RONEN ZILBERMAN / RZILBERMAN@STARBULLETIN.COM
Senior Emi Manuia hopes to lead the Warriors to their third straight state cheerleading championship on Saturday.
Leading the Cheer
Emi Manuia sets the standard
for the Kamehameha Schools'
cheerleading team
Catching Emi Manuia on a bad day is about as easy as attending a high school basketball game and watching Derrick Low lose.
Zippy's State
Saturday
Cheerleading Championships
at Stan Sheriff Center
Medium-squad division
(11-and-fewer competitors)
>> Kaiser, 6:10 p.m.
>> Leilehua, 6:15 p.m.
>> Mililani, 6:20 p.m.
>> Moanalua, 6:25 p.m.
>> Kapolei, 6:30 p.m.
>> Iolani, 6:35 p.m.
Large-squad division
(12-18 competitors)
>> Lahainaluna, 6:50 p.m.
>> Kauai, 6:55 p.m.
>> Punahou, 7 p.m.
>> Radford, 7:05 p.m.
>> Waiakea, 7:10 p.m.
>> Pearl City, 7:15 p.m.
>> Hilo, 7:20 p.m.
>> Aiea, 7:25 p.m.
>> Baldwin, 7:30 p.m.
>> Kamehameha-Big Isle, 7:35 p.m.
>> Kamehameha-Oahu, 7:40 p.m.
Past champions
Medium-squad division
>> 2002 -- Kamehameha
>> 2003 -- Moanalua
Large-squad division
>> 2002 -- Aiea
>> 2003 -- Kamehameha
By and large, it just doesn't happen.
The comparison between the Kamehameha cheerleader and the Iolani hoops star is intentional.
In every sport, there's usually one athlete who sets the standard, and Manuia is that person for Hawaii high school competitive cheerleading.
There are still plenty of people who snicker and think competitive cheerleading is an oxymoron. But they may not know about the two-and-a-half-hour daily practices, the year-round commitment or the highly technical athletic moves.
Manuia, coach Dolly Wong and the rest of the two-time defending state champion Warriors are going for a three-peat Saturday at the Stan Sheriff Center in the Zippy's State Cheerleading Championships. Doors open at 4:30 p.m. and the competition starts at 6.
Even a loss in the large-squad (12-18 members) competition wouldn't get the bubbly and bright Manuia down.
"Not at all," said the senior who is headed to Stanford in the fall. "It's more about the journey. As long as I know everybody put their hearts out into it, I wouldn't mind. Yes, the championships we've won have been milestones, but they're more icing on the cake for everything we've put into it."
Other top-notch teams, including Radford and Aiea from the Oahu Interscholastic Association along with Punahou -- the Warriors' rival from the Interscholastic League of Honolulu -- are also competing in the large-squad division.
An Aiea resident, Manuia plans to try out for cheerleading at Stanford, but she picked the Pac-10 school because of academics. She's leaning toward a math- or science-based major.
"I love competing, but I'm not sure I can do it and adjust to college life and handle the academics all at the same time," she said. "I may be able to handle cheering at games, though, for the first few years."
She'll miss the "little things" about her four years on the Kamehameha squad more than the big championships, which include two national high school titles.
"I'll miss the goofing off and the getting in trouble and the pretending we didn't do anything wrong," she said.
Somehow, Manuia keeps on smiling, but it's not a fake smile.
"You can't really have a negative attitude and do this," she said. "You need to be positive to make it through all of the workouts and all of the demands. I strive to be always optimistic and open-minded. We all do on this team. That's the only way teenagers with different viewpoints can come together and be so synchronized."
Manuia is hooked on cheerleading for the time being.
"As long as I'm healthy, I don't think I could stop," she said. "I've really grown to love it. I'm having so much fun now, compared to freshman and sophomore years where I was so focused on learning that I had trouble expressing and feeling the fun."
One word kept coming from coach Dolly Wong when asked about Manuia: amazing.
"She is so driven, so goal-oriented," Wong said. "I'm never surprised at her achievements. She's a special kid in a special group, an amazing athlete and amazing student. She is a good representation of what Hawaii cheerleading is about, and we're really coming on strong at the national level."
Manuia always brings two T-shirts to practice, because one usually gets soaked with sweat early on.
"She never takes a shortcut and her motto is, 'you can achieve anything if you're willing to give everything,' " Wong added.
Manuia is also the reigning 2004 Hawaii Junior Miss.
"It's funny because in school I'm not very girlie in a sense," she said. "I'm not always trying to look as nice as possible and wear makeup all the time. I try not to stick out and also try to be comfortable in my own skin."
She stumbled into the pageant when a counselor suggested it, but she didn't stumble out and is proud that she learned -- among many other things -- the proper way to walk in high heels.
It's obvious Manuia plans to learn a lot more about whatever she pursues at Stanford.
And if she ever feels like she's goofing off too much, she'll be sure to remember the oft-heard commandment from Wong when practice gets off-kilter:
"Focus, girls."
