Two schools with rich bowling traditions are back on top.
The Hawaii Baptist boys and Pearl City girls came out victorious Friday in the Hawaii Army National Guard/HHSAA State Bowling Championships at Schofield Bowling Center.
The second day consisting of three games was delayed more than three hours because of a power outage.
When it was all over, Pearl City’s Jayden Kadooka edged Hawaii Baptist’s Eddy Vallesteros 1,683 to 1,675 for the individual boys title, while the Chargers’ Samantha Kanehailua passed teammate Kaila Kamahiai 1,543 to 1,480 for her second girls championship. She won as a freshman and was runner-up last season, five pins behind Kapolei’s Jayna Yockman, who came in fourth Friday.
The Chargers’ girls team is back on top for the first time since 2017, when it had just completed a run of six state championships in seven years. Pearl City ran away from the field, with second-place finisher Kamehameha 617 pins behind (6,579-5,962).
“I was very, very proud of them,” Chargers girls coach Millie Gomes said via telephone. “They kept it together. Just awesome. The girls are really awesome.”
It was Gomes’ seventh state title in her 15 years of coaching. There was no tournament during the COVID year.
“Not bad, 50%,” said Gomes, who wanted the focus on the girls. “They’re the ones throwing the ball, not me. I just try to mentor.”
Kanehailua, a junior who got involved in the sport about 11 years ago because of her grandfather, was surprised she came away with the title.
Like a baseball pitcher throwing a no-hitter, she said she “didn’t want anyone to tell me” where she stood.
“I kinda focused on our team,” Kanehailua said. “As much as it is an individual sport, I paid attention to my team and made sure our spirits were up.”
After she was announced as the winner, she said she felt “unstressed.”
She also got a hug from her grandpa John.
“He didn’t say much. I’m sure he’ll tell me when I get home. He gave me a hug.”
The Chargers girls finished with three medalists, as Alicen Ichimura finished in 12th place with 1,322 pins.
Mid-Pacific’s Caitlyn Chang placed third with a total of 1,459 pins.
Vallesteros, who rolled a 235 in his final game, was edged for the overall title by eight pins, but led the Eagles to their first boys title since 2009. HBA — which has won six titles overall, tied with Aiea for second most behind Pearl City’s 13 — had three top-20 finishers.
Evan Tamashiro placed 19th with a 1,402 total and Kameron Fujioka was right behind him at 1,394 as HBA finished 124 pins ahead of Castle (7,111-6,987).
HBA coach Greg Hayashi has been there for all six championships. He’s coached there for 31 years and said the title felt “really good for the boys.”
“They worked hard all season. Real proud of all the effort that they put in this season.”
HBA’s team of six consisted of five juniors — Vallesteros, Tamashiro, Kobe Chan, Connor Gum and Ryder Yonesaki — and a sophomore, Fujioka.
“They’re very close,” Hayashi said. “They hang out a lot. They go bowling together outside of our practices.”
Hayashi said Vallesteros is in just his third year of bowling, starting under the coach’s guidance from his freshman year.
“He was my No. 6 bowler last year,” Hayashi said. “Kam, Kobe and Eddy all bowled on last year’s team that finished second and they were gunning for a title.”
