Wrestling
Lahainaluna leads after opening day of state wrestling


 



The Neal S. Blaisdell Arena could be a sea of red Saturday night.

After the first day of the Chevron/Hawaii High School Athletic Association Wrestling State Championships Friday, Lahainaluna is atop both the boys' and girls' team standings.

The Lunas, who have never won a state title in either the boys' or the girls' tournaments, could change all that come Saturday.

"It would be great for these kids, the coaches and just the whole community of Lahaina," Lahainaluna coach Todd Hayase said. "It would be a great thing. We're a little tired of second- and third-place finishes, so the coaching staff definitely has gotten this team ready and believing and now it's just a matter of making it happen tomorrow."

The Lunas' boys have separated slightly from the rest of the pack. They have racked up 81 points after four rounds of wrestling. Reigning state-champ Kamehameha is second with 64 points, Pearl City third with 63.5, Campbell fourth with 61.5, Punahou fifth with 53.5 and Kapolei sixth with 52.5.

WHAT: Chevron/HHSAA Wrestling State Championships

WHEN: Saturday (semifinals, consolation rounds three and four and championship and consolation finals)

WHERE: Neal S. Blaisdell Center Arena

TIME: Matches begin at 10 a.m.; finals will begin at approximately 4:30 p.m.

ADMISSION: $9.50 adults, $5.50 seniors (62 and over) and students (grade K to 12).

PARKING: $6 (one-time entry) or $8 (in/out privileges)

TV: OC16 will be airing the championship finals at 4:30 p.m.
Christian Balangso is one of six Lunas in the semifinals Saturday. Balangso, the top seed at 120 pounds, won both of his first-day matches by pin. He needed just 50 seconds to beat Kapolei's Andre Pagurayan in the preliminary round and defeated Waianae's Alika Agustin in five minutes and 43 seconds.

"It feels good to still be in it and on the front side and know that you still have a chance at the state title," said Balangso, who earned his team four extra points by winning by falls. "It's very important because every point is going to count. Our coaches always say that teams lose the team title by half a point, one point, so we're trying to get every point that we can."

Lahainaluna's other semifinalists are Zach Wigzell (113 pounds), Jansen Panlasigui Domingo (126), Wyatt Chism (138), Bubba Jaramillo (145) and Connor Mowat (285). Jaramillo won the state title at 140 pounds a year ago and moved up to 145 this season, where he is the top seed in the tournament.

Meanwhile, the Lunas' girls have accumulated 82 points to hold a slight lead over second-place Kamehameha, which has 77 points. Campbell is third with 67 points, defending-champion Pearl City fourth with 58 and McKinley fifth with 46.5.

Lahainaluna also has six girls in the semifinals, led by the trio of Brenna Dudoit Vasquez, Carly Jaramillo and Lalelei Mataafa. Dudoit Vasquez, the No. 1 seed at 135, pinned both of her opponents Friday in Punahou's Sophia Straton and Waiakea's Skye Matsuura. Jaramillo, who won at 135 pounds last year, is the top seed at 140. She also won both of her matches Friday by pin over Abigail Riley, of Hawaii Prep, and Taj Vierra, of Kamehameha.

"We really need team points," Jaramillo said. "Our team has been fighting for the title for a couple of years now and we needed that pin more than ever, so I had to finish it."

Mataafa, the defending champion and No. 1 seed at 220 pounds, saw just 33 seconds of mat time Friday with pins over Hawaii Prep's Kayla Johnson and Aiea's Avei Lualemaga.

"I don't know what the points are, but it really doesn't matter because that semifinal round tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. is going to be huge," Hayase said. "We've got a lot of tough matches, but we're really excited on how the boys and girls teams are doing so far."

The Lunas other semifinalists are 97-pounder Iverly Navarro, 105-pounder Anika Pascual and 155-pounder Karina Arroyo Haro.

Meanwhile, the quest for four individual state championships is alive and well for Mid-Pacific's Josh Terao, the No. 1 seed at 132 pounds. Terao, who is seeking to become just the sixth person in state history to win four state titles, started his day with an opening-round pin of Kapolei's Skylar Albright in 1:53 then followed that up with an 18-0 technical fall over Kaiser's Alika Durham in a quarterfinal.

"It's nice, but I've got to keep focused," Terao said. "The tournament is still going, so I've got to stay mentally strong, physically strong and keep my weight on point. This is kind of good to just have two more wins left, but I've got to make sure I don't make mistakes, be perfect when I wrestle and just relax."

Two others — Mililani's Braydon Akeo and Pearl City's Blake Cooper — are both trying for their third consecutive state title.

Akeo, the top seed at 138, won both of his first-day matches by technical fall over Moanalua's Eugene Chung, 16-1, and Kamehameha's Dayton Dano, 18-2. Cooper pinned both of his opponents — Kahuku's Cody Phillip in 1:18 and Damien's Steven Chan — to reach the semifinal round.

Just one No. 1 seed in the boys' tournament lost on Friday: Keaau's Zephaniah Pavao at 285 pounds. He lost to unseeded Maake Muti, of Leilehua, 7-6 in the quarterfinal round.

Among the girls looking to defend their individual state titles is Kahuku's Aarica Barcina, who won at 109 last season. Barcina, who finished third in the Oahu Interscholastic Association championships last week and is unseeded at states, scored a 2-0 upset of top-seeded Diamond Freitas in a quarterfinal match Friday.

"I wrestled her before at the Paani Challenge and I lost to her, 2-0," said Barcina, who will meet Leilehua's Nakia James in a semifinal Saturday morning.  "I knew what I had to do for this match and I just went in wanting to win, not just going in not wanting to lose. I think I just had the right mentality going in and my eyes on defending my title."

Barcina was the last seed in the 109-pound bracket last year, when she also upset the top seed en route to her state title.

"I'm just taking every match as the same, thinking everyone is tough even though I may have beat them before," Barcina said. "I go in thinking that they're a lot tougher than they are and it just makes me a lot mentally stronger. That's what helps me get through the matches and just the willpower to win."

Mid-Pacific's Shannon Paaaina won the 125-pound state title back in 2012 before finishing second at 135 last year. She dropped back down to 125 this season and is the top seed in the bracket. She had a bye in the first round before defeating Leilehua's Ashley Mercado, 17-1, in the quarterfinal round.

"Having a bye in the first round, I knew I would have to come out hard and get that little warm-up in for tomorrow for semifinal match," Paaaina said. "I'm going to out hard tomorrow and try to win back that state title that I lost last year."

Freitas was one of two girls' top seeds to lose on day one. The other was King Kekaulike's Jenna Mauliola, who suffered a 5-2 loss to Castle's Alsie Bahilot in the quarterfinals at 113 pounds.

The tournament resumes with the semifinals at 10 a.m. Saturday. The championship and consolation finals will begin at approximately 4:30 p.m. First-place matches will be televised live statewide on OC16.

DAY 1 RESULTS

HHSAA Boys Brackets

HHSAA Boys Scoring

HHSAA Girls Brackets

HHSAA Girls Scoring



Reach Kalani Takase at [email protected].




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