COURTESY OF USGWA / 2002
Iolani school alumna Jill Remiticado threw an opponent with a back suplex at the 2002 U.S. Girls Wrestling Association Tournament in Michigan.
Pioneer blazes trail
in OregonJill Remiticado helped build Pacific's
third-ranked women's wrestling team
JILL Remiticado, who was a catalyst for female wrestling in two states, is a finalist for one of Oregon's most prestigious honors.
Remiticado, a 1999 Iolani School graduate from Aiea, graduated from Pacific University in Oregon last May.
She was not the first female high school wrestler in Hawaii, but the media attention Remiticado attracted because of her success wrestling on Iolani's boys team in 1996 and '97 helped generate interest in the sport.
The Oahu Interscholastic Association held a small girls championship in 1997 and the Hawaii High School Athletic Association held the first state girls championship in 1998. Hawaii is still one of only two states that conduct sanctioned girls high school championships in the sport (Texas is the other).
Remiticado won the first 114-pound state championship.
When Remiticado went to Pacific, near Portland in September 1999, she again was the only female on a male team.
Within two years, Pacific formed a varsity women's club team, then elevated it to full varsity status in 2002. The team now has 13 members, is getting its own coach, and is ranked No. 3 in the U.S.
Four members of Pacific's first women's team -- including Katie Kunimoto (Castle '99) -- were selected for USA Wrestling's first resident Olympic Development program in Colorado Springs.
"Jill was the driving force behind the creation of Pacific's women's wrestling program," university spokesman Blake Timm said.
Remiticado, who weighed 120 pounds most of her collegiate career, was a four-time U.S. Girls Wrestling Association collegiate All-American, winning freestyle national championships in 2000, 2001 and 2002, and finishing third in the 114-pound class in 2003.
She is the only Pacific athlete to win three national championships in any sport, and one of two four-time All-Americans in school history.
Last May, Remiticado graduated in physics with a double minor in math and Japanese and a B-plus average and was selected as the university's Outstanding Female Senior Athlete. She is helping coach at Iolani and participating in regional power-lifting tournaments.
It was announced Friday that she is one of five finalists for the Ad Rutschman Award, which honors the top male and female athlete from Oregon's non-Division I colleges. Nominees must have made exemplary accomplishments in their sport that bring credit to Oregon, their school and to the individual.
"To be named is quite an honor," Remiticado said. "It is one of those things that validates that I actually made a difference in my career."
The winner will be announced at the Oregon Sports Awards on Jan. 25 at the Tiger Woods Center on the Nike World Campus in Beaverton.
"Jill typifies the type of person I look for in a wrestler, male or female," said Scott Miller, Pacific's director of wrestling. "This is an outstanding honor for her and I cannot think of a better person to be recognized."
Remiticado said that she hopes that being named a finalist will help lend credibility to women's wrestling, which is still a new concept.
"Things like this paint a more realistic view of the sport and it shows that it is gaining more respect," she said. "Accomplishments like these give more credibility to the sport."
More wrestling
Wrestlers from Hawaii won three first places and a second at the Menlo College Women's Open Tournament yesterday in Atherton, Calif.Champions -- all freshmen -- were Stephany Lee (Moanalua '02) of Missouri Valley in heavyweight; freshman Caylene Valdez (Moanalua '03) of Menlo at 55 kg (121 pounds); and Debbi Sakai (Mililani '03) of Missouri Valley at 51 kg (112 pounds).
Another freshman, Ku'u Johnson (Radford '03) of California's Lassen junior college, placed second at 67 kg (148 pounds).
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Konawaena grad named to first team
Junior Darryl Grace of Captain Cook has been named a first-team NCAA Division II Midwest Region offensive lineman by Football Gazette.
Grace, a 2001 Konawaena High graduate, played right tackle for 9-2 Central Missouri State and was first-team All-Mid-America conference. He played previously at Gavilan junior college in California, where he also was all-conference.
Grace is an aviation major with a 3.54 grade-point average.
Northwest Missouri State senior offensive guard Raymond Fonoti (Aiea '98) won honorable mention All-Mid-America Conference. His brother, linebacker Richard Fonoti (Aiea '99), was a teammate. Both played at Snow junior college in Utah previously.
Swimming
Junior Saree Ho'opi'i, a former Maui High student from Pukalani, on Thursday was named Northern Colorado University's Female Student-Athlete of the Month for December.After missing four weeks of training because of illness, Ho'opi'i won four individual events and anchored the Bears' winning 200 freestyle relay team with a split of 24.17 seconds.
Her other victories were 50 freestyle (25.17), 100 backstroke (1:03.38), 100 freestyle (53.74) and 200 freestyle (2:00.10), all "early-season" times.
Ho'opi'i was named Outstanding Swimmer at the North Central Conference championships last year and holds several school records.
Basketball
Some notable recent numbers:>> Aritta Lane (Aiea '01) had 21 points and 11 rebounds for Fresno State in a 67-62 loss to SMU on Thursday.
>> Rachel Kane (Punahou '03) grabbed 10 rebounds -- a Gonzaga career high -- in a 31-point victory over Pepperdine on Thursday. She also had eight points.
>> Fatai Hala'api'api (Lahainaluna '03) had a collegiate-career-high eight rebounds and three blocked shots as Eastern Kentucky defeated Murray State 75-74 in an Ohio Valley Conference game yesterday.
With her freshman season less than half over, Hala'api'api has 22 blocks, the fifth-highest single-season total in Eastern Kentucky history.
>> Monica Tokoro (Iolani '01 of Aiea) had 13 points, eight assists and five rebounds as Cal State Los Angeles lost to Sonoma State on Friday.
