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Moanalua swept the boys and girls team titles in the OIA East Division championships on Saturday at Farrington, but the battle to watch was in the girls 117-pound bracket.
Roosevelt’s Macy Higa, ranked No. 9 in Hawaii Prep World’s pound-for-pound rankings, edged Kaiser’s Tiare Ikei (No. 8) by a 4-3 decision in a razor-thin final.
Higa won a state title at 112 pounds as a sophomore and finished second last year. Ikei won Officials at 112 pounds last month, while Higa won Officials at 117. Ikei beat Higa during the preseason.
Kahuku senior Teniya Alo, a two-time state champion and the No. 1-ranked pound-for-pound wrestler, got in less than three minutes of mat time, pinning her first opponent in 59 seconds before winning the 138-pound final in 1:37 by pin.
Red Raiders teammate Tangiteina Niutupuivaha pinned Farrington’s Lavenia Fotu, the No. 6 pound-for-pound wrestler, in 1:50 to win the 225-pound weight class.
Moanalua won five of the 14 weight classes on the boys side, with Logan Garcia, the only ranked pound-for-pound wrestler in the meet at No. 9, winning the 126-pound division by pinfall in 5:00. It was his first major tournament of the season.