Tribune-Herald
Tribune-Herald
Andrew Paisley and Ciera Min were both playing as part of threesomes, but they were so far out in front, they really only had to worry about themselves.
What had worked so well for two rounds, carried over to a third.
Neither senior golfer decided to dabble much with drama Thursday as they eased to wire-to-wire victories at the Big Island Interscholastic Federation championships.
The day at Mauna Kea Golf Club was especially sweet for Hawaii Prep’s Paisley, who claimed his first title after three runner-up finishes.
“It hasn’t really sunk in yet,” said Paisley, who carded an 80 to take home an 11-stroke victory.
He said the greens at Mauna Kea made the scoring conditions the toughest of the tournament, but Paisley increased his already sizeable 10-shot lead by two strokes on the front nine.
Still, considering his close calls the past few years, he didn’t allow himself to start soaking in the victory until the 17th hole.
“This ranks pretty high,” he said. “After the past couple of years, this feels nice. A lot of people have been saying, “Good job.”’
He finished at 219, 11 strokes better than Hilo Davin Yagi (81). Kealakehe’s Steve Kim (84) was another three shots back.
The girls competition was even more of a race for second.
Min graded her 77 as a “C.”
“Me, personally, I thought my score was OK,” she said. “I struggled with a little bit of everything.”
But she hardly needed the A-game she brought during the first two rounds to repeat as champion.
“This is really important to me because BIIFs is a big deal,” Min said. “Anything can happen in golf. You really just have to focus on yourself.”
In doing so, she doubled a 12-stroke lead into a 24-shot victory, finishing at 222. By the middle of her round, Min was able to enjoy the battle for runner-up between her Waiakea teammates, Andi Igawa (87) and Shaina Mizusawa (90). Igawa finished second by a stroke.
“They started playing well during in the middle (rounds),” Min said. “That was fun.”
The top performers received medals.
Hilo’s Amanda Loeffler and Kamehameha’s Shantel Antonio were fourth and fifth on the girls side, while Parker’s Max Elster and Waiakea’s Trevor Hirata rounded out the boys top five.
Elster and Kamehameha’s Cody Pereira eached carded 77s for the best boys rounds of the day.
The Hawaii High School Athletic Association tournaments will be held at Kaanapali Resort on Maui. The girls tee off April 30-May 1, while the boys play May 7-8.
Final round Thursday at Mauna Kea Golf Club
Girls
Ciera Min, Waiakea 69-76-77—222
Andi Igawa, Waiakea 76-83-87—246
Shaina Mizusawa, Waiakea 74-83-90—247
Amanda Loeffler, Hilo 90-92-94—276
Shantel Antonio, Kamehameha 91-96-94—281
Annie Sadamoto, Hilo 106-107-118—331
Healani Kaaihili, Kamehameha 113-112-119—344
Kelsy Nishimura, Hilo 102-115-131—348
Boys
Andrew Paisley, Hawaii Prep 67-72-80—219
Davin Yagi, Hilo 75-74-81—230
Steve Kim, Kealakehe 73-76-84—233
Max Elster, Parker 85-86-77—248
Trevor Hirata, Waiakea 78-89-84—251
Cody Pereira, Kamehameha 89-86-77—252
Evan Kasberg, Parker 85-80-87—252
Casey Nakatsu, Hilo 83-87-83—253
Pono Ng, Makua Lani 80-85-89—254
Hoeueu Greenwell, Konawaena 77-85-94—256
Preston Ching, Kamehameha 78-88-92—258
Luigi Balbo, Hawaii Prep 84-86-92—262
Liam Tsue, Hilo 77-90-97—264
Luigi Remo, Kealakehe 87-85-95—267
Josiah Lerback, Konawaena 92-83-98—273