Kapolei's Kekua Marumoto defeated Kalani's William Pineda-Abaya by yuko to win his second state title in the 161 division. Greg Yamamoto | SL

Purchase image 1 of 1

MANOA — The Kapolei boys' judo team retained their state title Saturday night, and did so in commanding fashion.

The Hurricanes had four individual champions and racked up 93 points to pull away from the field at the Hawaii High School Athletic Association Boys Judo State Championships at the Stan Sheriff Center.

"There's no comparison to last year, because of what they had set out to do from the beginning and all the boys put their mind to it, all their hard work paid off and it showed from Western's to OIA's, OIA team's and back to here," Kapolei coach Marc Narciso said.

Twin brothers Jayson and Andre Pagurayan, won at 108 and 114 pounds, respectively, while Kaulana Narciso — the son of the coach — captured the 132 title and Kekua Marumoto won at 161 for his second individual crown.

"I wouldn't them superstars, but they put in a lot of hard work and it paid off, obviously," coach Narciso said. "I just was afraid at the start of the season and especially coming into this tournament, being that they had that kind of caliber and they were in that kind of a predicament, so I got real nervous about it and they proved me wrong. They went out there and did it."

The Hurricanes also got runner-up finishes from Anthony Brett at 121 pounds and Rodman Salangdron at 145 and a fifth-place finish from Aaron Nakama at 121.

"This year I think everybody was on the same page," said Marumoto, who won at 145 pounds as a sophomore. "I think we all were on a mission, you know, and we're all family. You can see it from team OIA's, how we played, and I think we just used that momentum from that day forward to thrive over here in states."

Jayson Pagurayan jump started the Hurricanes' title run with a win by ippon over Mililani's Tayler Otsuka.

"I just have to thank God for that," Jayson Pagurayan said. "He finally gave me the opportunity to take first and represent Kapolei High School."

Andre Pagurayan exacted some revenge in the 114-pound final, beating top-seeded Weston Kogachi of Punahou, the defending champion at the weight. He lost to to Kogachi in last year's state tournament.  

"It feels really good," said Andre Pagurayan, who won by ippon on a kouchi-gari counter. "It feels great knowing that I finally got the guy back and winning first with my twin means a lot to me."

Kaulana Narciso also got payback in the 132-pound final, where he topped Moanalua's Chevy Tabiolo Felicilda by ippon on a right osoto-gari just 46 seconds into the match. Narciso lost to Tabiolo Felicilda in the OIA individual championships just two weeks ago.

Marumoto topped Kalani's William Pineda-Abaya in the 161-pound final. He also defeated Pineda-Abaya in the OIA final.

"He changed up his whole play scheme," Marumoto said of Pineda-Abaya. "He knew that I wanted to go the right side over and he knew that I wanted to go the left side drop, so he came ready. It was really good and also there were the two times he picked me up from and slammed me on my head."

The best part for the Hurricanes is that they only lose Marumoto to graduation this spring.

"It was exciting for all of us to take it and we'd like to repeat it next year and end on a good note for us," Kaulana Narcisco said.

Andre Pagurayan added: "It feels really great that the same guys that we grew up doing judo with — all of us that placed from 108 to 161 — we all grew up doing judo together and knowing that we're all state champs and we're all one team feels great."

Moanalua had 61 points to finish second in the team standings. Iolani had 38 points, Pearl City 31 and Punahou 23 to round out the top five.

Two others — Iolani's Jordan Ng and Mid-Pacific's Cole Chandler — made good on the third individual state crowns.

Ng, a senior and four-time Interscholastic League of Honolulu titlist, won by waza-ari over Brett in the 121-pound final. He was also named Most Outstanding

"Anthony was sending me for a ride," said Ng, who won back-to-back titles at 108 pounds as a freshman and sophomore. "He is a really good competitor add I just ended up catching him on one throw and I just ended up holding that lead. It feels great I don't know this doesn't compare to anything I've done before in my life. I'm just really happy right now."

Chandler, who is also a senior, won by ippon over Salangdron three minutes and five seconds into the 145-pound final.

"I played him last year and I kind of knew the game plan going in was just control the grip and just do what i do best," said Chandler, who won at 114 pounds as a Kaiser freshman and sat out his sophomore year, per ILH transfer rules, before winning at 145 last year. "It's not as satisfying as the first two, I guess. I wasn't really playing to my full potential today. I was kind of flat but I got the job done, so I'm satisfied."

Also, Moanalua's Zorich Palimoo successfully defended his 198-pound title with a win by waza-ari over Pearl City's Matthew Keopuhiwa.

"Last year it was pretty tough," Palimoo said. "I had more tougher competition, so this year I really had to do it for my team. A lot of my teammates went down, so I had to step up."