Konawaena’s baseball team will play Kamehameha on Thursday to settle one championship series, and the Wildcats and Warriors will meet again Friday in softball to try and advance to another. Hilo and Keaau will clash on both fields of play
Konawaena’s baseball team will play Kamehameha on Thursday to settle one championship series, and the Wildcats and Warriors will meet again Friday in softball to try and advance to another. Hilo and Keaau will clash on both fields of play Friday.
Depending on how things go, they could do it all again Saturday, when their Big Island Interscholastic Federation brethren will be competing for gold in tennis and judo, not to mention that a water polo title will be handed out.
It’s the BIIF’s version of championship week.
What’s going on?
Quick answer: Everything.
Scores of medals will be decided in five sports during the next three days, and Sunday is not a rest day. The BIIF scheduled one event for a Sunday this school year, and that’s this Sunday as the golf championships start at Hualalai.
For a longer answer to what’s going on, read ahead:
Baseball
Kamehameha (10-1) has the look of a Division I team as it seeks its fourth consecutive Division II title, taking on the Wildcats (5-5-1) in a 3 p.m. doubleheader Thursday at Wong Stadium in the best-of-three finals.
The Warriors won titles in the four spring team sports (baseball, softball, volleyball, water polo) last season and are the top seeds in each this year.
Win or lose, Konawaena is back at the HHSAA tournament after a one-year absence under first-year coach Adam Taberios.
If Keaau’s first championship appearance isn’t the biggest sporting event in school history, it’s close. The third-seeded Cougars (8-4) will hand the ball to pitchers Justin Quesada and Keian Kanetani on Friday in search of their first HHSAA berth. Fourth-seeded Hilo (7-4) got a strong outing from Josiah Factora in its upset of Waiakea in the semifinals, and sophomore Joey Jarneski has big-game experience after leading a Hilo PONY League team the World Series last summer.
Any Game 3s would be Saturday.
Softball
It’s often cliche to call races wide open, but the term fits in Division I.
A pair of HHSAA berths will be decided in the semifinals, which are both rematches from last season.
Waiakea (7-3) earned the top seed in a three-way tiebreaker with Hilo and Keaau because it beat both during the regular season. But one team it didn’t beat was fourth-seeded Kealakehe (5-5), the Warriors’ opponent Friday in a noon doubleheader.
The three-time defending champion Vikings host the Cougars by virtue of a comeback victory against them in March.
It might sound like a broken record, but Kamehameha (10-0) has the look of a Division I team as it seeks its fourth consecutive Division II title, taking on the Wildcats (5-5).
Kohala outslugged Honokaa 21-11 on April 15 to bring its semifinal against the Dragons to Kapaau.
Kealakehe has never won a BIIF title and carries the longest state drought (2011) of any of the eight teams still alive.
Any Game 3s would be Saturday.
Water polo
Both HHSAA berths will be decided in Friday’s semifinals at Kona Community Aquatic Center. The one to watch is at 3 p.m. between No. 3 Konawaena (6-4) and No. 2 Hawaii Prep (9-1).
The upstart Wildcats played Ka Makani even through three quarters earlier in the month in Waimea before HPA pulled away with the help of Louisa Duggan. A state berth would be sweet for Konawaena and coach Michael Godden in the third year of the program, but Ka Makani is trying to get back to states for the first time since 2013.
Kamehameha (9-1) meets Kealakehe (4-6) at 4:30 p.m. The five-time champion Warriors enter BIIFs without an unbeaten record for the first time since 2009 – courtesy of Duggan and HPA – but they handled the Waveriders twice this season and outscored their BIIF competition 158-42.
The final is 11 a.m. Saturday.
Tennis
The top-seeded boys and girls singles players, JJ Minakata of HPA and Emily Soares of Hilo, both get byes until Thursday afternoon at Holua Resort, and it would take a major upset for both not to be left standing once Saturday afternoon’s championship matches roll around.
Minakata, a senior, is the defending champion while Soares, a junior, won a doubles title with her sister last season after winning singles as a freshman.
Two new doubles champions will be crowned as well.
Judo
Depth played a key role as the Waiakea boys and Keaau girls claimed team championships last weekend.
Everyone starts on equal footing Saturday at Waiakea in the individual finals. More defending champions return on the girls side, including Hilo’s Katie Funai and Marissa Guerra and Keaau’s Cheris Harris, Ivory Ayers and Ebony Ayers.
Among the returning boys champions are Waiakea’s Dayton Towata and Kellen Goya.
Golf
Waiakea junior Trevor Hirata, the defending champion, heads to the BIIF championships with two victories and six top-three finishes under his belt. That included a win Tuesday at Kohanaiki after a round of 76.
Waiakea’s Shon Katahira and Kamehameha’s Kala‘i Pomroy also won two tournaments each, with Katahira carding a 68 on April 15 at Mauna Lani.
Freshmen carried Waiakea to the girls title, led by Kaelyn Uchida (three wins) and Kaley Saludares (two).
The first round of the 54-hole championships tees of at 9:30 a.m. Sunday at Hualalai.
Volleyball
Cameron Enriques’ super fifth set Tuesday means Ka‘u doesn’t have to wait until Saturday to clinch an automatic state berth.
Enriques put down nine of his 29 kills in Game 5 as the Trojans (9-3) outlasted Waiakea 25-8, 22-25, 25-20, 20-25, 15-12 to clinch the outright regular-season title in Division II.
Five spots in the six-team playoffs have been decided with three days left in the regular season. Laupahoehoe (2-9) is currently No. 6, but Honokaa (1-10) and Christian Liberty (1-11) both have a chance to get to two wins when they play Thursday in Keaau. The Dragons play Ke Kula O Ehunuikaimalino (0-12) on Friday.
The Canefire’s 25-9, 25-23, 23-25, 25-23 victory against Ehunui on Tuesday was its first victory, while Ehunui won its first set since picking up boys volleyball last year.
In Division I, Waiakea (9-3) could be looking at the fourth seed and a semifinal against unbeaten Kamehameha, unless it beats Kohala on Friday and Hilo (10-2) loses at Konawaena.
At 11-2, Kealakehe will draw either the Vikings or Waiakea in the semis.
Track and field
The penultimate qualifier ahead of the BIIF championships is Saturday morning in Waimea.
Hilo’s Mehana Sabado-Halpern and Kealakehe’s Nicole Cristobal will continue to try to one-up each other in the triple jump, and Hawaii Prep’s Emma Taylor will continue her assault on the hurdles as she tries to hold off Kamehameha freshman Saydee Aganus.
Not to be forgotten, HPA’s Ula Brostek will compete in her final home meet in shot put and discus. She’s in the top 10 in the state in both events.
