VOLCANO – Kamehameha senior Preston Ching would relish a shot to win his first BIIF golf championship, and he wouldn’t mind if a few teammates provided him with stiff competition.
VOLCANO – Kamehameha senior Preston Ching would relish a shot to win his first BIIF golf championship, and he wouldn’t mind if a few teammates provided him with stiff competition.
Nainoa Calip was the only Warrior to capture a BIIF title. In fact, he snagged three of them from 2008 to ’10.
Through the years, Kamehameha’s quest for its first BIIF team crown has mostly been thwarted by Waiakea, which had a pair of nine-year runs interrupted in 2003 and 2013, both by Hilo.
But maybe after so many seasons of chasing an elusive team carrot, Kamehameha finally has something Waiakea doesn’t: quality depth.
On Wednesday, Waiakea junior Shon Katahira tore up Volcano Golf Course with a 4-under-par 68 to take medalist honors. But Kamehameha junior Kala’i Pomroy was not far behind with a 71, and a few teammates were in the scoring neighborhood.
Kamehameha freshman Pono Yanagi was third with a 74, Ching was tied for fourth at 76 and junior John Andrade was sixth with a 78, securing the team title with a 299 total, ahead of Waiakea’s 317.
“This 2016 group sets a wonderful example for our middle school golfers, and the freshmen who are in our development program,” Kamehameha coach Bob Roman said. “This easily coached group focuses on team play, and that is demonstrated during our practices. Hopefully, this positive attitude and togetherness will continue throughout the challenging BIIF season ahead.”
The Warriors graduated one starter in Ahren Ah Chong, but gained promising youth in Yanagi, an accomplished junior golfer, and added scoring punch when Andrade dropped basketball to concentrate on golf.
“We’re definitely not as deep as previous years,” Waiakea coach Alika Toledo said. “We’ve got a good 1-2 (Katahira and Trevor Hirata or vice versa). But our 3, 4, 5 spots are definitely up for grabs. We’ve got 17 boys, but the 3, 4, 5 spots could go to any of the 15.
“We definitely don’t have the pure, meaning the better players. The first three meets will say a lot, and today was a big measuring stick.”
For the boys, there are five starters with the top four scores counting. For the girls, it’s four and three.
Hirata, the two-time defending BIIF champion, carded a 76 and tied for fourth. He and his putter didn’t get along, leading to a high score for him.
Still, Kamehameha beat Waiakea by 18 strokes.
For history’s sake, Kamehameha defeated Waiakea, 330-341, last year in the BIIF season-opener. And Waiakea still repeated as the BIIF team champion.
However, both are much different teams in contrasting fashion. Waiakea graduated two starters and Kamehameha has maybe four guys who could challenge for the BIIF individual title.
The BIIF team championship is earned by the most matches won. Kamehameha grabbed the first one. And that’s a very good start as well as a big 18-stroke statement.
All of Roman’s Warriors are sharpening themselves, and Ching can only smile at that.
“This year we’ve got a much deeper team,” said Ching, who signed to play golf with UH-Hilo. “Since John dropped basketball, I’ve seen his game get fine-tuned. His swing is smooth and pure, and he makes great decisions — something I need to work on. I feel he’ll be in the running for the BIIF title.”
Pomroy was in the group with Katahira, who led the field but couldn’t carry his team by himself and even with his partner Hirata’s help.
“I played with Shon, and it’s always a challenge to keep up with him,” Pomroy said. “We’re looking pretty good as a team. We’ve been practicing together consistently and motivating each other.”
As the senior leader, Ching can nod in approval.
“It’ll be so exciting,” he said. “It’s evenly matched. Whoever plays the best will win.”
Ching was talking about the race for the BIIF individual championship, but he might as well have been pointing out Kamehameha’s shot for a historic team title, too.