Blaysen Terukina of Kamehameha defeated Pac-5’s Joseph Fong 10-4 in the 132-pound finals to complete a career grand slam with his fourth consecutive ILH state championships.
“In your senior year, you’re always more hungry,” Terukina said. “You want to get that last title, for the last time, so I figured I’d might as well keep at it and grind hard and finish strong.”
With the win, Terukina is the first wrestler to win four consecutive titles since Kamehameha’s Jacob Luning-Hoshino accomplished the feat in 2011. Terukina took home a win at states last year in the 120-pound weight class, and is hoping the ILH win can help propel him to another one this season.
“I actually haven’t stopped wrestling since last year,” Terukina said. “During the summer, I’d be working out at least twice a week, and during the season we’re always going hard. The training is non-stop and we’re always grinding.”
While Terukina’s fourth straight title was one of the more impressive feats of the day, he wasn’t the only wrestler to win multiple titles.
‘Iolani’s KJ Pascua earned his third ILH title, defeating Damien’s Dominic Boland via technical fall, winning 20-3 in the 152-pound class. Likewise, Punahou’s Cameron Kato took home a third career ILH title with a 7-2 win over ‘Iolani’s James Mizota in the 126-pound class. In the 113-pound class, Saint Louis’ Corey Cabanban earned his second title, as did ‘Iolani’s Jake Nakasone in the 120-pound class.
On the girls side, Kamehameha’s Teshya Alo also took home her fourth consecutive ILH title, beating Maryknoll’s Kayla O’Sullivan in the 132-pound class. Also, Kamehameha’s Callan Medeiros won the 168-pound class over teammate Natalie Kerr, her third ILH title.
‘Iolani took home the boys team ILH title with 181.5 points, while claiming six wins out the 14 total weight classes. Kamehameha dominated in the girls division, with 221 total points and nine titles out of the 14 weight classes.