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| Baldwin High senior Grant Nakamura told his mom Susan before she died, "I'm going to win the states for you one year." On Saturday night, he did, capturing the 125-pound weight class at the state wrestling championships. |
 Boys wrestling champions
Girls wrestling champions
By Dennis Anderson
Advertiser Staff Writer
The bond of love between a mother and son can transcend even death.
More than 2,600 people saw it happen Saturday night at Blaisdell Arena at the Data House Boys State Wrestling Championships.
When he won the state championship in the 125-pound weight class, Grant Nakamura, a 17-year-old senior at Baldwin High in Wailuku, Maui, fulfilled the promise he had made to his mother, Susan, more than two years ago.
"Yeah, I finally did it for my mom," Nakamura said he thought as the enthusiastic crowd roared its approval of his dominating, 8-0, victory over Preston Sato of Hilo’s Waiakea High in the championship match.
In December 1998, Nakamura was a sophomore at King Kekaulike High in Pukalani when he achieved his first major wrestling triumph, winning the Maui Invitational. "My mom and dad came to all of my tournaments together," Nakamura said. "She always wanted me to try my best."
"When I won the Maui Invitational, my mom was real proud. I told her, ‘Mom, I’m going to win states for you one year.’ "
Suddenly, Susan Nakamura fell ill. She died less than three weeks later, on Jan. 3, 1999.
The next September, Nakamura transferred to Baldwin because he said he felt coach Mike Donahoo and his staff could help him keep his promise. He moved into his grandmother’s home in Wailuku.
"Every time doubt came into my head, I thought about my mom," Nakamura said. "I thought, ‘I gotta win. I promised her. I owe it to her.’ It gave me more motivation."
He had placed second to McKinley’s Richard Fujiyama in the 103-pound weight class in the 1999 state tournament. Last year Nakamura finished third, losing to Travis Lee of St. Louis, one of Hawai‘i’s best-ever high school wrestlers, in the semifinals of the 119-pound division.
Last April, Nakamura went to a national tournament at Reno, Nev. The semifinal, one of six matches he had to win in two days to reach the final, was tied and went into overtime, where the first takedown wins. As overtime was about to start, coach Donahoo called Grant’s name. "When I looked over at him, he tapped his chest and pointed up."
Nakamura took down the Oregon state champion in 15 seconds to win the match and went on to win the national tournament.
This season, his teammates and friends have reminded him. "Kealii Koki, who was fourth at 112 two years in a row, and Alan Hinojosa, the runner-up in the state last year at 140, would come by my house and talk to me," Nakamura said. "They would say, ‘This is your last year. You know who this is for.’ "
Assistant coach Bobby Motooka, a former two-time state champion for Lahainaluna, stayed after practice late into the evening every night, helping Nakamura refine his technique.
Finally on Saturday night, Nakamura came to the center mat with his 30-1 season and 101-12 career record and his last chance on the line.
"I looked up at the ceiling and thought about her and told myself, ‘this match is for her.’ "
In the next six minutes, fueled by the pain and promises of the last two years, Nakamura was relentless, scoring three takedowns and a near fall and giving his opponent no chance. The head referee raised Nakamura’s arm in victory. He had kept his promise.
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