Doubling up in state gold, Ayers goes where no Cougars athlete has before

When Ivory Ayers captured state wrestling gold in February, the Tribune-Herald erroneously reported she was the first Keaau High athlete to win an HHSAA championship.

The article proclaimed the Keaau curse finally was over.

Wrong – and five times over at that.

Actually, those curse-breaking honors were shared by Joshua Enos and John Darby, who won gold medals at the 2004 state track and field championships in the 1,500 meters and long jump, respectively, for the Cougars. Then in 2012, Cliff Eriksson was state champion in the high jump and Alexander Engdahl was state champion in the 300 hurdles. In 2014, Keaau’s Zephaniah Pavao claimed a state championship in judo.

While Ayers may not be the pioneer of Cougars athletics, with due respect to all of the above, it can now be stated, with certainty this time, that she is, in fact, the most decorated athlete Keaau High has produced since the school opened its doors in 2000.

The senior, already a seven-time BIIF champion on the mat, secured that title Saturday when she added state judo gold to her resume, reeling off four victories by ippon at Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu.

“It means a lot to me,” she said of becoming a two-time state champion. “It’s not really the status of it, it’s more knowing that if I focus and work hard enough on something, I’m able to achieve my goal.”

Ayers, the top seed, said she entered the tournament with a gut feeling she might win, which isn’t to say she didn’t battle nerves. In the 172-pound final, she faced a familiar foe in Kamehameha-Kapalama’s Mana Borden, a judoka who beat Ayers with an ippon throw in the 2015 semifinals.

“I did have times where I doubted myself,” Ayers said. “Then I remembered what Coach Keith (Fernandez) used to tell us during wrestling season. He used to say that being on the mat was only half the sport, the other half was a mind game. So I just kind of rolled with it.”

This time, after settling for bronze in 2015 and silver last season, Ayers rolled Borden, throwing the ILH champion and second seed just more than a minute in the match.

“The part that stood out to me most was standing in the shoot before my final match and looking at my senseis, and I noticed they were so happy already,” Ayers said. “So I knew it would be OK if I lost. But I wanted to win, not only for myself, but for them, too.”

Waiakea’s Kilar Fujimoto and Samantha Yamamoto also advanced to championship matches, but just like on the wrestling mat in February at Blaisdell Center in Honolulu, Ayers carried the banner for the Big Island as its only state champion.

She needed just eight seconds to beat Kalaheo’s Tyra Pualoa-Ueda in the first round, then Ayers tossed Kapolei’s Shivahn Akau in the quarterfinals to end a four-minute battle before conquering Roosevelt’s Shea Charles in the semifinals in a match that lasted 99 seconds.

“I was proud to hear that a lot of people were rooting for me, even from different teams,” Ayers said. “I’m also proud that I was able to fulfill their expectations.”

Waiakea proves worth

After dominating the BIIF championships, six Waiakea judoka advanced to state semifinals.

Fujimoto, the second-seeded boy at 121, won his third match in just 23 seconds to reach the final, where the senior lost to Iolani’s Colby Watase, the 2016 runner-up.

Watase got to the title match by beating Waiakea’s Caleb Shimaoka, who finished sixth.

Yamamoto, a freshman, also settled for silver after taking out the second seed, Mililani’s Meagan Funasaki in a 98-pound semifinal. Kapolei’s Precious Tampos won the division.

Yamamoto’s older sister, LiAnn, took the long route to bronze in the 109 division by going 3-0 in consolation matches. Roosevelt’s Yuting He beat the top-seeded Yamamoto with an ippon 35 seconds into their quarterfinal and went on to claim gold.

Waiakea was eighth in girls race won by Pearl City, which ended Roosevelt’s two-year reign with its fourth title in six year. The boys were 10th as Kapolei won for the fourth year in a row.

• Defending 154 state champion Kayla Araki of Kamehameha was thrown in the quarterfinals but battled back to win three consolation matches to finish third – again. Araki finished her HHSAA career with gold and two bronze medals in judo, and three bronzes in wrestling.

Keaau’s Chynesty Acia lost to the eventual champion, Pearl City’s Jackie Fuamatu, in the quarters and wound up sixth.

• Top-seeded Chris Kubota of Hilo High advanced to the semifinals and won bronze in the 198 division to go along with the silver he took home last year.

Waiakea’s Isaac Ingall lost to the eventual champion, Kalani’s Kailer Okura, in the semifinals, and finished sixth.

• Kealakehe’s Roxie Umu, the top seed at 220, finished fifth after taking silver last season. In 2016, Umu threw Pearl City’s Jenine Fuamatu in the semifinals, but Fuamatu turned the tables in the semis Saturday.

• A silver medalist in state wrestling after losing to Ayers in February, Konawaena’s Kapoina Bailey lost in the first round Saturday, won three consolation matches, then fell short in the 172 bronze match.

• Kamehameha’s Richard Hata, the second seed at 114, also finished fourth, and Hilo’s Seth Wilson was sixth.

• Another fourth-place finisher was Waiakea’s Raelyn Ai-Yoneda, who couldn’t get past Roosevelt’s Xiaolin Mai, the eventual champion at 103, in the semifinals.

• Fourth last season at 178, Keaau’s Kawika Andrian was the top seed. After falling in the quarterfinals, Andrian won the fifth-place match.

• Waiakea’s Kolby Namnama lost his first-round match but went 4-1 in the 108 consolation bracket, beating teammate Timothy Nakamoto in the fifth-place match. Nakamoto, the third seed after beating Namnama at BIIFs, had reached the semifinals.

• The Cougars’ other top-six finish came from Ilima Kepano, who lost in the semifinals Kalani’s Czarina Pineda-Abaya, the eventual 115 champion, and was sixth.