In a gym full of shooters, it often can be hard to distinguish between the blue-clad Kamehameha and Waiakea air riflery squads.
In a gym full of shooters, it often can be hard to distinguish between the blue-clad Kamehameha and Waiakea air riflery squads.
That wasn’t the case during an Aug. 19 preseason meet, not with Waiakea sporting pink T-shirts this season. Coach Mel Kawahara hasn’t taken credit for much since taking over one of the best programs in the state in 2012, but the pink was his idea, and if his shooters have their way they’ll send him out with a bang in his sixth and final season.
Unless, of course, he’s talked into coming back again.
“It’s my last year, I’m done,” Kawahara said with a smile. “I’ve tried to resign four times, but I failed the other three.
“The goal is to slide out of here before I get asked back.”
In a gym full of shooters, one way Waiakea always distinguishes itself is with high scores. The Warriors have swept the team titles every year since the BIIF started sanctioning the sport, but this season Kawahara says his girls shooters are chasing Kamehameha.
“They’re baaack,” he said, speaking of Kamahameha seniors Iceley Andaya, Cobi Broad and Tiari Fa’agata.
Those three along with Pisila Sipinga and McKenna Hewitt shot at the HHSAA championships last season, making Kamehameha a formidable challenger.
“We’re teaching the kids not to focus on the win,” Kamehameha coach Tracy Aruga said. “Teaching them to focus on the competition. If you do that and you do it well, you’ve reached success.”
In the preseason meet, it was Kamehameha’s seniors who were doing a lot of the teaching, mentoring the younger shooters and sitting out the competition. Andaya was one of 45 students nationwide to be selected to attend an all-expenses paid NRA education summit in Washington D.C. in July. She, Broad and Sipinga are junior coach trainers and junior Meghan Wong is another certified trainer.
Waiakea has been taking advantage of a similar mentoring approach for years. Kawahara once again doesn’t have to take a hands-on approach with his shooters this season with alums Tyler Aburamen and Mekayla King, who was runner-up at the 2016 HHSAA championships, on the patrol.
“I think it’s very important that former shooters come back,” Waiakea senior captain Anne Nakamoto said. “It’s one of our strengths. Our shooters always come back and it makes a big difference.”
Waiakea’s girls team is laden with upperclassmen.
Shaye Nishimura stole the show in the preseason by scoring a 275, and she was followed by Hilo High’s Erin Sugiyama and Waiakea’s Kiani Aburamen at 257. Nakamoto shot 252 and was fifth, sandwiched in between two Kamehameha freshmen, Kanani Araki (255) and Nahulu Carvalho, who joined Waiakea’s Jeanette Tajiri at 250.
“Last year’s team race was kind of close, very close,” Nakamoto said. “We realize this year we have to work hard because it’s going to be a tight race.
“Our coaches are making sure we shoot as much as possible to help the team. We still believe.”
Heading into Saturday’s season-opener at Konawaena, Waiakea’s girls shooters are ahead of their male counterparts.
“It kind off a competition, but it’s more like we want to press each other to be better,” Nakamoto said.
Waiakea’s Ryan Kim (262), Skylar Soultz (256), Jonah Matsuura (252), Mackenzy Corpuz (251) and Logan Balingit (250) swept the top five preseason spots.
Ethan Lee, Devez Aniol, Johnathan Ching, Ethan Leite and Nicholas Souza will anchor Kamehameha’s boys team.
“In the boys race last year, we beat everybody up,” Kawahara said. “I think it will be competitive. I don’t think it will be a runaway again.”