Strength in numbers added up to a sweep for the Kahuku boys and girls teams at yesterday's Oahu Interscholastic Association championship at the Leilehua High School gym. Red Raiders
skip rebuildingBy Jason Kaneshiro
jkaneshiro@starbulletin.comDespite taking home just one individual title, the Red Raiders' depth carried the boys team to a commanding victory. Kahuku, which has just one senior on its roster, finished with 213.5 points -- more than 64 points ahead of runner-up Farrington -- to win its third league title in the last four years.
"This was supposed to be a rebuilding year," said Kahuku coach Reggie Torres. "Our goal was to get back to winning the OIA. We lost it last year, we won it the two years before, so that was the goal."
The defending state champion Kahuku girls team sent seven of its eight wrestlers to the finals to rack up 171.5 points and claim its first OIA crown. Four Red Raiders won individual titles as well.
"This is just one portion of our goals and we want to go a little higher," Kahuku girls coach Jeff Parker said. "They wrestled really tough today. If they can keep it up we have a really good shot at the state."
The Red Raider boys built a controlling lead in the tournament's opening rounds, as all 13 wrestlers advanced to the second day of competition and 11 qualified for the semifinals. Five made it to the championship round, with Lokahi Aipia, the lone senior on the team, winning the 171-pound weight class for the team's only individual championship.
"We always stress team pride above every thing else," Aipia said. "I'd give up my championship for the team championship."
Aipia dislocated a finger on his right hand early in his match with Castle's Scott Shinsato. Trainers popped the finger back into place, and the Kahuku coaches were ready to pull Aipia out of the match. But Aipia insisted he continue. Despite the pain, Aipia pulled out a 10-6 decision over Shinsato.
"Our coach keeps stressing to us that you have to push," Aipia said. "When it comes to championship time you have to make sacrifices and I was willing to make that sacrifice."
McKinley won four individual titles as the brother combinations of Lawrence and Desmond Thain and Emile and Rene Suehiro successfully defended their league titles. Lawrence Thain won the 119 class while Desmond Thain won at 135. Emile Suehiro captured the 130 title and Rene Suehiro edged Pearl City's Brian Denny 3-2 to win the 140 division.
Castle's Collin Mansanas also repeated as OIA champion, defeating Kahuku's Adam Ahsue in dramatic fashion to win the 160-pound class. Ahsue took a 10-9 lead in the final minute of a seesaw match, but Mansanas scored a two-point reversal with five seconds left to pull out the victory.
The Kahuku girls got championship performances from Elizabeth Torres (108 pounds), Leilani Relator (121), Ashlee Estioko (130) and Kehau Kamauoha (140) to hold off second-place Moanalua.
"The girls deserve what they get because they just work really hard," Torres said.
Moanalua, the 2002 OIA champion, was led by individual titles from Venus Bravo (98 pounds) and Caylene Valdez (114), who won at 108 last year.
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