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.

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BIIF Wrestling – Eastside photo’s & Westside results

Wrestling photo's by Charles Aina, Jr.Eastside match 1/9/10

                       

Eastside match 1/9/10

Girls108-   1st- Alexandra Aoki-Konawaena 2 pins    2nd-Mindy Lorance-Kealakehe 1 pin   3rd-Kela Vargas-HPA

114-1st-Jolynn Kahala-Minczer-Kealakehe 1 pin  2nd-Danielle Hubbard-Konawaena   3rd-Carly Ann Guia-Honokaa

120-        1st-Sheri Lo-Honokaa 1 pin                2nd-Marie Donahue-HPA 1 pin             3rd-Jodi Ozaki-Kealakehe

130-  1st- Melissa Dumaguin-Konawaena 1 pin  2nd-Heather Sugimoto-Honokaa 1 pin  

                                                   3rd- Ashley Potter-Honokaa 1 pin

140-  1st-Sheyenne Lorenzo-Hoover-Honokaa 2 pins  2nd-Hokulani Reyes-Konawaena 2 pins

                                                3rd-Jade Perreira-Honokaa 1 pin

155-   1st-Hanna Luepkes-Honokaa 2 pins        2nd-Jasmine Crank-Kealakehe

175-  1st-Jessica Muskat-Honokaa 3 pins  2nd-Joslynn Kahala-Minczer-Kealakehe 1 pin  3rd-Stacie Doi-HPA 1 pin

photo by Charles Aina, Jr.

Boys
108-1st-Warren Buenavista-Konawaena 1 pin
2nd-Max Hirata-HPA   3rd-Dylan Raiano-Konawaena

114-  1st-Sage Aoki-Konawaena 1pin
2nd-Justin Raymond-Konawaena 1 pin     3rd-Dan Gampon-Kealakehe 1 pin

125-  1st-Jarrad Kuwana-Kealakehe 1 pin
2nd- Russ Hapgood-HPA 1 pin
3rd-Cowyn Fong-Feliciano-Honokaa

135-   1st-Dillon Cortes-Kealakehe 2 pins
2nd-Justin Tanaka-Kealakehe 1 pin
3rd-Kevin Antolin-1 pin

140-  1st- Jimmy Romualdo-Konawaena 2 pins  2nd- Beau Lopez-Honokaa 1 pin 3rd-Kahea Cacoulidis-Kealakehe 1 pin

145-  1st- Bronson Kobayashi-HPA 3 pins      2nd-Allen Chase-Honokaa 1 pin   3rd-Zoey Sandlin-Kohala 1 pin

152-  1st-Keoni Colson-HPA 3 pins  2nd-Dwane Tegman-Honokaa 1 pin   3rd- RJ Espejo-Laupahoehoe 1 pin

160-  1st-Grayson Graham-HPA 2 pins  2nd-Duke Akiona-Konawaena 1 pin  3rd- Charles Mendoza-Konawaena 2 pins

171-  1st- Geo Chavez Pardini-Honokaa 3 pins  2nd-Max Verbrugge-HPA 1 pin    3rd-Kimo Louis-Kealakehe

189-  1st-Kaimana Lutey-Honokaa 2 pins   2nd-Troy Choi-HPA-2 pins    3rd- Chris Park-Kealakehe

215-  1st-Onipa’a Stevens-HPA      2nd-Tim Ekert-Kealakehe 1 pin      3rd- Kawika Scott and Keala Freehauf-Konawaena both with 2 pins

285-         1st- Jordan Ha’o-Kealakehe 1 pin                 2nd- Chris Reed-Honokaa

More information can be found on BIIF Eastside matches by going to: https://waynejoseph.wordpress.com/2010/01/10/aina-family-rules-wrestling-mat/

37 BIIF Wrestlers Go Undefeated in Season Opener

Wally Nakashima and his Konawaena Wildcats played hosted to a long day of competitive prep wrestling in the Big Island Interscholastic Federation season opener this past Saturday.

“Wally (Nakashima) did a great job in hosting the tournament,” HPA coach, Gary Jarvill said.  “Everything ran smoothly and most of the kids got in three matches.”

Ka Makani wrestlers Jonny Chute, 140, Bronson Kobaysashi, 145, Keoni Colson, 152, and Onipa’a Stevens, 215, all went a perfect 3-0 on the mat.

HPA’s Max Verbrugge, fresh off the football team, went 2-1 on the day and Jarvill had high praise.  “Max didn’t get in much practice and I believe he’ll be one of the top three BIIF wrestlers at 171 by the end of the season,” Jarvill said.

Jarvill was also impressed with two of his girls, senior Marie Donohue, 120, who went 2-1 and freshman Leila Wong, 130, finished that day at 1-1.

“We have a lot of kids who are off island and still on winter break,” Jarvill said.  “Next week we should have everyone back at practice.”

Honokaa was missing their top wrestler during the season opener in Geo Chavez-Pardini, but it didn’t stop the Dragons from getting stellar performances from a number of their youngsters.

“We had five boys going undefeated,” Dragon coach, Dan Whetstone said.  Honokaa saw perfection at the 171 weight class with Noa Eads, Preston Cawagas and Chris Camero all going a perfect 3-0.   Teammates Chris Reed went 2-0 in the heavyweight division and Kalai Niau went 3-0 at 189.

Whetstone was most impressed with Niau’s win over Kealakehe’s Kimo Louis.  “Kalai outpointed Kimo Louis to avenge the loss he suffered in the semifinals at last year’s BIIF championships,” Whetstone said.

For the girls Honokaa saw all six of their seniors going 2-1 while having junior Jessica Muskat going a perfect 2-0.

“Jessica is very athletic and has a great work ethic.  I think she is the girl to beat in the 175 weight class,” Whetstone said.

Coach Whetstone believes that the girl’s match of the day was between Dragon Heather Sugimoto and HPA’s Marie Donahue in the 120 class.  Sugimoto was behind on points when she reversed the situation and pinned Donahue.

“It was a great way for us to start the season,” Whetstone said of the season opener.

Kealakehe had perfect records from Jodi Ozaki (2-0) at 120 pounds, with boys Robin Arellano (3-0) and Ralph Ortega (3-0) both in the 108 weight class and Dillon Cortes (2-0) at 130. “Our kids wrestled hard this weekend and I’m really proud of their performance,” ‘Rider coach, Michael Ciotti said.

“It still early in the season and we still have a lot of things we need to work on.  We don’t have a lot of depth, but we’ll be able to move kids around to fill all or most of the weight classes by the end of the season,” Ciotti said.

The Kamehameha girls, who are considered by many to be the team to beat this season, had great performances from Tehani Jones (2-0 and only a freshman) at 98, Megan Aina (2-1) at 103, Rustee-Ann Johansson (3-0) at 140 and Chantel Pohina (3-0) at 155.

Warrior boys also notched season opening perfect records with Nalu Souza (2-0) at 120, Jason Fowler-Fernandez (3-0) at 152 and C.J. Matsuyama (2-0) at 160.

“This past weekend was one of mixed emotions, as a coach we like to see the hard work pay off in our younger wrestlers and the sense of achievement in their faces,” Kamehameha coach, Marlon Miller said.

Megan Aina suffered her first loss of the season after winning both her matches at 103 Aina was moved into the higher weight class to meet Kona’s Alexandra Aoki.

“I had mentioned to Megan (Aina) that if she wants to be the best she needs to wrestle the best.  Aoki is definitely one of the best in the state and she was able to pin Megan in the second round,” Miller said.

Kamehameha’s Justin Hirae, the two time BIIF champion, also suffered his first loss of the young season, dropping a match to Alex Aoki’s brother, Sage, by a close 9-7 score.

Miller also had high praise for sophomores Fowler-Fernandez and Matsuyama.  “Both Jason and C.J. has a rough freshmen year, paying their dues as we like to say.  C.J. went his entire freshman year without a victory.  Both young men persevered and trained diligently and this weekend it all paid off,” Miller said.

Other BIIF wrestlers having perfect opening day records were:

Konawaena’s Alexandra Aoki and Danielle Hubbard (114) each going 3-0 with 2 pins along with teammates Melissa Dumaguin, 125, Tanalei Louis, 130, both perfect at 2-0.

For the Wildcat boys Sage Aoki (3-0) and Justin Raymond (2-0) were flawless in the 114 classes and Kawika Scott (3-0) at 215.

Waiakea’s Tracy Poch, (2-0) at 175, with boys Ryan Tampon, (1-0) at 135, and Micah Kekela (3-0) at 215.

Keaau boys Cheyden Quiocho (3-0) at 130 and Cougar teammate Jeremiah Santana (2-0) at 160 were perfect.

Hilo boys Kelton Castagnetti (3-0) at 130, Draven Torres (3-0) at 140, Jens Beets (3-0) at 145, and Justin Branco (3-0) at 152 stayed unblemished.    

Kau had Keani Mello go 2-0 as she won both by pin at the 220 class.

Kona Coach, Wally Nakashima, provided the names and weight classes of those wrestlers with perfect records.