Berger completes grand slam, Kamehameha boys, Moanalua girls maintain dominance

Rayden Aoki | SL

Saint Louis' Hunter Berger closed out the Texaco/HHSAA state championships by winning his fourth state title on Saturday. The title capped off his perfect prep career of 105-0. It also puts him as the 15th person in Hawaii to complete the grand slam. The senior, who will be heading to Duke University to wrestle in the fall, left Neal S. Blaisdell Center with his name etched into history.

"I've been working towards this for so long now, and I'm just so grateful for the opportunity from Saint Louis and all that they've done for me," Berger said. "Things have happened over the past four years, but I have found a way to overcome it… and I'm just happy with the final result."

Competing in the 138-pound weight class, Berger dominated the last match of his prep career with a 12-4 point win. His opponent, Ezekial Fukui, a sophomore from Pearl City, was able to grab four points, which was more than Berger had let up in the entire state tournament. The moment marked a fitting end to the 28-match afternoon, which saw the crowning of Moanalua girls and Kamehameha boys as state champions.

Moanalua girls continued its wrestling dominance with the team's fifth straight state title. Na Menehune had Zaira Sugui and Nahenahe Kalamau get crowned with individual state titles. Both wrestlers were able to bring home their third individual championship. This marks Moanalua's eighth girls' wrestling state championship.

"The key to this year was everybody being on the same page and working towards the same goal," said Moanalua assistant coach. "They (Sugui and Kalamau) are hard workers, and they deserve everything they got."

Sugui topped off her high school career with her third straight title, after losing her freshman year by two points in the state championship. Her third championship came with a flawless 10-0 victory against Punahou's Kulia Heffernan that finished with a pin in the third period. On top of all that, she played the entire state tournament with a mask on due to a nose injury.

"It took a lot this year, a lot of mental and a lot of physical battles like this mask I had to wear all week," said Sugui, who will be heading to Menlo College next year to continue wrestling. "It was a rough one, but this is an amazing feeling, all glory to God."

Along with Sugui and Kalamau, Leilehua senior Zoe-Shalom Ahue Boloson brought home her third in a row. After failing to win the OIA, a title she never won, she rallied back as she had in the previous three years to bring home another title. This individual win brought home Leilehua's only individual state title in boys or girls.

"After the OIA loss, I had people who love me enough to just keep me going," said Ahue Boloson, who will attend Missouri Valley in the fall for wrestling. "I feel very accomplished, but I know there is more work for me to do."

Similar to the girls' side, Kamehameha continued its dominance in boys' wrestling with a three-peat. The ninth championship in program history was highlighted by the individual titles grabbed by Braven Moore and Paliku Chang. The Warriors were the only boys program to win more than one individual title on Saturday.

"Like any team, we've had our ups and downs, but the team stuck together, and we came out on top," said Warriors head coach David Chew. "We had a young team this year, a lot of guys had to step up and fill some roles that last year's seniors left, and they did that."

One of the biggest games of the night came from Chang, who defeated Jaden Thai from Pearl City, securing the title for the Warriors and handing Pearl City second place. The 132-pound match was competitive but ultimately fell 7-5 for Chang. The win was more than just about him, though, as soon as the final buzzer went off, he ran straight to the whole team that was standing off to the side watching.

The championships had boys and girls who won their second title in a row. One of these back-to-back champions was Nanakuli's sophomore Analu Woode, who won the 120-pound weight class. He was able to defeat former two-time state champion Paiea Kamakaala from Kahuku. Woode was able to use their previous two matches to complete the flawless 9-0 victory.

"I want to go after guys, I want to score as many points as I can because scoring makes me happy," Woode said.

The busy afternoon also saw the upset of one seeded wrestlers and previous state champs like Kalani's senior Koan Hotema, who failed to regain the state title. Despite that, Kamehameha and Moanalua were able to find themselves on the successful end of the tournament again.

"I think moving forward is just taking what they learn on the mat and what they learned from this journey and applying it to their life," Chew said. "We don't want them to just be good athletes, but also to be good people."