Tyger Taam left zero doubts on the mat and none in the record books.
The Moanalua senior capped a golden prep career with a technical fall over Koen Shigemoto of Mililani (2:22) in the 144-pound weight class to capture his fourth state wrestling title Saturday at the Texaco/HHSAA State Championships.
Taam completed his four-year career unbeaten in 98 matches, the first unbeaten grand slam champion since Patrick “Scrappy” Higa of ‘Iolani (1986). Shigemoto’s skill and athleticism are excellent, but facing a legend in the making through the years was almost unfair.
Taam nearly pinned Shigemoto in the first period, but the Trojan refused to surrender. It was a matter of time.
“I thought the match would be longer, but before the match all I was doing was visualization, visualizing teching (winning by technical fall) or pinning him,” Taam said. “I tell myself every day that I’m going to become a four-time state champ. My whole life since I was 4 I’ve been training, working hard every day and it finally paid off.”
He will wrestle at Menlo College (Calif.) next season.
Kamehameha-Maui senior Mikah Labuanan also completed a grand slam. He made quick work of Kamehameha’s Samson Paaluhi in the 150-pound division to win his fourth straight state championship. Labuanan won by fall (1:52) and became the first MIL wrestler to grand slam.
“Only Oahu people had won (the grand slam). To win it for Maui is huge. I love my island Maui,” Labuanan said. “No matter what, I will always come back to Maui. To have my lahui there, everyone supporting me and loving me, to come here and represent them and make history, that means so much to me. It’s bigger than I am. It’s bigger than our program. It’s for our whole island. I’m forever grateful to be part of Kamehameha-Maui.”
His quest has always been greater than the present, dreaming of the next level. Labuanan will wrestle at Cal State Bakersfield.
“All glory to God. I’m just grateful to have Jesus Christ and my heavenly father in my life,” Labuanan said. “At the next level, I have a lot to work on. Work on my hand fighting, work on my bottom, work on my top. You can always get better, especially competing at the D-I level.”
The legacy is alive at Kamehameha-Maui. His teammates converged on him to celebrate a historic moment.
“We do have the best wrestling room in the state. It’s our atmosphere, our coaches, our teammates,” he said. “There’s so much people at home watching (on TV) and supporting me. The biggest thing for our room is the love. We all love each other. We all family. Whenever someone’s not giving their best, we dog on them because we want them to be the best. Our coaches put us through hell because they want the best for us.”
He will miss Blaisdell Arena.
“I love wrestling at the Blaisdell. You always hear the roars. The first time I walked in here, I took it all in,” Labuanan said.
Kamehameha reigned in the boys team standings with 177.5 points. Pearl City was runner-up with 125 points, followed by Moanalua (118), Saint Louis (87) and Baldwin (85.5).
The Warriors boys are back-to-back state champions for the first time since 2019-20, when Rob Hesia was their head coach. The crown is the eighth in boys wrestling for Kamehameha.
This year’s group took the title by a wide margin despite not having any individual champions. Paliku Chang (132), Samson Paaluhi (150) and Ramsey Nishida (175) had silver medal performances, and the depth of Kamehameha’s wrestlers racked up points on the back end. This is the second title under coach Dave Chew and his staff, and the celebration was shared by the boys and girls teams in unison.
“Awesome feeling. The kids really bought into the idea, the teamwork. Great bunch of kids on and off the mat. Great team effort,” Chew said. “Everybody had to do their part and fight for the guy next to him. It was bigger than them. It was for the team. It’s the mindset collectively of the group, building that perseverance. Building that determination for excellence. Finishing the day strong. For these kids, what people don’t understand is what makes them a champion is what they don’t see. The hours of working out, extra runs, studying, dieting. Making time for their families. Building time so they can master their craft so they can be better people.”
Hunter Berger of Saint Louis was borderline professional in his 9-1 majority decision over second- seeded Paliku Chang of Kamehameha for the 132 weight class title. The junior emerged with his third state title in as many years.
“I just came here to wrestle. Of course, it’s a lot of pressure, but I just use it to motivate myself in the training room,” Berger said.
The history with the talented Chang includes an ankle injury for Berger during the Officials tournament in preseason. Then he pinned Chang at the ILH championships.
“I just wrestled my game. I got him twice with my snap-downs,” Berger said.
The anticipation of a grand slam is something he is becoming comfortable with.
“I’m going for my fourth title. I’m coming back next year better,” said Berger, who is not certain if he will remain at 132 pounds. “Shout out to my coaches, my dad (Mitch). I’m just grateful for the opportunity.
Berger is inching toward a standard set by Crusaders legends like Jonathan Spiker.
“I met Jonathan last year. He came by practice. I introduced myself. I want to be like him,” Berger said. “He said, ‘Stay motivated. Enjoy what you’re doing.”
