There were title repeats and a couple of revenge matches to highlight the day at the Big Island Interscholastic Federation judo individual championships, where long journeys are rewarded in gold.
There were title repeats and a couple of revenge matches to highlight the day at the Big Island Interscholastic Federation judo individual championships, where long journeys are rewarded in gold.
It was much different atmosphere on Saturday at the Waiakea gym than a year ago when upsets stole center stage with five No. 1 seeds going down.
Hilo senior Shaylyn Arakaki set the tone early. She defeated teammate Keana Mateo-Ignacio by ippon to win her third consecutive BIIF gold at 98 pounds.
Arakaki has only finished first. She also won two BIIF wrestling titles at 97 pounds. She’s 5 of 5 in BIIF judo-wrestling gold.
“I never thought I’d win three times in a row,” Arakaki said. “I did what I’ve been doing all year in practice, going for throws. It was weird going against a teammate. I’ve never gone against a teammate in a match before.”
Hilo senior Lahi Kanakanui sat out with an ACL injury. She won three titles at 139 pounds. She also wrestled and finished 6 of 7 in BIIF judo-wrestling gold.
Two other dual-mat Vikings repeated — junior Katie Funai at 115 pounds, but up from 109 pounds, and sophomore Marissa Guerra at 122.
Their gold outshines the medals of a different color won at the BIIF wrestling championships. Funai got silver and Guerra took home bronze.
“I’m really proud of myself for working hard every day and waiting for this chance,” Guerra said. “I’m appreciative of my opponents for giving me hard rubs.”
Waiakea trio
Like Hilo, the Warriors had three gold medalists: seniors Shai-Anne Kaneshiro-Cordero at 109 and Skye Matsuura at 129, and junior Kealani Bergfeld at 172.
Each has a different story. Kaneshiro-Cordero didn’t make BIIFs last year, Matsuura got silver, and Bergfeld, who started in club judo at 6 years old, sat out as a transfer from Christian Liberty.
“I’m happy and worked hard for it,” Kaneshiro-Cordero said. “I had a big improvement. It was going to every practice and practicing as hard as I can.”
Keaau trio
The Cougars also had three champions: rookie sisters Ivory Ayers, a freshman, at 154 pounds and Ebony Ayers, a sophomore, at 220, and Cherish Harris at 139.
If you guessed that the Ayers sisters were named for the Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney hit single, “Ebony and Ivory,” give yourself a pat on the back.
“My parents really liked the song,” said Ivory, a compassionate champ. “It feels great to win, but I always feel bad for my opponent.”
For the past two years, Harris, a junior, competed in the 154 class. She lost to Kamehameha’s Welina Tong (now wrestling at Midland University in Nebraska) last year at BIIFs. As a freshman, Harris was fourth.
“I played at 154 pounds, but when I weighed in I was 140 pounds. I decided to drop down,” Harris said. “It took mostly hard work and determination. I pushed in practice. If you do that, good things will happen and I went out and got it.”
Konawaena junior Aaliyah Ching captured her first hard-earned BIIF gold at 103 pounds. At the BIIF wrestling championships, she got gold but had no competition.
Revenge time
A year ago, Waiakea senior Alan Ikehara and junior Dayton Towata lost as top seeds. A year later, both Warriors toppled their rivals, ending their history in the league.
At 132 pounds, Towata beat Konawaena senior Shon Inouye, and Ikehara completed the revenge rematch sweep when he defeated Hilo senior Kevin Rapoza.
Waiakea senior Kayed Rodrigues won his match by disqualification against Keaau senior Haaheo Chan, who was penalized when he touched Rodrigues’ leg during a throw.
Rodrigues is 6 of 8 in BIIF judo-wrestling gold, getting two bronze as a freshman. He’s become known for his work ethic, but if he could travel back in time he would kick his younger self in the pants.
“I wish I had pushed myself to train harder back then,” he said. “But I really wanted to win, and I worked hard.”
Warrior day
Waiakea batted 6 of 9 in winning the weight divisions. There were no competitors in the 114-pound weight class.
Adam Onishi repeated at 108 pounds. It was age over youth. The senior defeated his freshman teammate Kilar Fujimoto.
“For the past three years, I didn’t have anybody in my weight division at practice,” Onishi said. “It pushed me to do my best and it made for a good final.”
Kellen Goya, a sophomore, also repeated. He took out Hilo’s Julian Tongpalan. Goya is a judo veteran, starting at 5 years old in the Shudokan Club.
“It feels great to win a championship, but it feels even better to defend it,” Goya said.
Akeno Matsutani, a senior, won at 145 pounds.
Other guys
Hilo senior Austin Nakamura repeated at 178 pounds. A year ago, he produced the biggest upset as the No. 5 seed taking down No. 2 seed and teammate Kenneth Kitahara.
Nakamura missed BIIFs as a freshman and sophomore with a concussion and ACL injury, respectively.
Keaau senior Zephaniah Pavao repeated at heavyweight. It’s his third gold; he got silver as a sophomore.
He’s another dual-sport mat standout. Pavao improved every year at wrestling. He was fourth as a freshman, pocketed bronze as a sophomore, silver as a junior and gold as a senior.
His teammate Dennis Oandasan also improved. The Cougar senior was second last year, and enjoyed his brighter medal.
“It feels really good to get a different colored medal,” Oandasan said. “It feels like I’ve achieved something.”