Peter Caldwell | SL

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Male Athlete of the Week: Kaeler Kahana, Kamehameha basketball
Given the way last year went, Kaeler Kahana is trying to make the most of his senior season.

The 6-foot Kamehameha guard has seemingly come out of nowhere this season, averaging a team-best 10.4 points per game with 32 made 3-pointers. He was a key cog in the Warriors' pair of league wins over Maryknoll and Saint Louis last week.

Kahana netted a game-high 17 points, including three made treys, in Wednesday's 55-50 win over seventh-ranked Maryknoll and two days later, he posted 13 points — one of four Warriors to score in double figures — in a 73-63 upset of then-No. 2 Saint Louis.

"We've got a group of kids who love throwing it to the open guy and Kaeler was very good converting those shots when he got them," Kamehameha coach Greg Tacon said.

Kahana's junior season never really got out of the blocks after a couple of untimely setbacks.

"He was a really good player on our JV team two years ago and then he had a concussion on the second day of practice last year and he wasn't released for another month," said Tacon. "When he got released he played one game at the Punahou tournament and scored five points off the bench."

However, Kahana's family soon after departed for a vacation and upon his return he suffered another injury that kept him off the floor.

"He sprained his ankle and never really got back on track after that," Tacon said. "I didn't see him all summer — we never really talked about it — but when he came back we kind of had a discussion and what we're going to do with him and how committed he would be because I really didn't know him that well."

Tacon said the time away from basketball seemingly made Kahana hungrier to make an impact this season.

"It was a tough year for him and we just didn't know where he would fit in because we have so many kids in this class," said Tacon, who noted that an injury to point guard Fatu Sua-Godinet opened the door for Kahana to contribute more.

"He was very convincing that he was going to do anything possible to help this team," Tacon said. "We always knew he was a good shooter, but the biggest thing with him is I feel he's matured this year over the last two years and things just kind of fell in place for Kaeler to get an opportunity this season and he's run with it."

Kahana has settled in as the primary ball handler with the second unit for the Warriors, who improved to 3-2 in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division I standings with a 56-42 win at No. 5 Mid-Pacific Tuesday night.

"He could be starting on a lot of teams, but because of the amount of seniors we have we wanted him to be a point guard for us and he's flourished in that role," Tacon said. "He's kind of reflective of what our whole team is doing. He doesn't get 20 shots per game. He gets maybe seven or eight and he makes the most of it, but we spread it around with everybody."

Kahana and the sixth-ranked Warriors visit second-ranked Iolani Friday before wrapping up a four-game road swing at No. 7 Maryknoll Monday.

Female Athlete of the Week: Peyton Pedrozo, Island Pacific basketball
Peyton Pedrozo listened to the advice of her coach and the payoff has been quite fruitful for the Island Pacific Academy sophomore.

The 5-foot-5 combo guard has flourished this season for the Navigators, who are tied for second place in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division III standings with a 5-2 mark.

Pedrozo, the team's leading scorer, helped IPA to a pair of pivotal victories last week. She had 16 points in a 44-43 overtime win over St. Andrew's Priory Tuesday and followed that up with a season-high 31 points in Friday's 52-33 rout of Lanakila Baptist.

"She did really good," IPA second-year coach Reggie Griffin said. "She's young but she's starting to really embrace the game well. She's only getting better and I'm assuming that if she's consistent with her fundamentals she will do this well in nearly every game."

Griffin said part of the progression for Pedrozo has been adjusting her play to incorporate more of her teammates offensively.

"Sometimes you only know what you know and her knowledge of the game was more of a street baller, where you basically play for yourself and look for your own scoring," Griffin said. "She started to embrace the team concept and once she did that she saw how easy it is for the game to come to her. Now she understands the game better and is more of a team player than ever before."

Pedrozo has also grown and improved on the defensive end of the floor.

"She does a lot of good things on offense and she's learned a lot of attack moves, but she also plays defense well and that's taken her overall game through the roof," Griffin said. "She's scoring out of her defense now, which is what she didn't do before and which is why she's developing a lot better now. I think the sky is the limit with this one."

With starting point guard Erica Brenner out against St. Andrew's, Griffin turned to Pedrozo to aide with ball handling in addition to scoring that night.

"She took over that role fabulously and she did a great job," Griffin said. "She stepped up and did really well for us."

Griffin saw enough in Pedrozo last year to promote her to the varsity level as a freshman after helping the Navigators to an intermediate level league title.

"I watched one of her intermediate games last season and I was very impressed with her," Griffin said. "We brought her on to varsity right after her intermediate season was done."

Pedrozo ended up starting most of the games last season and helped IPA capture the ILH D3 crown and a spot in the Division II league tournament. However, it dropped its opening-round game against Le Jardin to bring an abrupt end to the year.

"The timing was really bad on that," Griffin recalled. "We had one player who unfortunately was on grade restriction and couldn't practice the whole week leading up to the game, we had two others who caught the flu so it was like dominoes — just one falling after another. It was like the wheels just came off."

Griffin is hoping his bunch with get another crack at the postseason. Their next test comes in the form of Hawaiian Mission Academy — a team it lost to earlier this year — Wednesday night.

"We won the championship last year and we would like to repeat, but I put the emphasis on executing and fundamentals and let the chips fall where they way," Griffin said. "It's always good to get a win, but my job is more to teach the girls how to play to win. It's more about learning and playing well than squeaking out a win. We're starting to do better and get better and starting to hit our stride, so we should be OK hopefully."

Tip off between the Navigators and Knights is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Palama Settlement.

BOYS BASKETBALL
Vaitornoa Agor, Farrington — Scored 23 points in a win over Anuenue

Kade Ambrocio, Waianae — Scored 18 points in a win over Waipahu

Jake Arakawa, Island Pacific — Scored 16 points in a loss to Assets

Justin Daise, Mid-Pacific — Scored 16 points with 12 rebounds in a loss to Saint Louis

Miah Fepuleai, Farrington — Scored 23 points in a win over Kaimuki

Dakota Fisher, Christian Academy — Scored 24 points in a loss to Hanalani and scored 17 points in a loss to University Lab

Liam Fitzgerald, Leilehua — Scored 17 points in a win over Campbell

Keyson Goins, Aiea — Scored 20 points in a win over Nanakuli

LJ Gonzales, Farrington — Scored 19 points in a win over Kaimuki

Joseph Gouty, Leilehua — Scored 18 points in a win over Mililani and scored 23 points in a win over Waialua

Mitchell Hashimoto, Le Jardin — Scored 17 points in a loss to Saint Francis

Ryan Hobus, University Lab — Scored 16 points in a win over Damien, scored 17 points in a win over Hawaii Baptist and scored 19 points in a win over Christian Academy

Hugh Hogland, Iolani — Scored 12 points with 13 rebounds in a win over Punahou

Ethan Hollandsworth, Kaiser — Scored 19 points in a win over Anuenue

Bryan Iha, Kaiser — Scored 20 points in a win over Anuenue

Kobe Ikari, Kalani — Scored 18 points in a win over Farrington

Chance Kalaugher, Kaiser — Scored 21 points with 15 rebounds in a win over Kahuku

Teylor Kaneshiro, Mililani — Scored 16 points in a win over Nanakuli

Reid Kim, Hawaiian Mission — Scored 20 points in a loss to Damien II

Hirkley Latu, Kahuku — Scored 29 points in a loss to Kaiser

Sifo Lauvao, Kaimuki — Scored 27 points in a loss to Farrington

Jerry Lawson, Le Jardin — Scored 21 points in a win over Hanalani

Alex Layi, Kalaheo — Scored 10 points with 11 rebounds in a win over Moanalua, scored 23 points with 12 rebounds in a win over Roosevelt and scored 17 points with 11 rebounds in a win over Kahuku

Jesse Leaman, Hanalani — Scored 24 points in a win over Christian Academy

Aaron Leong, Hanalani — Scored 22 points in a loss to Le Jardin and scored 23 points in a win over Christian Academy

Isaac Liva, Mililani — Scored 17 points in a win over Nanakuli

Micah Lum, Island Pacific — Scored 18 points in a win over Lanakila Baptist

Lachlan Macleod, University Lab — Scored 20 points in a win over Hawaii Baptist

Keoua Mahiko, Kaiser — Scored 25 points in a win over Kahuku and scored 19 points in a win over Kaimuki

Jerrold Mariano, Lanakila Baptist — Scored 29 points in a loss to Island Pacific and scored 17 points in a loss to Damien II

Jeremy McGoldrick, Castle — Scored 19 points in a  win over Roosevelt

Christian Mejia, Kailua — Scored 17 points in a loss to Kaimuki and scored 15 points with 12 rebounds in a win over Castle

Jared Miller, Damien II — Scored 16 points in a win over Hawaiian Mission and scored 16 points in a win over Assets

Douglas Mitchell, Waianae — Scored 22 points in a win over Kapolei

Micah Mitchell, Hawaii Baptist — Scored 22 points in a loss to University Lab

Zoar Nedd, Kapolei — Scored 16 points in a win over Waialua

Jaymason Nunuha, Saint Louis — Scored 16 points in a win over Mid-Pacific and scored 21 points in a loss to Kamehameha

Christian Ono, Kaimuki — Scored 18 points in a loss to Farrington

Saige Pulu, Moanalua — Scored 24 points in a loss to Kahuku

Jeremy Ramos, Radford — Scored 17 points in a loss to Waianae

Zion Shepherd, Mid-Pacific — Scored 10 points with 15 rebounds in a loss to Saint Louis and scored 10 points with 13 rebounds in a loss to Iolani

Iverson Sione, Nanakuli — Scored 18 points in a loss to Mililani

Ashten Soderberg, Castle — Scored 17 points in a win over Roosevelt

Gilbert Tapat, Pearl City — Scored 24 points in a win over Kapolei

Royce Tashiro, Waialua — Scored 19 points in a loss to Radford

AJ Ulufale, Assets — Scored 21 points in a win over Island Pacific

Dominic Venezia, Le Jardin — Scored 20 points in a win over Hanalani

Ariq Vergado-Duclayan, Aiea — Scored 18 points in a win over Nanakuli

Dan Villejo, McKinley — Scored 19 points in a win over Castle and scored 17 points in a win over Roosevelt

Moustapha Wagne, Nanakuli — Scored 17 points in a loss to Mililani

Wela Waiwaiole, Waianae — Scored 18 points in a win over Radford

Captain Whitlock, Kalaheo — Scored 25 points in a win over Moanalua and scored 22 points in a win over Roosevelt

James Wilkins, Moanalua — Scored 16 points in a loss to Kalaheo

GIRLS BASKETBALL
Camy Aguinaldo, Iolani — Scored 18 points in a win over Kamehameha

Brittini Blake, Kahuku — Scored 18 points in a loss to Roosevelt

Stephanie Dang, Hawaii Baptist — Scored 17 points in a win over University Lab

Kaelyn Espinda, Kaimuki — Scored 20 points in a win over Kailua

Cameron Fernandez, Lahainaluna — Scored 20 points in a win over Kamehameha-Hawaii

Alliya Gabriel, Roosevelt — Scored 16 points in a win over Kalaheo

Fiamea Hafoka, Lahainaluna — Scored 16 points in a win over Kamehameha-Maui and scored 18 points in a win over King Kekaulike

Kaimi Kalei, Saint Francis — Scored 16 points in a win over Damien

Kamalu Kamakawiwoole, Maryknoll — Scored 16 points in a win over Sacred Hearts

Kamaile Kandiah, Punahou — Scored 19 points in a loss to Maryknoll

Keleah Aiko Koloi, Lahainaluna — Scored 24 points in a win over King Kekaulike

Jazmina Lafitaga, Mililani — Scored 25 points in a win over Kapolei

Kelcie Leong, Moanalua — Scored 15 points in a loss to Kalani

Logan Luke, Kalani — Scored 18 points in a win over Moanalua

Chantal Mailou, Farrington — Scored 16 points in a win over Castle

Dallas Martinez, Sacred Hearts — Scored 16 points in a win over Kamehameha

Celena Molina, Konawaena — Scored 17 points in a win over Kamehameha-Hawaii

Cherilyn Molina, Konawaena — Scored 24 points in a win over Kamehameha-Hawaii

Alana Nuuanu, Nanakuli — Scored 18 points in a win over Waianae

Keala Quinlan, Roosevelt — Scored 19 points in a win over Kalaheo

Maya Rodriguez-Chang, Maryknoll II — Scored 15 points in a loss to Kamehameha II

Raven Rosa-Lasco, Moanalua — Scored 19 points in a loss to Kalani

Rose Shimaoka, Kaiser — Scored 18 points in a win over Castle

Melina Souza, Damien — Scored 18 points in a loss to Saint Francis

Noelle Suzuki, Kalani — Scored 18 points in a win over Moanalua

Tara Takata, Kailua — Scored 19 points in a loss to Kaimuki and scored 19 points in a win over Kalani

Shaylee Todani, Leilehua — Scored 18 points in a win over Waianae

Olivia Vaeatangitau, Saint Francis — Scored 17 points in a win over Damien

Delcie Williams, Kailua — Scored 17 points in a loss to Kaimuki and scored 18 points in a win over Kalani

Kyra Young, University Lab — Scored 25 points in a win over Hanalani

BOYS SOCCER
Easton Bolen, Roosevelt — Scored two goals in a win over Kaimuki

Kanui Booker, Nanakuli — Scored two goals in a loss to Leilehua

Tommy Capilonch, Kalaheo — Scored three goals in a win over Farrington

JP Carson, Waialua — Scored two goals in a win over Waialua

Rory Chinen, Leilehua — Scored two goals in a loss to Radford and scored two goals in a win over Nanakuli

Calistro Cuson, Farrington — Scored two goals in a loss to Kalaheo

Lyric DeLeon, Kapolei — Scored two goals in a win over Aiea

Thomas Focht, Kalaheo — Scored three goals in a win over Farrington

Justin Ho, Farrington — Scored two goals in a loss to Kalaheo

Christopher Jenkins, Kamehameha — Scored two goals in a win over Damien

Amadou Kone, Radford — Scored three goals in a win over Leilehua

Takahiro Kosins, Kalani — Scored three goals in a win over McKinley

Garrison Lee, Kapolei — Scored two goals in a win over Aiea

Jonathan LeVine, Kalaheo — Scored the lone goal in a win over McKinley

Boogie Mattos, Campbell — Scored two goals in a win over Aiea

Nikita Richey, Pearl City — Scored the lone goal in a win over Waipahu

Truman Spring, Kahuku — Scored two goals in a win over Castle

Makana Srivonsana, Kaiser — Scored four goals in a win over Kailua

Eric Tabiolo, Moanalua — Scored two goals in a win over Castle

Bradyn Yoshida, Kapolei — Scored two goals in a win over Aiea

GIRLS SOCCER
Aysa Asato-Kahele, Roosevelt — Scored two goals in a win over Kaimuki

Mia Asuncion, Leilehua — Scored three goals in a win over Radford

Hannah Cabral, Kalaheo — Scored four goals in a win over Farrington

Danielle Chang, Castle — Scored two goals in a win over Kahuku

Sienna DeCosta, Kalaheo — Scored two goals in a win over Farrington

True Dydasco, Punahou — Scored two goals in a win over Mid-Pacific

Christhena Edwards, Leilehua — Scored two goals in a tie against Nanakuli

Randi Fontes, Pearl City — Scored two goals in a win over Waialua

Sunshine Fontes, Pearl City — Scored two goals in a win over Waipahu and scored two goals in a win over Waialua

Kaile Halvorson, Punahou — Scored three goals in a win over Mid-Pacific and scored two goals in a win over Sacred Hearts

Tommi Hintnaus, Kaiser — Scored two goals in a win over Kahuku

Kailana Kaeo, Mililani — Scored three goals in a win over Campbell

Kylee Kim-Bustillos, Iolani — Scored the lone goal in a win over Kamehameha

Kylie Minamishin, Kamehameha — Scored two goals in a win over Mid-Pacific

Celina Mitchell, Kailua — Scored two goals in a win over Kaimuki

Chevyn-Rae Morgan, Nanakuli — Scored the lone goal in a win over Waianae and scored two goals in a tie against Leilehua

Jayna Morikawa, Mililani — Scored two goals in a win over Waialua

Lauren Mukaigawa, Punahou — Scored two goals in a win over Sacred Hearts

Asio Ono, Pac-Five — Scored two goals in a win over Saint Francis

Mahina Ornellas, Kailua — Scored the lone goal in a win over Kaiser

Taylor Simpliciano, Aiea — Scored the lone goal in a win over Campbell

Daysha-Ann Solidum, Kalani — Scored two goals in a win over McKinley

Daelenn Tokunaga, Pearl City — Scored three goals in a win over Waipahu and scored three goals in a win over Waialua

Malia Wallace, Kalaheo — Scored two goals in a win over Farrington

Mia York, Kalaheo — Scored the lone goal in a win over McKinley