For so many years, the Lahainaluna girls wrestling team boarded its flight from Honolulu after the Chevron Hawaii/HHSAA Wrestling State Championships feeling like it left something behind.
This time, the Lunas are going back to Maui with everything they came for.
Lahainaluna scored 203.5 points, the most by any school since the girls began wrestling in 1998, to beat defending champion Kamehameha’s 177 and become the first neighbor island school to make a successful trip to states. Campbell came in third with 132 points.
"The team title is the best because all of the past years all of my teammates who didn’t get state championships," Lahainaluna state champion Breanna Dudoit-Vasquez said. "Now we all are state champions."
Dudoit-Vasquez, Alexis Encinas, Diamond Freitas, Carly Jaramillo and Lalelei Mataafa all won their finals matches, with only Dudoit-Vasquez’s match being close.
Encinas started the finals onslaught at 107 pounds for Lahainaluna, beating Pearl City’s Mikayla Abe by pinfall in 1:37. Freitas joined her as a state champion at 112 with a 12-2 domination of Punahou’s Taryn Ichimura and then the Lunas’ locks kicked in.
Dudoit-Vasquez grabbed her second state title at 138 pounds with her 6-4 win over Pearl City’s Natanya Kang. Jaramillo took her third straight at 145 with an 8-1 win over Campbell’s Angela Peralta and Mataafa punctuated the dominance with a first-round pin of Waipahu’s Sabrina Hollins in the last girls match of the night.
Mataafa turned Hollins after just 28 seconds, the middle ground between her first match of the tournament, which took 33 seconds, and her semifinal win in just 11 seconds.
Iverly Navarro (102 pounds) won her match for third place and Kaile Kron (117), Alexandra Aquino (132) and Karina Arroyo-Hara (168) also placed for Lahainaluna.
"We all grew up with each other and have wrestled together," Jaramillo said. "It’s so important to my team and my coaches to get the team title; we have all worked so hard."
Kamehameha’s Teshya Alo joined Jaramillo and Mataafa with her third state title. Mataafa and Alo are both juniors and will try to join Moanalua’s Caylene Valdez and Kamehameha’s Randolyn Nohara — the only other four-time champs.
Alo needed 2 minutes, 21 seconds to beat Molokai’s Alexandra Simon. She needed just one minute to get through her previous three matches, and only looked nervous when she watched her younger sister, Teniya Alo of ‘Iolani, win her first state crown as a freshman.
"I just get super excited for her, that’s all," Teshya said.
Taniya didn’t need the extra help, pinning Baldwin’s Taylor Rabara in 2:24.
Punahou’s Bailey Hoshino (97 pounds), Kyla Aruda of King Kekaulike (102), Pearl City’s Alexis Ford (117) and Asia Lien Evans (127), Avei Lualemaga of Aiea (155), Kamehameha’s Callan Medeiros (168) and Jocelyn Alo of Kahuku (184) all earned their first state crowns.
But it all came down to the biggest bunch of first-timers of all.
"It’s hard to comprehend, five state champions for the girls," Lahainaluna coach Todd Hayase said. "But to win this title it took every single one of (the wrestlers) performing, it’s not just those five. It took everyone."
TEAM SCORES
1. Lahainaluna |
203.5 |
2. Kamehameha |
177 |
3. Campbell |
132 |
4. Kahuku |
127 |
5. Pearl City |
123.5 |
6. Waianae |
100 |
7. Aiea |
99 |
8. Molokai |
94 |
9. Roosevelt |
73.5 |
10. Punahou |
66 |
11. Baldwin |
53 |
12. Keaau |
41 |
13. Hilo |
36 |
13. Kapolei |
36 |
15. King Kekaulike |
35 |
15. Nanakuli |
35 |