Monday, March 2, 1998
Five schools celebrate
By Pat Bigold
state titles
Star-BulletinFive schools won state tournament championships over the weekend in three sports.
Wrestling took on a new look at the Stan Sheriff Center as girls joined boys for the first time in the 32-year history of the event.
McKinley took the first girls' state team title with 136 points to Moanalua's 119.
Among the more intensely fought matches were Radford 155-pounder Lauwae Smith's technical-fall win over Leilehua's Janelle Noa; Iolani 114-pounder Jill Remiticado's 7-3 win over Pearl City's Leia Rabe; Radford 220-pounder Donell Bradley's pin of Waianae's Shawna Atuatasi, and Lahainaluna 140-pounder Lia Berger's 12-4 win over Hilo's Emory Sagucio.
Kamehameha won its second straight boys' mat title with 149 points to St. Louis' 123.5.
Highlights of the boys' tournament included Ashley Byrd's 9-7 state title win over Mid-Pacific's Jarrett Fukuda despite a dislocated shoulder, and two wins by two St. Louis wrestlers.
Crusader Spencer Sequin decisioned Moanalua's Keola Pruett at 145 pounds to win a third straight state crown. It's the first time that anyone has three-peated since 1987. Two of Sequin's titles are at 145 and one at 140.
Sophomore Gerald Welch won a controversial 3-2 decision over McKinley's Imi Richardson at 171 pounds.
Richardson appeared to have clinched the win with a 2-point takedown for a 4-3 lead in the waning seconds. But the referees ruled part of Richardson's body was out of bounds, and removed the points with one second left.
In the 17th girls' HHSAA soccer tournament, Punahou won its fifth state title and ended the Cinderella ride of the Kapaa Warriors.
Mia Moe and Shaina Nishimoto scored on free kicks in the second half to lead the Buffanblu.
The Warriors were the first neighbor island team to make the finals since 1984 and the first Kauai team to ever get there.
In the 41st HHSAA swimming and diving championships at the Pahoa Pool on the Big Island, Iolani won its second girls' title in three years while Hawaii Preparatory Academy took its first boys' title.
The Raider girls scored 68 points to beat out Punahou by 10, and HPA shaded Baldwin, 52-49.
The meet-ending 400-yard freestyle relay was the event that determined the Kamakanis' fate. Nikolaus Kling, Bo Apele, Nate Stewart and Thomas Sanford combined for a 3:14.72 winning time.
Iolani clinched the girls' title with the 400-yard freestyle relay as Sara Afong, Lauren Ohtake, Jill Ono and Mandy Tomita swam for a state meet record time of 3:38.47. It clipped .11 second off the 1996 record also set by Iolani.