Kamehameha seniors secure futures

Kamehameha held a national letter of intent signing day on Friday for Kobi Candaroma, Kekaulike Alameda, Kaiulani Ahuna and Emmett Enriques that was both memorable and meaningful.

The common thread that connected the four seniors was their hard work, both on and off the field, their passion for their respective sport, and their determination to land a college scholarship.

It was the first time Kamehameha held a scholarship signing inside the school’s aesthetic library, as opposed to a conference room, and invited family and friends for the ceremony and a light luncheon.

After brief acknowledgments, each Warrior signed: Candaroma to play baseball at the University of Hawaii, Alameda with Barton College for volleyball, Ahuna with Eastern Washington for volleyball, and Enriques with Cal Baptist for volleyball.

Candaroma, a 5-foot-9 ½-inch center fielder, has a 3.0 grade-point average and plans to major in fire science at UH, where he’ll have an opportunity to start in 2016 as a freshman with the graduation of Kaeo Aliviado.

Among Candaroma’s supporters were Kaha Wong and sons Kolten and Kean Wong. Candaroma has been a long-time student at Kaha Wong’s hitting school, and is the latest in the pipeline to UH.

Kolten Wong played three years for the Rainbow Warriors, and 2013 Hilo High graduate and redshirt freshman Chayce Kaaua is expected to start at catcher when the season kicks off in February.

Also on the UH roster are sophomore pitcher Quintin Torres-Costa (Waiakea, 2012), who went 3-3 with a 7.17 ERA in 21 1/3 innings last season, and redshirt freshman infielder JJ Kitaoka (Konawaena, 2013).

Alameda, a 5-7 libero, has a 2.7 GPA and plans to major in psychology and hopes to become a psychologist like his dad, Kimo Alameda.

Barton College is a Division II school in Wilson, N.C., about 40 miles from the University of Mount Olive where Ryan Thomas (Kamehameha, 2012) is a junior libero. Both are in the same league, Conference Carolinas.

Ahuna has a 3.6 GPA and plans to major in exercise science and hopes to become a physical therapist.

She is a Division I rarity, signing as a 5-8 ½-inch outside hitter. Most Division I outside hitters are 5-10 or much taller. However, she compensates with a vertical of 31 ½ inches, built with Brandon Kotake’s help.

The Eagles are in the Big Sky Conference, and on the roster there will be one Hawaii player in Ashlee Vaoifi, a libero from Oahu’s Mililani High.

Enriques, a 6-1 outside hitter, has a 3.7 GPA and plans to major in business administration.

The Lancers are a Division II school, but men’s volleyball plays in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, the most competitive conference in Division I.

MPSF conference foes include UH and Stanford, where his brother Evan Enriques (Kamehameha, 2014) is a libero/outside hitter. When Emmett is a freshman in 2016, Cal Baptist will play at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Hit parade

Candaroma is a left-handed pitcher, but it’s his right-handed batting stroke that caught UH coach Mike Trapasso’s attention at the recent Fall Showcase at Les Murakami Stadium.

Against a Maui team, Candaroma batted 3 for 4 with a single, double and triple.

“The key was my enthusiasm,” he said. “Going the extra mile and getting the recognition that you want. Coach Kaha influenced me a lot, but not just him, Kolten and Kean, too. I look up to them, just like the young ones and the older guys like me.

“The best thing is I get to play for Hawaii. No matter where you go on the mainland (against other teams), you’ll have Hawaii on your jersey. You’ll never forget where you’re from.”

41 vs. 26

Alameda’s sister Angel (Hilo, 2014) had a spectacular freshman year at Eastern Arizona, where she made all-conference honorable mention, and led the league in dig average (5.34 per set) and total digs (577).

In one match, Angel tallied a career-high 41 digs. She let her younger brother know about it, too. Kekaulike’s career-high is 26 digs at the Hawaii High Athletic Association Division I state title match against Punahou in a four-set loss last season.

“We’re competitive,” he said. “She rubbed it in my face. I always want to beat her. I want to get 67 digs, not 42. I want to destroy her.”

Alameda served as his own recruiting coordinator. He contacted the Bulldogs, and sent them video.

“The best thing is I get to go to college, and my parents don’t have to pay,” he said. “I like the cold weather and I get to go to a new place, meet difference people, and have fun on the mainland.”

Own way

The decision to play for the Lancers was an easy one for Enriques, who looks forward to the tough competition.

Maybe ever better, he gets the chance to step out of his big brother’s shadow. Emmett will be Kamehameha’s top gun for his senior season, and he’ll have an opportunity to battle his brother in college.

“The MPSF is the best league and that was my No. 1 reason to play for Cal Baptist,” he said. “It’s close to Hawaii and on the West Coast, and I get to play against my brother.”

What makes a college scholarship so meaningful is that it is something earned, especially in men’s volleyball where there are only 4.5 scholarships for Division I or II. For women, it’s 12 and eight full-rides, respectively.

“I don’t have to worry about my parents paying for college or getting a job up there,” Enriques said. “The good thing is I know I earned it.”

Ahuna ohana

When Kaiulani Ahuna was 8 years old, her dad Kuulei passed away from cancer in April 2005. Kuulei was 51 years old and despite his absence he was always a motivation in his daughter’s life.

Leslie Ahuna was never alone in raising their daughters, Kaiu and Mailani. That Oprah Winfrey quote, “It takes a village to raise a child,” applied to Kaiu and her older sister. The Ahuna ohana was always there.

It was both memorable and meaningful that the Ahuna ohana was present to celebrate Kaiu’s dream-come-true day. They were all emotional, especially Leslie, who’s a speech and drama teacher at the middle school.

“The Ahuna family all came together and raised her, and helped support her,” Leslie said. “This is huge. She’s always been encouraged to follow her passion because in the end you can feel complete. The takeaway is that she created a path to follow her passion.

“She worked and called coaches at 4 a.m. to have face-to-face talks. She built her own website (kaiulaniahunavb.com) to maintain contact. A lot of people had a piece in helping her, coaches Sam Thomas, Kyle Kaaa, Guy Enriques and Chris Leonard. She’s lucky and blessed to have so many wonderful people in her life.”

When asked the best part about signing a national letter of intent, Kaiulani Ahuna jumped to the heavens to hug her dad, and pounded home the theme of the day.

“My mom. She has worked so hard for so many years,” Kaiu said. “For school, she doesn’t have to worry about me.”