Dane Pestano is gone to Iowa State, but he is still having an impact on ILH wrestling.
Pestano, a two-time state champion at 215 pounds out of Kamehameha, spent last year beating on Boman Tokioka in practice. Now it is Tokioka’s turn to dish out the punishment.
"I was getting worked every day," Tokioka said. "He was the best training partner in the state. Being a ragdoll for him in practice was good and I think it is starting to show. He showed me all of his secrets and techniques."
Those secrets paid off on Saturday, helping Kamehameha beat Punahou 35-33 in the ILH’s first dual-meet tournament of the season.
Punahou led throughout, but Tokioka pinned Jacob Sparks in the first period of the 195-pound bout to clinch the victory. Punahou destroyed defending state champion Kamehameha in the Moanalua Duals in December.
"They killed us (at Moanalua)," Kamehameha coach Chris West said. "We were missing some guys, but they killed us. The kids who lost came back and won dramatically. Now we have to get better."
Kamehameha won the girls bracket, beating Punahou 45-26. The Warriors had 13 wrestlers in the final to the Buffanblu’s nine and got wins from Hiilani Meyer, Donavyn Futa, Harmony Pacheco, Teshya Alo and Pomaikai Yamaguchi.
The Buffanblu boys ran out to a 27-14 lead with three matches left, when Christian Agmata beat Kevin Efta 18-2, then the Warriors heavyweights came through. Kamehameha got six points when Jonah Hoshino pinned Ian Ramirez and three more when Joseph Hoshino beat Cody Martinson 4-0. That left Tokioka needing to beat Sparks handily and he did so, catching Sparks trying to shoot on him and working it into a headlock and a pin with 23 seconds left in the first period.
Both teams forfeited one match after that to make the margin hold up. Cameron Kato, Nathan Lee, Joshua Rosen and Josh Crimmins joined Agmata as winners for Punahou.
Kamehameha beat ‘Iolani 72-6 to reach Saturday’s final, while Punahou took out Pac-Five 56-16.
Tokioka started the season beating Mililani’s Dayton Furuta at the Officials Tournament and continued it with a win at an OIA/ILH crossover tournament last week. He was relegated to sixth place at Officials because he had to leave early, but showed that he might be the king of the ILH on Saturday. It was his first time wrestling Sparks this year after beating him throughout last year’s JV season.
"As the returning state champs, this year we have to have a chip on our shoulder," Tokioka said. "After the Moanalua Duals, we knew we had to step it up. We know we are one of the best in the state and we have to expect more."
Kamehameha got early wins from Blaysen Terukina and Kaai Conradt, but thought they might be onto something when Keith Correa beat Connor Barfield
14-7 at 145 pounds. Barfield beat Correa earlier this year, but Correa put him back into his place on Saturday.
"Correa was huge at 145," West said. "He lost handily the last time, but these kids were not satisfied after Moanalua and came back and worked hard. It’s good to see."
