KAILUA-KONA – Schools from around the Big Island converged on Kealakehe for the first BIIF wrestling meet of the season on Saturday. While most schools did not have their full squads at the opening meet, the local coaches were able get a sneak peak at what they have this year and several early storylines emerged.
KAILUA-KONA – Schools from around the Big Island converged on Kealakehe for the first BIIF wrestling meet of the season on Saturday. While most schools did not have their full squads at the opening meet, the local coaches were able get a sneak peak at what they have this year and several early storylines emerged.
The most notable is the large female division in the BIIF. Hawaii Preparatory Academy’s dominance in the girls division last year prompted many coaches to scout within their school for more talent and the fruits of their labor look promising early on.
Kealakehe coach Ivan Louis, who has a daughter wrestling at Oklahoma City University, also believes the rise in female wrestlers is because of the growth of the sport at the collegiate level.
“There is a lot of expansion right now and a lot of opportunities for girls to go to college,” Louis said. “Maybe these girls don’t fit into other sports, but wrestling could be it for them.”
Kealakehe is returning a promising overall squad in 2016, led by boys standout Pulama Louis, who won the BIIF championship last year and finished fifth at states. He went 3-0 at the Kealakehe meet on Saturday. Pulama Louis is wrestling at 182 this year.
Keoni Miles is also challenging for that 182 slot for the Waveriders and Ivan Louis sees a wrestle-off in the future to determine who will compete at the weight class.
At light weight, Kealakehe freshman Kobby Faldones showed some promise at 106.
“He is a little firecracker,” Ivan Louis said. “Here at Kealakehe we rarely have someone at 106.”
Going along with the sport growing trend, another storyline is coming out of Konawaena. Coach Patrick Kim has helped the Wildcats quickly build a squad of 10 female wrestlers and 28 male grapplers in his first year as head coach. Last year Konawaena had a team of only six wrestlers, three of which competed at the BIIF championships.
Kim contributes the sudden rise with working at the middle school level for two years as a vice principal.
“I just happen to be on campus more often because I am a Department of Education employee, which allows me to do some recruiting on campus,” Kim said. “In the past, I believe the coaches had a difficult time because of work schedules.”
This year’s Wildcat squad is led by captains Haili Kapela and Wailana Medeiros. Medeiros, the girls captain, went 2-1 in the 155 weight class at the meet on Saturday while Kapela, the boys captain, went 3-0 at 160.
“Kapela is the best raw athlete we have,” Kim said. “He has a high ceiling and is only a sophomore so we will be relying on him for the next three years. He can be a champion someday.
Kapoina Bailey, wrestling in the girls division at 168, is also a promising talent, going 3-0 at Kealakehe.
“She is a rugby player and that translates well into wrestling,” Kim said. “She is carving out a name for herself as a freshman.”
Nick Hiromasa also went 3-0, wrestling at 138 and freshman Joey Delos Santos, wrestling at 120, had possibly the match of the night against Waiakea’s Josh Bramwell-Butcher.
Both wrestlers were tied going into the final six seconds. After a time stoppage, Bramwell-Butcher managed to get a takedown at the three second mark to pull out a two-point victory.
“Joey has a lot of heart and is working to get into shape as far as stamina and conditioning,” Kim said. “He is a first year wrestler and this was a huge lesson for him to learn, and it is one we are proud about and we are happy with the result.”
While Konawaena is bringing a young team into the year, one school that is getting several starters back from last year is Hawaii Prep. Ka Makani already had a solid female squad from last year and they return six of eight girls. Coach Hamilton Ford also noticed the sudden rise in female grapplers in the first meet of the year.
“I think other teams are realizing you have to have the numbers if you want the championship,” Ford said. “There are not a whole lot of states in the country that have a girls league and the more we can grow the sport the better it is for the current kids and the future.”
The Hawaii Prep girls will be led by three-time BIIF champion and two-time state placer Loke Ching.
“I think she will continue to do well and we have a couple of seniors that are showing some promise as well,” Ford said.
Overall Ford was pleased with what he saw on Saturday and was happy to get out of Kealakehe with no serious injuries.
“I think the meet went pretty well, coming off the winter holidays,” Ford said. “We have a lot of international boarders who disappear for a couple of weeks so next week will probably be a little more indicative of what we have. We are getting in some good matches and that is the focus right now.”