Both Punahou and Kahuku found themselves somewhat short-handed entering the final day of the state girls wrestling championships.

When the final tally came in, Punahou had scraped together just enough points to fend off the Red Raiders and retain the state title.

The Buffanblu, with empty slots in four weight classes entering the tournament, won three individual championships yesterday to capture their second straight title at the Chevron/HHSAA State Girls Wrestling Championships at Blaisdell Arena.

With the competition pushed back a day by Saturday's statewide tsunami scare, Punahou began the morning 17 points behind Kahuku, but the Buffanblu had vaulted into the lead by midday.

Sisters Chrissy and Mindy Chow and Kaimana Lundquist captured their division titles, two by pins, as the Buffanblu racked up 146.5 points.

Kahuku had one individual title and won six of its seven matches, five by pins, in the final rounds. But the Red Raiders' work in the consolation bracket left them just short of the Buffanblu with 144 points

“;We didn't have the number of girls that they did, so every one of them had to step up,”; Punahou co-coach Jim Takatsuka said. “;They took care of business, they handled the pressure well and they stepped it up.”;

Punahou began the tournament with eight wrestlers entered, compared to 10 for Kahuku and 11 each for third-place Kamehameha (116.5 points) and Pearl City (112.5).

Six reached the semifinals and five got into the finals.

“;Our coach was telling us in order to win the team title we had to wrestle hard in the first round,”; Mindy Chow said.

Saturday's postponement cost Kahuku's Amber Ah Sue, the top seed in the 155-pound class, a shot at a title and potential points for the Red Raiders. Ah Sue, a member of the Mormon church, elected not to compete on a Sunday.

The Red Raiders lost five of their six semifinal matches, but battled back in the consolation rounds to threaten Punahou's reign. Anela Santiago gave Kahuku its lone individual title with a pin in her 140 final.

“;We had a tough first round today and we battled back in the second and third round,”; Kahuku coach Reggie Torres said. “;It put us in a position to win, but Punahou has a great program and they pulled it out and it was a great battle. ... We felt we had the numbers in the back. They did what they could and I'm proud of them.”;

Chrissy Chow said some of the Buffanblu girls got together for a workout to keep sharp on Saturday, and Punahou's strong showing yesterday morning gave the Buffanblu a 128.5-120 edge over Kahuku entering the finals.

Punahou lost two finals early on, but turned the momentum with Chrissy Chow's dramatic victory over Pearl City's Kelly Ancheta in the 125 final, a battle of past state champions.

“;(The team title) means so much because we knew were missing some weight classes so we knew we all had to push it going into the finals,”; said Chow, the 114-pound champion in 2008.

Chow then watched Mindy, a sophomore, capture her first state title with a pin of Kalani's Morgan Yamaguchi with 33 seconds left in the 130-pound final.

“;I knew we needed a pin for the team title, so when I got (the takedown) was thinking to myself, 'I am not letting this go.' “;

Lundquist's pin against Waiakea's Tracy Poch in the 155 final gave Punahou just enough breathing room.

“;We knew we had a job to do and as long as we did our job and got our pins we could do it,”; Lundquist said.

98 POUNDS
Megan Aina (Kamehameha-Hawaii)
Def. Erin Uehara (Punahou) 3-2

The rousing finish may have been just the beginning for the fourth-seeded Aina.

The sophomore pinned Meghan Chun late in her semifinal and was locked in the scoreless duel deep into the final against the second-seeded Uehara.

Aina scored with an escape and added a takedown to take a 3-0 lead. She then held off Uehara, who scored two points in the final seconds, but her comeback ran out of time.

“;I was trying to take a shot,”; said Aina. “; At the end I was surprised.”;

Aina took advantage of a bracket that became wide open when top seed Allene Somera of Kailua lost to Chun in the quarterfinals.

103 POUNDS
Macy Yonamine, Kamehameha
Def. Quinn Nagatani (Pacific Buddhist Academy) 15-0

Yonamine captured her second straight state title with an overwhelming victory.

She won the state title in the 108-pound division last year. Yonamine also has a state title in judo in the 103-pound weight class.

After wrestling evenly with Nagatani in the first two periods, Yonamine dominated the third by compiling 10 points. She had Nagatani twisted up like a pretzel throughout that final round as she took over with aggressive wrestling.

“;I've wrestled her before and won. But I didn't take anything for granted. Everyone gets better every time we've wrestled. In the last round I gave it everything I had…This is a proud moment for me, knowing I probably had the best season I could have hoped for,”; Yonamine said.

108 POUNDS
Bree Rapoza, Kamehameha
Def. Nicole Taniguchi (Punahou) by fall

The Warriors freshman pounced on Taniguchi from the start, hauling her to the mat 10 seconds into the match with a double-leg takedown.

Rapoza locked her Buffanblu opponent up high with a double chicken wing to score three near-fall points, but Taniguchi struggled to keep her hips up and fought her off.

“;I had to keep scooting toward her hips and move my head upwards so her head would come down and her shoulders would go down,”; said Rapoza, who doggedly drove Taniguchi's shoulders into the mat until a pin was awarded with 30 seconds left in the second period.

114 POUNDS
Megan Yamaguchi, Kalani
Def. Marisa Fukunaga (Roosevelt) 4-3

After two runner-up finishes, Yamaguchi enjoyed the view from the podium's top step.

Trailing 3-1 with less than a minute left, Yamaguchi picked up a point when Fukunaga was called for stalling. It looked like Fukunaga would hold on for the title, but Yamaguchi scored a 2-point reversal with 6 seconds left to pull out the victory.

“;It was really unexpected,”; said Yamaguchi, the runner-up at 120 last year.

“;She has great defense and she's really hard to score points on, if any at all. I was really shocked. I had to look up at the score a few more times to realize what happened.”;

120 POUNDS
Joy Yamashita, Aiea
Def. Kari Watase ('Iolani) by pin

Yamashita won her second state title with a reverse half nelson.

“;I really wanted this title. I trained very hard all season long for a chance to win at states again…I think my experience helped me get this win because I knew what I needed to do in order to win. Go out there and attack,”; Yamashita said.

The senior managed to jump in front early, securing a four-point advantage going into the final period. Yamashita then displayed an assertive style of wrestling that completely confused Watase.

“;I just used my power to wear her down. I knew that if I kept pressing her that she would give up,”; Yamashita said.

Yamashita pinned each of her three opponents in the tournament.

125 POUNDS
Chrissy Chow, Punahou
Def. Kelly Ancheta (Pearl City), 6-5

Chow managed a two-point reversal just before time expired to pull out the win in a much-anticipated rematch of past state champions.

Ancheta won the 114-pound title after beating Chow by one point in last year's semifinals and had the Punahou junior on the ropes after whirling around her for a reverse and a 5-3 lead late in the rugged chess match.

Ancheta was penalized one point for stalling but appeared to be on her way to holding off Chow for the second straight year with less than 10 seconds left.

“;I was freaking out a little, but then I thought, 'You know what? I can do it,”; Chow said following the match. “;This is what we practice for, this is what we train for.”;

The Buffanblu junior, who won the state title at 114 two years ago, stood up and wrangled Ancheta down to the mat to pull off the win.

130 POUNDS
Mindy Chow, Punahou
Def. Morgan Yamaguchi (Kalani), by pin

After seeing her sister pull out a dramatic final, Chow endured some drama of her own.

“;That was nerve-wracking,”; Mindy Chow said of watching Chrissy's match, which preceded hers on the same mat. “;It was definitely motivating.”;

Chow went into the final minute of her match clinging to a 2-1 lead in a battle of sophomores. She then took Yamaguchi—who was also trying to match her sister's title—to the mat and pinned her with 33 seconds left, securing the title and precious points in the team standings.

140 POUNDS
Anela Santiago, Kahuku
Def. Makanalani Hussey (Lahainaluna) by pin

The junior wasted little time in securing the win, using a chicken wing to pin Hussey. At the sound of the whistle, Santiago quickly went to work and took down Hussey.

Santiago then applied a series of moves that kept Hussey struggling on her back. Eventually Santiago attached the chicken wing, forcing Hussey's shoulders to the mat.

“;I feel really great about winning,”; Santiago said. “;Wrestling is something that just comes natural for me. It's a lot of hard work, but also it's fun.”;

155 POUNDS
Kaimana Lundquist, Punahou
Def. Tracy Poch (Waiakea) by pin

The Punahou sophomore pinned Poch after the Warrior unsuccessfully tried a reversal.

The unseeded Poch rolled to her back, and Lundquist capitalized, digging in with a half nelson to score a pin with 44 seconds left in the match.

“;I didn't even realize it at first, and then I was on top of her,”; said Lundquist. “;I'm like, 'I gotta hold this!'”;

The win, along with the girls team title, meant a lot to Lundquist, who finished fifth in the 175-pound weight division last year.

“;I always wanted a state title in wrestling, so I just wanted to work my hardest and show everyone I deserved something like this,”; said an emotional Lundquist after her match.

On Saturday, Lundquist had to shake off the big letdown she felt after being told that the tsunami watch would push back the tournament finals by one day.

“;(Yesterday) was the worst morning I ever had,”; said Lundquist. “;I was so ready.”;

175 POUNDS
Mei Ling Keiki, Pearl City
Def. Chabrielle Gushi (Campbell), by pin

Keiki upset top seed Gina Bella Mataafa of Lahainaluna in the semifinals, then rallied in the final period to cap her season-long duel with Gushi.

After losing to Gushi in the OIA championships, Keiki fell behind early as Gushi scored with takedowns in the first two periods to take a 5-2 lead into the third.

Keiki chipped away, eventually tying the match 7-7 with 45 seconds left when Gushi was penalized for stalling. Keiki then executed a double-leg takedown and pinned Gushi with 28 seconds left.

“;I just told myself, 'This is my last year; go out with a bang,'”; Keiki said. “;I didn't really expect a pin, so it shocked me.”;

220 POUNDS
Sanoe Spencer, Pearl City
Def. Brayanne Moe (Radford) 3-2, 2OT

Spencer was able to hold onto Moe for the complete second overtime period to garner the victory over her cousin.

The match was tied 2-2 at the end of regulation. The difference was the strength of Spencer in keeping Moe enclosed in a hold for the last overtime period.

“;That match that I wrestled I just left everything out there. I feel I deserved this win because I've dedicated myself all season long to winning. And I think that was the real reason why I won,”; Spencer said.