In a sense, the BIIF wrestling season consists of a series of meets that masquerade as exhibitions, with all roads leading to the league championships, the only matches that matter.
In a sense, the BIIF wrestling season consists of a series of meets that masquerade as exhibitions, with all roads leading to the league championships, the only matches that matter.
No worries, take it easy.
However, as compact as the season is – the first of five meets is Saturday at Kealakehe, BIIFs are Feb. 11 and states have been moved up and are a week later – there is a sense that every match matters.
It’s now or never, so you better get going.
“The season happens quick, and by the time you figure out what you need to do, it’s over,” Kamehameha boys coach Brendan Courtot said. “Five weeks is fast, especially for the kids. If they get that bug, if they realize this is a sport they want to prioritize, it’s too late to really change that much and make many adjustments.”
Save for a junior varsity tournament at Kealakehe, wrestlers had to travel to Oahu or Maui for preseason tournaments. Outside of those tuneups, some of the best on-island competition so far figures to have come at Kamehameha and Kealakehe practices.
Past performance may not be indicative of future results, but don’t be surprised if the defending champions, the Warriors’ boys and Waveriders’ girls, look ahead of the pack Saturday at the Waveriders’ gym.
Each squad boasts quality, five returning individual champions apiece, along with quantity, a prerequisite to compete for the team title.
Last season, Kealakehe coach Ivan Louis added a girls team title to the boys crown he won in 2015, and he has the luxury of being able to come close to filling all 14 weight classes on both sides.
“We’ve got a solid base, with a lot of room to grow,” Louis said. “We’ve got potential and (six) weeks to get there.”
BIIF champions Charlotte Taylor (112) and Roxie Umu (225) finished fourth at the 2016 HHSAA tournament and return for Kealakehe along with league title-holders Isabelle Tayo (117), Berri Lagmay (122) and Gionne Aniban-Morse (132).
The most decorated wrestler on the girls side is Kamehameha’s Kayla Araki, who added to her resume in December by winning the 168-pound division at the Pa’ani Challenge at Punahou, going up in weight class to beat Keaau’s Ivory Ayers in the final. Ayers and Araki are the only wrestlers this season who own multiple BIIF titles, and they probably won’t meet again.
Third at the HHSAA tournament last season at 145, Araki figures to have the best chance at ending the league’s three-year gold drought at the states.
“Right now, she is looking at wrestling at 155,” Kamehameha coach Keith Laeha said. “The biggest challenge for (Big Island) wrestlers is we’re not going to get in as many matches as they do on Oahu or Maui.
While Kamehameha’s girls are chasing Kealakehe, the opposite is true on the boys side.
The Warriors had to give away three of four divisions last season in winning their first title, Courtot said, but this season they could fill 13. Their returning champions are Ka‘au Estrella (132), Talan Nakamura (138), Manu Wengler (152), Brendan Figueroa (160) and Ethanjames Ramos (195), and Joseph Hooper and Kekoa Pires (third at 182 last season) add to the list of Kamehameha’s contenders.
“We have a bunch of kids that are ready and willing, and the expectation is that they can go undefeated, but we really need a challenge from our island,” Courtot said. “The season isn’t long, but it’s enough that we know what every one on the island is capable of.”