Four Cooper brothers have won the state’s ultimate high school wrestling prize, and it’s something their dad could only get close to.

In 1991 while wrestling for Waipahu, Ray Cooper lost to ‘Iolani’s Len Higashi in the state final, but since then his sons Raynald, Blake, Baylen and Makoa have all captured at least one individual state championship. Makoa, a senior at Pearl City, added his name to the list last year and is going for another title at the state meet in February.

But that’s not the end of the line. A sister, Makana, is a sophomore for the Chargers who has a chance to add to the family legacy. She placed fifth in the state a year ago.

In 1991, Todd Los Baños, now the Pearl City coach, was an assistant at ‘Iolani and in Higashi’s corner during that win over Ray Cooper, and he can attest to the common attitude of Cooper’s opponents in that 152-pound class.

“It was, ‘We don’t want to wrestle him,’ ” Los Banos said with a twinkle in his eye at a Pearl City practice Thursday.

It is that sort of fortitude and aura that Cooper had that his offspring continue to carry with them today. Raynald is an MMA fighter and Blake is a national wrestling champion at Warner Pacific in Portland, Ore., where Baylen also wrestles.

“Like all his brothers and all of the four-time state champions that I’ve coached, like Patrick Higa, Jonathan Spiker, Travis Lee and Brandon Low, Makoa has the ‘it’ factor, and that’s something you can’t coach,” Los Baños said of wrestlers he coached at ‘Iolani and Saint Louis. “I don’t know how he’s doing it, but he’s able to maneuver his body in situations that make him become a dominant wrestler on the mat. His scrambling and his body awareness, it’s amazing.”

After not taking the sport seriously as a freshman, Makoa made up his mind to carry on the family tradition as a sophomore, but his season was cut short due to a knee injury and surgery. He earned his state title at 152 pounds in 2017, one year after Baylen nailed down his in a last go-round at 138.

“Technique, that’s what really got me this far,” said Makoa, who is wrestling at 160 this year. “I really like to break down every move in my head and practice it. That’s how my dad trained us — do it until it’s correct. In my freshman year, I wasn’t into it. I wasn’t mentally there, going through the motions. I wish I had been more into it. Now, I want to end the season with a bang, leave it all on the mat and bring the Cooper name more into Pearl City athletic history. I want my sister to win and I want to push her, too.”

Makoa believes his wrestling training helped him on the football field as a running back for the Chargers.

“Big-time,” he said. “I love both sports. Football was my first love, but I have come to love wrestling more. Everything (from wrestling) comes into play in football — leverage, conditioning, quickness, speed, alertness.”

When Los Baños first came to Pearl City as an assistant, Makoa was a freshman.

“When I first saw him without knowing he was part of the Cooper family, I thought he could be a four-timer,” the coach said. “He was young and wasn’t quite ready for it all, but he has progressed to the point where he is a special athlete. He’s got the quality that he could wrestle at the highest level.”

During the Christmas break, Los Baños saw something he wasn’t expecting.

“I was so thrilled that his brothers came in to practice with Makoa,” Los Baños said. “Every round was a fresh body on him, just to work him. What’s funny is he was getting the best of them at times, not all the time because they are competitive and they want to take it to him. But it’s amazing he could stick with them and give them a hard rub.”

Makoa may follow Blake and Baylen to Warner Pacific, but hasn’t made up his mind.

“Why not use your God-given gift and take it to another level?” Los Baños asked rhetorically. “I know some D-I coaches that I would love to call, but I don’t think they want to go in that direction. Going with his family would be great. Go explore the world a little bit.

“What I’ll always remember about Makoa is he’s enjoyable to be around, he’s even-keeled, humble, wants to do his best, wants to do more all the time, and goes out there and he takes it to people, then he gets them and picks them up and thanks them and gets off the mat and doesn’t bad-mouth anybody.”

As a true warrior wrestler and a defender of the family bloodline, Makoa does not forget where it all started.

“He’s still active,” Makoa said about his dad. “He trains. He’s ripped right now. He didn’t get that state title, but he beat the guy during the season.”