High school judo dominance in Hawaii is all about the big blue machine at Moanalua.
The koa trophies are heading to Moanalua again following superlative performances on Saturday night at The Odom Corporation/HHSAA Judo State Championships at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
In the boys division, Moanalua had 84 points, followed by Kapolei (52), Pearl City (43), ‘Iolani (42), Roosevelt (42) and Saint Louis (41). In the girls division, Moanalua tallied 98 points, followed by Pearl City (46), Kapolei (40), Waiakea (37) and Waipahu (34).
Na Menehune have the first program to win team state championships five seasons in a row in the girls and boys divisions. The boys were led by state champions Brady Lee (178 weight class), Ronson Murillo (108) and Draezyn Tanaka (114).
Coach Brandon Maki and his staff have embraced the reality that comes with any dynasty: It takes a lot to feed the monster.
“We’re proud of the kids and the program, and the things they’ve put together for the program, and how they fight, train and listen to all of us, but it’s always the next one. We’re not satisfied. We try to win every one. It’s not a guarantee, but we’ll try to win every one,” Maki said. “All we ask for these kids to fight their hearts out. Win, lose, it’s OK, but fight your hearts out.”
Lee, who placed in the top five at the OIA boys golf championships a week ago, gave up baseball last year to focus on judo and golf. He defeated Kai Juliano of Damien by wazari. He won the 198 title in 2022.
“I got it back. I won my sophomore year, came up short and lost in the semifinals my junior. I felt like I had a lot to prove to myself and my team,” Lee said. “I want to thank my team for believing in me. I appreciate all of them. I love all of them.”
Moanalua’s girls were sparked by state champions Taegan Escaba (98), Mia Lee (129) and Kalei Yasumura (139). It was back-to-back gold for Escaba, a sophomore, who defeated Serah Yogi of Pearl City in the final by ippon.
“It feels good. It was really tough for me this year, having no partners and everything. Mental health and stuff. I just told myself to believe and that’s what I did. Working hard,” Escaba said.
She was ready to celebrate the old-fashioned way.
“I’m going to eat,” Escaba said. “Maybe a box combo from Raising Cane’s.”
Yasumura defeated Alize Malia Kapihe of Kapolei by ippon on a highly emotional night. Her older sister, senior Kamaile Yasumura, won the 122 weight class in 2023 but suffered an elbow injury in this year’s OIA team championships and was unable to compete at states.
“My whole goal was to win for her. She couldn’t finish the season. She was my coach. I dedicated my final match to her. Since she didn’t get to win it, I won it for her,” Yasumura said. “Our team suffered a huge loss recently. One of our alumni passed away, Branson Lazo. This wasn’t a win for me. It was a win for our whole team.”
Yasumura was the top seed en route to her first state title.
“I try not to think too much and get in my head about it. I go into my matches how I normally play,” she said. “A lot of grip fighting. My coaches helped me a lot. My coaches, they work with me every practice and support me very much.”
The big blue judoka, some in their traditional blue (boys) and pink (girls) hair colors, were masterful, but a number of individuals repeated as state champions.
Logan Lau of Mid-Pacific made it a three-peat by edging Eli Suan in the 121 weight class by han soku make. Lau won the 114 division as a sophomore, then took the 121 gold last year.
Lau won’t say it, but his coaches believe he would have been a grand slam champion if not for the cancellation of the 2020 season due to the pandemic.
Lau and Suan provided a thriller that went down to sudden death, and when that remained a scoreless duel, Lau was awarded the win due to fewer penalties. The two know each other well as teammates at Tenri Judo Club.
“We’re training partners at Tenri. He’s a good guy, you know? I feel pretty good. I feel like all of my hard work paid off,” Lau said. “My conditioning. My cardio. Training at Mid-Pac with my senseis. Training at Tenri. Shout out to my Mid-Pac coaches, my Tenri club.”
Lau’s discipline will take a break.
“I’m going to eat. Zippy’s. Probably a Zip Pac, that’s a classic,” he said.
Owls coach Clifton Teshima will miss Lau.
“He’s amazing. He shows up all the time. You don’t have to tell him what to do. He already knows what to do. His whole family does judo and he has younger twin sisters who are hammers, as well,” Teshima said. “He does double workouts. I don’t think he even sweats. He just did 10 minutes and he’s barely sweating now. It’s hard when you’re competing against a friend.”
MPI has 75 judoka from intermediate to varsity.
“Our program is about teaching people how to be good humans, how to communicate, how to express emotions. The byproduct is you’re going to learn really good judo,” Teshima said. “The judo coaches I have, they’re amazing. It’s a bright future for us.”
Other two-time champions include Thor Guerrero of Kamehameha and Chloe Obuhaynch of Pearl City. Obuhaynch repeated as the girls 103 weight class champion after defeating Gabrielle Hayashida of Moanalua by ippon. Obuhaynch entered the state championships unseeded after losing to Hayashida in the OIA championships.
“It was scary. I made a mistake of reaching (at OIAs),” she said.
Obuhaynch is only a sophomore, meaning she has a shot at a grand slam.
Hilo sophomore Kamalei Sakai kept the family tradition alive by taking gold in the 115 weight class. Her oldest sister, Irie Sakai, was the 139 champion last year. Another older sister, Ihilani Sakai, suffered a shoulder injury earlier and still managed to place third in the 139 division.
“I wanted to win it for my sister, Ihi. She got hurt and wasn’t able to win this year,” Kamalei Sakai said. “We all try really hard and leave everything on the mat because we’ve got nothing to lose.”
There are three younger siblings, she added, and they all play judo.
Guerrero, a junior, repeated as state champion. He took the 132 title last year, and won the 145 crown on Saturday by defeating Warriors teammate Darieus Pavao by wazari in a lengthy, grueling match.
“It was challenging. It came down maybe to cardio. I was debating on cutting down to 132, but I don’t know I felt like 145 this year,” said Guerrero, who trains year-round with Hawaii Judo Academy. “The second time is harder. Staying consistent. People start to know what your moves are, too.”
Waipahu senior Caleb Lauifi became a two-time state champion by defeating Zyan Akau of Kapolei by ippon.
“Any of these big matches, none of them come easy. They gave me a good run for my money. The only thing with a second time is just the experience of being in that (title) match,” Lauifi said. “Having all the eyes on you before.”
Moanalua’s simultaneous championships were interrupted in 2020 and ’21 by the cancellation of spring seasons due to the pandemic. On Saturday, Maki wore a New York Yankees cap for a reason.
“I’m a big Yankees fan. The titles they won back in the day, that’s what we’re trying to do,” he said. “A lot of these kids are learning how we do things. Learning the system that we try to train, and progressing through the year. Our timing is getting better on when we’re trying to peak for the state tournament.”
Maki has also entrusted his staff.
“This year, I asked our younger coaches to step up and push the kids. So the future is there. We have the foundation to eventually pass it on down the road,” he said. “I love that we basically have eight head coaches.”
