140, Kanoe Padaken, sophomore at 108, Kaopua Sutton, senior at 175, and Jasmine Iuta, freshmen at 220, all had perfect records on the day.

   Especially impressive for the Kamehameha girls was Jasmine Iuta who weighs under 175, but was bumped to the higher weight division by her coach.

   “One thing Jaz has going for her is that her practice partner, Kao Sutton, beats her up in practice every day,” Coach Miller said.  “I tell my wrestlers at the beginning of the season that their mission is to make it hard for their partner.  Their goal is to make them the hardest wrestler their partner will see all season.”

   Iuta went on to pin both her opponents in the heavyweight division which now makes her the person to beat in that weight class.

   “I pinned the girls from Kau and HPA in the second round,” Iuta said.  “During the match with the Kau girl I used a lot of head snapping.  I couldn’t shoot on her, so I used more momentum and less muscular force to try and counter her moves.”

   “Against the HPA girl I felt that that we were around the same experience level so I used some moves that my dad taught me,” Iuta said.  “The move that I felt the most comfortable with was the head and arm and to pin her I used a head chancer.”

   Honokaa had a good showing with two girls taking second place finishes in Heather Sugimoto, 125, and Jessica Muskatt, 175, both going 2-1.

   For Dragon boys it was Geo Chavez-Pardini, 160, and Kalai Niau, 189, winning all three of their matches resulting in first place finishes.  Teammate Preston Cawagas, 171, also had a good day going 2-1 and finishing second in a tough weight division.

   Chavez-Pardini and Niau both won their first won matches by pin with Chavez-Pardini taking a superior decision in his final match while Niau came away with a close decision in his final match.

   “I was able to win my first two matches with first round pins using the head and arm technique,” Niau said. “My third match was against Ryan Pilanca of Kealakehe and I beat him on points, 13-11.”

   During his third match Niau was up by 10 points and nearly had his opponent pinned on two occasions, but needed to hang on in the final round to escape with a narrow victory.

   Niau weighed in on Saturday at 171.8 pounds and was required to wrestle at the heavier 189 class, but the senior believes that he will compete at the 171 class by the time the BIIF championships roll around.

   “I probably can win BIIF’s this year at 171,” Niau said. 

Nalu Souza

Two Kamehameha boys also had unblemished marks at Kealakehe.  Justin Hirae, junior at 114, Nalu Souza, sophomore at 120, established themselves as contenders in their weight divisions.

   The host Waveriders had several good performances as well with defending BIIF champion Jodi Ozaki winning both her matches at 120 along teammates Justin Tanaka, 2-0 at 135, and Dillon Cortes, 3-0 at 130.

   Cortes continues to be undefeated in BIIF competition and needed to get past a trio of tough competitors to keep his mark in tact.

   “During my first match I tried to work the half-nelson and then went to set up the high crotch shot,” Cortes said of his first round pin.

    The second match against Waiakea’s Ryan Tampon was to be the real testing ground for Cortes as both wrestlers lead the 130 class, but Tampon was forced to forfeit the match due to an unscheduled bathroom break.

   In his third and final match of the day Cortes faced Keaau’s Jesse Huihui who is a gifted all around athlete.

     “I had a hard time getting shots because Jesse is really good at tie ups,” Cortes said.  “He’s really hard to pin and tough to get on his back.”

    With a few seconds left in the third and final period, and up by a 4-0 score, Cortes managed to flip Huihui on his back for the pin.

  ‘Rider teammate Justin Tanaka took on two different Hilo opponents while working hard on his wrestling skills.

   “I was trying to have fun on Saturday and work on my technique,” Tanaka said.  “I train hard and work hard and I always try to get the first take down.”

   In his first match Tanaka won during the first round with a 15-0 score and his second match went the full three rounds to win on points 15-3.

    Tanaka used a variety of wrestling moves from the half-nelson, to chicken wing and leg rides as he practiced the various moves associated with prep grappling.

BIIF Wrestlers Show Promise at Maui Invitational

Kamehameha's Megan Aina wins gold at 103

For four decades the Maui Invitational Wrestling Tournament has been the testing grounds for up and coming prep athletes wishing to hone their skills and this past weekend Kamehameha’s Megan Aina made her mark.

Aina, the defending Big Island Interscholastic Federation champion at 98 pounds, moved up a weight class to 103 and took on some of the states best.

 “I had three matches and I won my first two by pin,” Aina said.  “I used a head snap to get them off balance in the pins which helped me make it into the finals.”

In the finals Aina went against Pac 5 wrestler, Chloe Nagasawa, and won on points, 15-1.  “I got most of my points for attempting to pin her on three separate occasions,” Aina said.  “She avoided the pin by using bridges.”

After winning the BIIF championships last year at 98 pounds Aina is now faced with figuring out which weight class to compete in as her current weigh is 100 pounds.

“This year I need to decide whether to go with 98 or up to 103 and I’ve been debating the pros and cons,” she said.

 “Kamehameha took ten wrestlers to Maui, five boys and five girls,” Warrior coach, Marlon Miller said.  “We took some of our more experienced wrestlers to Maui as the cost of travel is expensive and we weren’t able to take everyone.”

Three of Miller’s wrestlers made it into the finals at Maui with Nalu Kekona Souza, 120 lbs., and Kaopua Sutton, 220, taking second place, and Aina, a sophomore, taking top honors.

Aina with coach, Marlon Miller….photo’s by Charles Aina

Kamehameha expected senior Kaopua Sutton to compete in the 175 weight class, but Sutton missed weight by three tenths of a pound and was forced to compete in the heavier division.

“We thought Kaopua had a good chance to win at 175, but at weigh ins she was at 175.3 and needed to be bumped up into the higher weight division,” Miller said.

“We have a very young team this year with fifty percent of our squad being first year wrestlers.  I’m excited to see how they’ll do this year and I’ve noticed that they are very eager to learn,” Miller said.

Twenty seven schools were represented at the Maui Invitational which brought in a total of 289 wrestlers.

Kamehameha-Big Island had the highest team finish of any BIIF girl’s teams, placing third overall with only five competitors.

Other BIIF girls making it into the finals were:

Kealakehe’s Jodi Ozaki won the 120 division beating out Hawaii Preparatory Academy’s Marie Donahue in the finals.

Konawaena’s Alexandra Aoki (108) and teammate Danielle Hubbard (114) both made it into the finals and took the runner-up spots in the tournament.

For the boys Honokaa’s Geo Chavez-Pardini (160) and Kona’s Jimmy Romualdo (135) captured tournament titles.

Chavez-Pardini is only a junior and is a two time BIIF champion who won the title as a freshman in the 140 class, as a sophomore in the 152 bracket and now is competing at 160.

During the two day tournament on Maui Chavez-Pardini had three matches winning all by pin.  “I won my first match in the second round with a chicken wing, half-nelson,” Chavez-Pardini said.  “My second match lasted 20 something seconds and I won it using a cradle with a leg.”

In the championship round Chavez-Pardini went against Eric Roth of Mililani and managed to pin his opponent in the first round using a cradle move.

“I think we (Honokaa) have a pretty strong team this year that can compete well in the heavy and lighter weight division,” he said. 

Chavez-Pardini stumbled upon wrestling in his freshman year when he tore his rotator cuff prior to the football season.  “I was out the entire freshman football season and decided to try wrestling during the off season,” Chavez-Pardini said.  “It was a fluke that I happened to find something that I’m good at and now my entire focus is on doing well at wrestling.”

Second place medals were awarded to Hilo’s Wong Ly (140), Kealakehe’s Ralph Ortega (108) and Dillon Cortes (130) along with Honokaa’s Preston Cawagas (171).

Honokaa led the BIIF boy’s teams finishing 8^th overall.  “We took 12 boys in seven weight divisions and I thought we did really well on Maui,” Dragon coach, Dan Whetstone said.

“Our team exceeded my expectations and they could be one of the best teams in the BIIF, if not the best,” Whetstone said.

Eight BIIF schools made the journey to the Valley Island to go against some of the best grapplers in the state.

Lahainaluna won the boys overall team title and Punahou captured the girl’s crown.

Coach Marlon Miller of Kamehameha recorded all the BIIF wrestlers that made the finals during the Maui Tournament.