In a sea of blue Buffanblu and brown-and-gold Trojans, Hurricanes appeared at the footsteps of Diamond Head.
Kapolei seniors Katlin Kiko and Leila Paraoan are taking the leap to college volleyball. Kiko will suit up for Alaska-Anchorage while Paraoan heads to Tarleton State (Stephenville, Texas), a recent addition to the Western Athletic Conference.
The two pals were among 38 signees early Wednesday morning at the Education-1st National Letter of Intent signing event at Honolulu Elks Lodge 616.
The group of soccer, football, volleyball, baseball, water polo and tennis players inked their letters at 7 a.m. Kiko is the only student-athlete from this signing event on her way to the Arctic. She was a libero at Kapolei.
“The culture is really good. I enjoyed the coaching staff, the area. I visited during the summer. I heard the winter is very snowy. It’s going to be a culture shock,” Kiko said. “It’s going to be good for me. I’m going into medical and social work. They have a really good program there, a hospital at the campus.”
Paraoan led the Hurricanes in scoring as a basketball player and in volleyball she was a Star-Advertiser All-State Fab 15 selection as an outside hitter.
“I was looking into going to school with her,” Paraoan said. “Tarleton State is about an hour and a half outside Dallas. I visited in March. It was really nice. I love the weather. I had another couple of schools I was talking to, but this was my best offer and they have a really good program for what I’m going to school for.”
Paraoan plans to study kinesiology and psychology. A lot of tears fell during their high school careers, mostly joyful. Paraoan and Kiko hoped to play together in college, but ultimately signed where the offers were best.
“To my family, thank you. To my friends, thank you for supporting me along the way. Katlin has been here with me the whole time. I haven’t had anybody else,” she said.
“Leila’s my girl,” Kiko said.
Having a friend through high school is precious, but two of Wednesday’s signees have been friends since kindergarten. Kodie Bagcal of Pearl City and Jackson Cosner of Mililani have always been at different schools, hanging out together with mutual friends. They attended their school proms together last week.
This fall, she goes to Pacific Lutheran (Wash.). Though he earlier considered Emerson (Mass.), Cosner changed his mind and signed with Willamette (Ore.). She is a defender. He is a midfielder.
“We’ve been together for a year and a half now. It’s a really big day for us together,” Cosner said.
“We met through mutual soccer friends. We’ve known each other kind of since we were 5 years old,” Bagcal said. “He’s very caring and he tells the truth.”
Cosner plans to major in business and hopes to go into the world of real estate.
“I’d like to be an agent when I’m 21 or 22,” he said.
She plans to major in nursing, following the footsteps of her father, Rodney. Dad is a bit surprised about her career path, but beamed as she signed her letter.
“Kind of surprised. I thought she was going to do something different, but she told me she decided later to follow my career,” Rodney Bagcal said. “She sees me come home and (work) is pretty stressful. That’s why I was kind of shocked, but she kept asking me questions and that’s what she wants to pursue. She’s pretty driven and she’s calm. Level-headed.”
Kodie Bagcal is passionate about playing soccer, her father added. She has no regrets about all the work in the classroom and on the pitch.
“I believe you can always stay positive. Your hard work pays off in the end. Don’t let any negative words get to you,” she said.
Thalia Garcia is one of several signees who will venture beyond the West Coast. The Mililani soccer player signed with Delaware State.
“I’ve been to the East Coast before and I’ve always loved it on that side. I’m excited to become independent,” she said. “There’s a lot of connection in the community there. There’s a new coach and she’s from England. I’m very excited for her to be my coach. The team is very nice and they have a strong bond.”
Garcia hopes to major in aviation.
“I’ve always loved the airport and getting on the plane,” she said.
Mililani’s Kalen Toguchi is also leaving Oahu to pursue a college soccer career.
“I’m going to UH Hilo. I feel great. I’m excited. My career’s just getting started,” he said. “I wanted to get out of my comfort zone and get outside the box a little bit once I graduate. Hilo just checked off all my boxes. It’s financially available for my family and not to mention they’re doing really well in the PacWest.”
Dominican, Biola, Hawaii Pacific and Chaminade — all in the PacWest Conference — were also interested in Toguchi.
Punahou’s Elias Inouye is the latest local athlete heading to Pitzer College (Calif.), which is one of the five undergraduate schools and two graduate schools known as The Claremont Colleges.
“Pitzer is a great school. It’s like a small school, yet medium at the same time,” said Inouye, who is a 6-foot-1, 180-pound center back. “There wasn’t really a plan B. This was kind of all or nothing for me. A year ago, I couldn’t have imagined being in this position now.”
Inouye and his fellow signees have one common trait: resilience.
“Just keep trying. Just keep plugging away because you never know what opportunity will fall into your lap,” he said. “Be patient and good things will come.”
Amelie Zeitz, also from Punahou, will continue her soccer career at Amherst College (Mass.).
“It’s a little far from home. About an hour and a half from Boston. I’m really excited,” Zeitz said. “It’s a really great academic school as well as the soccer. They’re really, really great for their division. I like the people there, too. Everyone is really welcoming and the coaches were great, too.”
She is interested in psychology and the environment.
“My mom is super excited for me. The distance is something we’ve both thought about, but for her and for me, it’s really about the experience and going to the best college possible for my education,” Zeitz said.
Though she enjoyed the Boston area on a couple of vacation trips, the notion of attending college there is fairly new.
“Try your best. You never know where you’re going to end up. Amherst was never even on my radar as a school,” Zeitz said. “It ended up being the one that I love the most. Be open to everything, try your best and be as positive as you can.”
Education-1st national letter of intent signing ceremony
Wednesday
At Honolulu Elks Lodge 616
Name, high school College Sport
Kodie Bagcal, Pearl City Pacific Lutheran (Wash.) Soccer
Kaia Borje-Peeples, Moanalua Western Oregon Soccer
Jheremie Cacpal, Aiea Whitworth (Wash.) Football
Gabrielle Casino, Moanalua Earlham College (Ind.) Volleyball
Jayden Ching, Punahou Claremont McKenna (Calif.) Water Polo
Jackson Cosner, Mililani Willamette (Ore.) Soccer
Leilani Fesuluai Robinson, Kaiser Lasell (Mass.) Volleyball
Thalia Garcia, Mililani Delaware State Soccer
Maya George, Mililani Puget Sound (Wash.) Soccer
Kekili‘ohu Hanakahi, Punahou Lasell University (Mass.) Volleyball
Kilika Hasegawa, Mililani Hawaii Pacific Soccer
Sadie Hepton, Punahou Pacific (Ore.) Volleyball
Elias Inouye, Punahou Pitzer (Calif.) Soccer
Caleb Ishizaka, Mililani Linfield (Ore.) Soccer
Kailoa Kerber, Punahou Pomona (Calif.) Water polo
Katlin Kiko, Kapolei Alaska-Anchorage Volleyball
‘Ānela Leslie, Waipahu Park (Ariz.) Soccer
Talalupe Levale, Pearl City Minnesota Morris Soccer
Kayla Manipon, Campbell Colorado Mesa Soccer
Vincent Maseratti, Kalani Chaminade Soccer
Kobi Miyamoto, Mililani Pacific (Ore.) Soccer
Kyra-lei Nagata, Mililani Park (Ariz.) Soccer
Lilinoe Nahinu, Waialua Western Colorado Volleyball
Keena Nakamura, Waipahu Soka (Calif.) Soccer
‘Ale‘amaikalani Paiva, Waipahu Redlands (Calif.) Volleyball
Leila Paraoan, Kapolei Tarleton State (Texas) Volleyball
Cyera Perry, Mililani Chaminade Soccer
Kaeden Pilanca, Castle Oxnard Community College (Calif.) Baseball
Aubrey Proctor, Mililani Park (Ariz.) Soccer
Rhodes Pruett, Kalaheo Saint Xavier (Ill.) Volleyball
Jariahlyn Rhoades, Punahou U.S. Air Force Academy Tennis
Sye Sandobal, Aiea Hawaii Pacific Soccer
Rees Tasaka, Punahou Puget Sound (Wash.) Football
Kalen Toguchi, Mililani UH-Hilo Soccer
Logan Tom, Punahou Grinnell (Iowa) Tennis
Damon Turcios, Castle Hawaii Pacific Soccer
Tokujiro Wada-Goode, Roosevelt North Park (Ill.) Baseball
Amelie Zeitz, Punahou Amherst (Mass.) Soccer
