Wrestling
Kamehameha captures first girls' wrestling crown


 



> Full girls results

> Photo extra: HHSAA Wrestling - girls podium

Quality and quantity helped Kamehameha capture its first Chevron girls' state wrestling championship Saturday night at the Neal Blaisdell Center Arena.

The Warriors, the only girls' team with an entrant in each of the 14 weight classes, went 5 for 5 in championship matches in amassing 178 points to outdistance runner-up Lahainaluna's 164.

Harmony Pacheco and Teshya Alo repeated as state champions, while Donavyn Futa, Shana Dilliner and Erin Scheidt were first-time winners to lead the Warriors.

"Awesome," Pacheco said. "I feel on top of the world. I feel I could do anything right now."

But Pacheco is most proud of the team title. The Warriors were runners-up last year, falling 6.5 points behind champion Pearl City.

"I know we worked so hard to be able to come together as a team toward one goal," Pacheco said. "We came so close last year, it was so bittersweet. We were six points away, so it was all the better that we could pull it off this year, especially as a senior and being able to leave this team on a good note. I'm so happy and I'm so proud."

Kamehameha entered Saturday trailing Lahainaluna, 82-75. But by after the semifinals, the Warriors took a lead they would not relinquish.

"Semis early morning, they were hungry," Kamehameha coach Billy Venenciano said. "The nice thing is we were trailing so that was a nice set up to say we'll focus on wrestling, the winning will come."

Pacheco and Alo were among four repeat champions. Also claiming individual titles again were Lahainaluna's Carly Jaramillo, the 135-pound champion a year ago, in 140, and Lalelei Mataafa in 220.

Mid-Pacific Institute's Shannon Paaaina, a 2012 champion, won her second title in 125.

Pacheco and Jaramillo were in matches that pitted champions from last year. Each changed weight classes and prevailed. Pacheco, the 125 champion last year, moved down to 121 to beat defending champion Angela Lee of Mililani, 10-2.

Jaramillo, last year's 135 champion, pinned Punahou's Zoe Hernandez at 5:58 in 140, which was won by Hernandez last year. It was the second year in a row that Jaramillo beat defending champion. Last year, she pinned MPIs Paaaina.

"I got my second title," said Jaramillo, a junior, "and I got my first by beating a state champ and I did the same thing this year. It's the best feeling."

Jaramillo said she changed weight classes because she wanted to face the best and Hernandez was just that. "It just goes to show that anything can happen," she said. "I went for it and got the title."

She had previously faced Hernandez in the Paani Challenge in preseason and won, 3-0.

Her win made it doubly happy for the Jaramillo household; her brother Bubba won the 145-pound weight class.

"I'd say the main reason I got here was my brother," Jaramillo said. "He's been my partner everyday at practice and my biggest motivation and the hugest role model for me in my life."

Pacheco said she changed weight classes to help her team. It also meant she would have to face Lee. They are familiar foes in that they've competed as youngster in jiu jitsu and tempo.

"It was really nice to compete against her for the last time in another sport," Pacheco said. "She's super tough. I knew she was coming hard with the throws and I was prepared for it."

Venenciano was proud of Pacheco's decision to change weight classes. Venenciano said he tries to pass on the values he learned as a state champion wrestler for Molokai in 1987.

"Kudos to her for wanting to take the challenge," Venenciano said. "Being a senior leader, captain on the team…not running away, looking for competition. That's all life skills. I think that set the tone."

Mataafa pinned McKinley's Kaydie Tehotu at 2:21 after dominating the first period with an 8-0 lead.

Alo dominated her match against Baldwin's Shayna Boteilho in 130. Alo pinned her opponent in 53 seconds.

Meanwhile, Scheidt's second-period escape was the only scoring in a 1-0 win against 'Iolani's Alexandra Fautanu. In last week's Interscholastic League of Honolulu championships, Fautanu won, 2-1.

"I was thinking I was so close to the state title I felt it was mine already," said Scheidt. "I was trying to play it smart and make sure I didn't make any mistakes. I didn't want to have it slip through my hands."

"She was up 2-1 and I didn't look at my coaches and ended up choosing neutral instead of tying the score," she said. "This time, I paid attention, looked to my corner and everything worked out."

"That was a learning point to make her understand that she needs to look at the coaches' corner," Venenciano said. "So when the other team chose neutral, that was like, 'Yes.' That was just being smart."

In Kamehameha's other winning title matches, Futa broke a scoreless deadlock in the second period when Pearl City's Alexis Ford was charged with stalling. Futa capped the match with a third period reversal to go up 3-0 before pinning her opponent at 4:29.

In another match, Dilliner rallied from a 1-0 deficit to beat Pearl City's Joen Tominaga, 3-1. Dilliner, who wrestled with a fractured back all season, scored on a second-period takedown and a third-period escape.

For the second week in a row, Moanalua's Angela Enos defeated Pearl City's Breanne Takaesu, last year's state champion. Enos opened up a close match with a 7-2 run in the third period. They were scoreless after the first period before Takaesu scored on an escape. Enos scored a takedown to take a 2-1 lead into the final period, where she dominated.

Enos, who beat Takaesu in last week's O'ahu Interscholastic Association championships, celebrated adulthood with her victory. She turned 18 Saturday, though technically her birthday is Feb. 29, or leap year.

'It's amazing," Enos said. "It's the sweetest birthday present ever."



Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at [email protected].




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