Soccer All-BIIF awards released

From left, are Lucas Kay-Wong, Aukele Paikuli-Campbell, Rhacelyn Respecio and Kau‘ionalani Mahi-Murray. All four earned Player of the Year honors in their respective divisions. (Hawaii Tribune-Herald)
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The Big Island Interscholastic Federation (BIIF) released its All-BIIF honors for boys and girls soccer on Wednesday night — with the teams who played in the HHSAA tournament dominating the selections.

• • •

BOYS

Kealakehe dominated the Division I team with five selections — junior Aukele Paikuli-Campbell, junior Ezekiel Imai, junior Brayden Heldt, senior Duke Kapuniai and sophomore Jason Bois.

“They trained really hard all season and deserve to be recognized by the league,” Kealakehe coach Adrian Guillen told West Hawaii Today. “Really looking forward to bringing four of the five back next season.”

Paikuli-Campbell, a striker, was also named Division I Player of the Year. In the opening state playoff game against Oahu’s Kapolei on Feb. 5, Paikuli-Campbell scored two goals in a come-from-behind victory to advance in the tournament. Although the Waveriders fell to Iolani in the next match, Kealakehe ended 2023-24 as the only BIIF DI squad with a state playoff win.

“Aukele is a tremendous player and a great person,” Gullen continued. “He is well on his way to accomplishing big things in his soccer career.”

Waiakea, who fell to Punahou in its opening HHSAA match after a 7-3-1 BIIF season, had three players selected. Hilo additionally had four.

Over in Division II, state runner-up Kamehameha Schools-Hawai‘i had a whopping seven players named to the list — senior Lucas Kay-Wong, sophomore Gabe Arquitola, sophomore Micah Chung, junior William Henderson, senior Connor Gonzalez, sophomore Thurston Laa and junior Jacob Aiona.

Kay-Wong, a midfielder and forward, was named DII Player of the Year. Wong scored 15 goals across the season, helping lead the Warriors to a 13-1-0 overall record and 9-0-0 in the BIIF — with their only loss being in the state championship match against Kauai’s Island School 1-0 in overtime.

Hawaii Prep — finishing 2023-24 at 6-7-1 overall and falling to the same state-champion squad in the HHSAA quarterfinals on Feb. 8 — had four players named to the DII list. Despite early elimination on Oahu, Ka Makani won the fifth-place game over Castle on Feb. 10.

• • •

GIRLS

Only Waiakea and Hilo made up the DI team in the girls division — with the Warriors fielding seven players and the Vikings five. The two squads controlled Division I all season, as Waiakea went 12-4-0 overall and 11-2-0 in league play and Hilo 11-3-1 overall and 11-1-1 in the BIIF.

The Warriors’ senior striker Kauionalani Mahi-Murray won DI Player of the Year. On the season, she scored 23 goals and notched four matches with three-or-more goals across the season. Mahi-Murray’s phenomenal play helped Waiakea finish second in BIIF DI.

“I think her selection is a cumulative thing,” Waiakea head coach Steve Petner. “She was really good last year and she kept her standard up this year. I think with her, all of the coaches know her and she’s been a proven player over the last two years. Plus, she’s an 80-minute player — she doesn’t come off of the field. She’s a captain, so she has responsibilities to the team that I feel like she handled excellently.”

Hilo’ finished 11-2-0 in the BIIF. Later in the state tournament, the Vikings fell to Mililani 2-0 on Feb. 1 in the quarterfinals.

In Division II, KS-Hawai‘i added another seven players to the list — sophomore Rhacelyn Respicio, sophomore Alyssa Hudman, senior Teija Moses, sophomore Madisyn Meyers, senior Rebekah Sipinga and sophomore Lahela Cootey.

Respicio finished with seven goals as the team’s top striker, earning the DII Player of the Year nod. Respicio helped lead the team to the state championship match against PAC-5 on Feb. 3, when the Warriors fell in penalty kicks.

“She created a lot of dangerous opportunities throughout the season,” KSH head coach Steven Cootey said of Respicio. “She put a lot of pressure on every opponent’s defense, just worked really hard. Just relentless.

“She’s fairly quiet, pretty reserved — just a happy girl, but an absolute competitor. She’s just one of those quiet players who will always compete and work hard, but won’t say very much at all.”

HPA was the second most-popular school on the DII list, honoring four players. Like KS-Hawai‘i, Ka Makani fell to PAC-5 4-0 in the HHSAA quarterfinals on Feb. 1. HPA finished the season 9-5-0 overall and 5-3-0 in league play.

The official soccer All-BIIF rosters can be found below:

• • •

BOYS AWARDS

Division I

Aukele Paikuli-Campbell – Kealakehe

Aziah Nelson – Waiakea

Brennan Barrientos – Hilo

Channing Oda – Hilo

Ezekiel Imai – Kealakehe

Kani Tolentino Perry – Hilo

Rayden Handy – Kea‘au

Brayden Heldt – Kealakehe

Duke Kapuniai – Kealakehe

Justin AhSing – Waiakea

Kaden Aguilar – Waiakea

Nahiku Anderson – Hilo

Jason Bois – Kealakehe

Luke Laa – Kea‘au

Division II

Dani Habiak – HPA

Gabe Arquitola – KSH

Zachary Juan – Honoka‘a

Kauila Kapuniai – HPA

Lucas Kay-Wong – KSH

Micah Chung – KSH

William Henderson – KSH

Alika Puckett – HPA

Connor Gonzalez – KSH

Thurston Laa – KSH

Zach Montgomery – HPA

Jacob Aiona – KSH

• • •

GIRLS AWARDS

Division I

Kau‘ionalani Mahi-Murray – Waikea

Kryslynn Nabarro – Hilo

Maiya Kepoo-Deconte – Hilo

Ailani Franklin – Waiakea

Charlie Silva – Waiakea

Kira Kuramoto – Waiakea

Naliipoaimoku Harman – Hilo

Leilillian Soloman Ho’opai – Hilo

Linsey Hiraki – Hilo

Sadee Tamanaha – Waiakea

Shaunte Fernandez – Waiakea

Journey Morimoto – Waiakea

Division II

Dani Rojas-Castelblanco – HPA

Mia Chow – KSH

Rhacelyn Respicio – KSH

Alyssa Hudman – KSH

Madie Buczyna – HPA

Nohea Lansdale – HPA

Teija Moses – KSH

Alise Nakano – Honoka‘a

Madisyn Meyers – KSH

Rebekah Sipinga – KSH

Tae Detwiler – HPA

Lahela Cootey – KSH