Lahainaluna's Carly Jaramillo won the 140 pound class in 2014, and will wrestle this year as the top seed in the 145. Sylvia Lee | SL

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Lahainaluna coach Todd Hayase is hoping the stars will align for his girls at this weekend's Chevron Hawaii/Hawaii High School Athletic Association Wrestling State Championships.

The Lunas, who have dominated the Maui Interscholastic League for some time, are considered a prohibitive favorite by many to breakthrough for their first team state title after placing in the top four in each of the last four seasons, including a heartbreaking runner-up finish a year ago.

Of the 14 girls' weight classes, Lahainaluna qualified a wrestler for 12 of them, including an astounding tournament-best six No. 1 seeds.

"The girls know that the seedings are out the door and the six No. 1 seeds mean nothing now," Hayase said. "They know what it's going to take, they know it's not the MIL anymore and this is a different animal and they're going to have to come out and battle."

The Lunas are led by standouts Carly Jaramillo (145 pounds) and Lalelei Mataafa (220), both of whom are seeking a third individual title this weekend. The pair, along with Iverly Navarro (102 pounds), Alexis Encinas (107), Diamond Freitas (112) and Breanna Dudoit-Vasquez (138), are the top seeds in their weight classes.

"We're just going to take it one match at a time, focusing on one match at a time and if they wrestle up to their abilities and what they're capable of, it could be a good tournament for us," Hayase said. "I know our kids are in great spots. I thought the seeding meeting went perfect for us. We have some great match ups."

Lahainaluna held a five-point lead over eventual-champion Kamehameha after the first day last year, but ended up finishing 13 points behind the Warriors in the final standings.

"This team has been years in the making," Hayase said. "We've set these kids up with the opportunities from all of our summer travels, clinics and camps, through every single preseason tournament that is available for them and every opportunity to get them quality matches and now that we're in March and it's state tournament time, we will see if it pays off."

However, Hayase is cautious of several other teams who could throw a wrench into the Lunas' plans.

"I would definitely throw Kamehameha in there, obviously Campbell and Waianae, too," Hayase said. "There's quality girls all over the place, but I think those four schools are qualifying the most girls each."

The Warriors will be represented in a tournament-best 13 weight classes, including a total of 10 wrestlers amongst the top four seeds in their respective division. Teshya Alo won back-to-back titles at 130 the past two years and is the top seed at 132 this week. Also earning No. 1 seeds for the Warriors are Taj-Destiny Vierra (155 pounds) and Leilani Camaro-Naone (184).

"I think that was a milestone and going into this season I tried to downplay that," Kamehameha coach Bill Venenciano said of last year's state championship, the first in school history. "This is a new year and the hope is that the starters aim for better performances (than last year) and that adds up to team points as well. We hope to execute our technique and be smart about our decision making and we'll see where this team race goes."

Kamehameha graduated four starters from its lineup a year ago, including a trio of state champions in Harmony Pacheco, Shana Dilliner and Erin Scheidt. Another state champ from a year ago, 113-pounder Donavyn Futa, is no longer competing in wrestling after a promising freshman season in 2014.

Campbell captured its second straight Oahu Interscholastic Association title Saturday. It qualified 12 wrestlers, including two top-four seeds. Caragh Morris, a standout first baseman on the Sabers' softball team, drew the No. 1 seed at 168 pounds.

"I think we've gotten stronger as the year has gone on," Campbell coach Brian Weida said. "Everything up until this point in the season is practice and is pretty meaningless unless you bring it in the state tournament, so we're pushing to peak this weekend and we're on stride with that. At this tournament it's about who can push and who trained harder and mental toughness. I think the girls' team is ready for it."

The 145-pound bracket might be of particular importance to the team race as Lahainaluna's Jaramillo, the No. 1 seed, and Campbell's Angela Peralta, the second seed, are thought to be on a collision course for the finals.

"Peralta lost to (Jaramillo) in the preseason this year," Weida said. "It was one of the few matches that she lost all year. I think that will be one of the biggest for us. I see those guys having a good battle."

Ultimately, however, the consensus seems to be that the title is Lahainaluna's to lose.

"With Lahainaluna, they've been close and everyone's just waiting for them to get over the hump, and this could be the group to do it because they're bringing back a lot of kids from the last few years," Mililani coach John Robinson said.

Matches get underway at 10 a.m. Friday at the Neal S. Blaisdell Arena. Saturday's championship finals are expected to begin around 3:30 p.m.