The four-peat was never in danger, not even after stunning losses by two of their top-seeded wrestlers.

In the end, Punahou was simply too deep, amassing 240 points to win its fourth straight title at the Chevron/HHSAA Boys Wrestling State Championships yesterday at Blaisdell Arena.

The Buffanblu had their share of state champions. Senior Jordan Ng won the 114-pound division, sophomore Todd Murakawa dominated the 125 weight class and senior Galen McCleary took the 140 title.

Ng, a runner-up last year, won in dramatic fashion against Ryan Nakagawa of Kaiser. An escape by Nakagawa tied the match at 1-all with 1:25 left.

“;I wasn't surprised he got the escape,”; Ng said. “;He's an amazing, awesome athlete.”;

A leg-shoot move by Ng scored a point with 30 seconds left, and he tacked on a two-point move before the close for a 4-1 win.

He defeated Cody Uyejo (Mililani), Shane Pantastico-Banaay (Campbell) and Jacob Palimo'o (Moanalua) to reach the final.

Murakawa was just as formidable in his final win over Lahainaluna's George Chihara, who had ousted Moanalua's Brady LaFortune. Murakawa pulled away for a 10-4 win, validating his No. 1 seed.

He defeated Bryson Pantastico-Banaay (Campbell), Chase Tantog (Mililani) and Austin Hayashi (Pearl City) before taking on Chihara.

With former 140-pound champion Ian Akamine of 'Iolani gone to the 145 class, the route was wide open for McCleary. The top seed downed Kyle Lee (McKinley), Jesse Kauhola (Kaiser) and Stalin Myers (Aiea) to qualify for the final.

It was an unusual circumstance for Punahou, which saw league champions Patrick Sheehan (171 weight class) and Sani Fuimaono (285) lose. Sheehan was toppled in the final by Kahuku's Punahele Soriano, while Fuimaono was edged by Farrington's Keith Chargulaf-Tuileapa in the semifinals, 6-5.

Punahou's depth was a tsunami surge that racked up a point total that wasn't truly challenged. Kamehameha was second with 186.5 points, followed by Lahainaluna (125), Campbell (88), Moanalua (72.5), Farrington (70) and Kahuku (69).

“;We had a couple of guys who faltered, and that's going to be hard to deal with,”; coach Matthew Oney said. “;It was definitely a team effort.”;

Fuimaono battled an elbow injury that lingered.

“;I know for him, it's always team-first. He'll have bittersweet moments, but he's definitely proud of his team,”; Oney said.

Bryan Peralta, unseeded at 135, reached the semifinals to give Punahou key points. Sophomore Zachary Hernandez reached the 152 final and unseeded Evan Johnson made it to the 189 semifinal round. Defending 215 champ Kolu Buck was unseeded, but got to the semifinals.

All the contributions added up to another Punahou crown.

“;Punahou has a solid team,”; longtime HHSAA official Keith Matsumoto said. “;As much as wrestling is an individual one-on-one, it's very much a team sport. More so in wrestling, it is in many respects a paradox, but the ultimate team sport. You can't practice by yourself.”;

108 POUNDS
Cassidy Oshiro, Maryknoll
Def. Bradley Suda (McKinley), 22-7

Oshiro's relentless approach this year won him a state championship.

“;I've trained very hard the past summer and it was great to come back and win this one,”; Oshiro said.

The Maryknoll sophomore went to work fast and early en route to a 22-7 lead when he was awarded a technical fall with 12 seconds left in the match. Upon winning, Oshiro jumped up into Pac-Five assistant coach Flynn Corson's arms and let out a cry, “;YEAH!”;

“;He's incredible. Cassidy could keep this pace up for an hour,”; Corson said, his voice barely audible from yelling instructions. “;He establishes himself at the start, scores early, and maintains that tempo. He keeps that up and beats his opponents psychologically. That's been his game plan all season and I hope he duplicates it the next two seasons as well.”;

“;The best defense is a good offense, so I just had to keep it going,”; Oshiro said. “;I just kept working for take downs and keep them on the defensive.”;

114 POUNDS
Jordan Ng, Punahou
Def. Ryan Nakagawa (Kaiser), 4-1

Ng, the top seed, fought off his nemesis in a match that was tied 1-all in the third and final period.

Nakagawa, the second seed, tied it with 1:25 left before Ng regained the lead with 30 seconds to go.

“;I just told myself, 'Can't be complacent.' I got lucky. He tried to shoot and I got his leg,”; said Ng, who added a two-point leg shoot in the final seconds.

They met in Kamehameha's preseason tourney, a match won by Ng 2-1. Ng, a senior, knows just how Nakagawa feels.

“;He's an amazing, awesome athlete,”; said Ng, who was the 114 runner-up last year.

120 POUNDS
David Terao, Mid-Pacific
Def. Nainoa Tompkins (Mililani), 11-0

Terao “;went with the flow and let whatever happened happen”; in a dominant performance, frustrating his opponent with a fluid combination of offensive moves and successful counters.

“;I try not to think too far ahead, go from technique to technique. That's basically my style of wrestling and it worked well today,”; Terao said. “;I try to initiate things, but he comes with a strong move, I'm going to counter.”;

Terao, who finished fourth in last year's state tourney at 114 pounds, described the match with Tompkins as “;tiring.”;

“;He's a strong, physical guy,”; Terao said. “;He tried to grab back for my legs with switches, but I countered by grabbing up on his legs and pulling him on his back.”;

125 POUNDS
Todd Murakawa, Punahou
Def. George Chihara (Lahainaluna), 10-4

Murakawa's sterling performance continued with a solid win over the MIL champion.

Chihara was within 2-1 early, but Murakawa pulled away.

“;I tried to stay calm. I didn't want to panic,”; the No. 1 seed said. “;I caught him on his back and tried to hold him there, get some points.”;

The two wrestled in Leilehua's preseason tourney, a match won by Murakawa, who is a sophomore.

“;I learned about him, but he really improved since then,”; said Murakawa, who lost just twice this season. Once was in an exhibition at 'Iolani, and another came at a tourney in Minnesota.

130 POUNDS
Shayden Terukina, Kamehameha
Def. Jon-Ross Okuda (Aiea) Fall 1:58

Terukina used his half nelson to maximum effect, pinning Okuda with just a second left in the first period.

The Kamehameha junior was runner-up in 2009 and trained hard in the offseason to better his result.

“;Last year gave me a taste, but I wanted to dominate my weight class this year and help my team,”; Terukina said.

Terukina used a headlock spin to get his first takedown at the 1:02 mark, saying he wanted to score and establish himself earlier to set the tone for the match. He had a near fall with 10 seconds left, but Okuda managed to kick out of it.

135 POUNDS
Jacob Luning-Hoshino, Kamehameha
Def. Jimmy Romualdo (Konawaena), 10-5

Luning-Hoshino defended his crown in a match delayed three times by injury timeouts for the Wildcats wrestler.

Romualdo looked prime for an upset win early, but Luning-Hoshino escaped out of a hold and took Romualdo down with a single-leg shot.

The match was tied at 3 after one period.

“;He was getting pretty tired from riding me,”; Luning-Hoshino said. “;It looked like he didn't have too much conditioning, so I pushed the pace.”;

A series of escapes and takedowns resulted in an 8-3 lead for Luning-Hoshino, who finished the season 28-2.

Romualdo's left knee was wrapped in ice after the match.

Luning-Hoshino had mixed emotions about his second title.

“;This time wasn't as good because of his injury,”; he said.

140 POUNDS
Galen McCleary, Punahou
Def. Rodney Howard (Radford) Fall 1:44

Howard used a good arm drag to drag both wrestlers out of bounds, but McCleary quickly got his opponent in a cradle and ended the match with his finishing move.

“;Once I took him down, he went pretty easily to his back,”; McCleary said. “;He was a really lanky guy and I'm not used to wrestling people like that, so I was cautious in the beginning. I took him down with a low single for the first two points and was able to get the cradle after that.”;

McCleary, a senior who will be wrestling for Stanford University next year, said the result was great, especially because it contributed to Punahou's team championship.

“;I worked super hard and it feels great to have it pay off,”; McCleary said. “;My teammates did really well and I'm glad my effort helped the cause.”;

145 POUNDS
Ian Akamine, 'Iolani
Def. Isaiah Fonoti (Kamehameha) 6-3

Akamine, who won the 140 crown last year, was business-like and precise, shooting at Fonoti's legs again and again.

“;It's one of the few times I've focused on one thing,”; the top seed said, using the advice of former Raiders wrestler Andy Chung, who faced Fonoti in the finals last year.

Fonoti was a runner-up for a second year in a row. Unseeded, he knocked off No. 3 Daeson Guillermo of Castle in the quarterfinals.

152 POUNDS
Holden Mowat, Lahainaluna
Def. Zachary Hernandez (Punahou), 5-2

Up 3-2 in the third period of a close match, Mowat, last year's runner-up, countered a head and arm move to get behind Hernandez for a reversal. The rest was mental.

“;Once I got on top, it kind of broke him a little bit,”; Mowat said. “;I could see he was kind of getting mad. I think it kept getting into his head after that and it got better for me.”;

Mowat, a senior, wanted to finish his prep career on top and spent the last summer at several wrestling camps to get better. He dislocated an elbow, but was able to heal in time for this season.

160 POUNDS
Raynald Cooper III, Pearl City
Def. Kameona Hokoana (Kamehameha) 8-6

Cooper's move from 152, where he won the state title last year, to 160 paid off with a second straight crown.

Hokoana, the No. 1 seed, was right there with the score 4-all before Cooper took the lead in the second period.

“;He was ready to battle. I used outside singles and doubles,”; Cooper said. “;I stayed on top and rode him.”;

It was sweet redemption for Cooper, who had an 8-1 lead on Hokoana during a preseason match at 'Iolani, but got pinned.

“;I learned not to do the cradle so much,”; he said. “;(Hokoana) is such a good technical wrestler.”;

171 POUNDS
Punahele Soriano, Kahuku
Def. Patrick Sheehan (Punahou), 5-3

The Kahuku senior came from behind and used a well-executed double leg for a takedown with 10 seconds left in regulation to defeat top-seeded Sheehan.

“;It was a tight match,”; Soriano said. “;I was behind the whole time and was able to get that double just in time. He was tough.”;

Second seed Punahele, a defensive back for the Kahuku football team, beat Dominic Munoz from Leilehua in the opening round and bested Sean Valentine from St. Louis in the quarterfinals. Soriano beat 'Iolani's Garret Chan in the semifinal round to punch his ticket into the finals.

189 POUNDS
Tyler Hayashi, Roosevelt
Def. Tyson Tynanes-Perez (Campbell), 5-3

Hayashi, the top seed, fought back to tie the match at 3-all in the third period, but Tynanes-Perez, the unseeded defending champion, came through with 24 seconds left.

“;I just double-legged him and drove him,”; he said.

The Sabers senior battled a shoulder injury during the season, and then lost weight after a bout with the flu. He wrestled at 183 yesterday.

“;This year, I had to overcome a lot more stuff. I had strong points and weak points, and my team would help me,”; he said, recalling runs up the hills of Makakilo. “;I lost power, but I gained conditioning. We ran more.”;

Tynanes-Perez and Hayashi split their four matches this season.

215 POUNDS
Marcus Finau, Damien
Def. Dane Pestano (Kamehameha) 8-3

Finau became Damien's first the first Damien wrestler to win a state championship when he bettered an upstart, unseeded Pestano.

Finau said he'd never faced his opponent before, but knew his opponent also fought judo and factored that into his game plan.

“;I knew he's a judo guy, so I kept my hips low, wouldn't let him throw me, and forced him to wrestle,”; Finau said. “;I'm glad I could win this for my school. It really feels amazing. I couldn't have done this without the help from all my coaches. They've helped me with everything. I'm a senior and it's both humbling and exciting.”;

285 POUNDS
Jheryl Makaiau, Kahuku
Def. Keith Chargulaf-Tuileapa (Farrington), 3-2 OT

The fifth matchup of the season was their closest.

“;I was going for an escape and he locked his hands,”; Makaiau said of the penalty against Chargulaf-Tuileapa that made the difference in the extra period.

Makaiau, the second seed, needed every bit of energy and wits to fend off Chargulaf-Tuileapa, who upset top-seeded Sani Fuimaono in the semifinals. Fuimaono, battling an elbow injury, saw his unbeaten string of matches over two seasons come to an end in the semifinal loss.

It may not have mattered for Makaiau, who took to a visual form of motivation.

“;I wake up every morning and look at a picture on the wall of Keith and Sani,”; Makaiau said of his friendly rivals. “;I pushed myself hard every day. Coach (Reggie Torres) always says to outwork the competition. Just work hard.”;

Capsules compiled by Paul Honda, Chuck Cordill and Chance Gusukuma