Six girl wrestlers from Hawai'i honored

Advertiser Staff

Six girls from Hawai'i yesterday were named to the first TheMat.com/Asics Tiger Girls High School all-American Wrestling Team.

Tanya Miyasaki, a senior-to-be at Castle High, was chosen on the second team and Cathy Migita, just graduated from Castle, was picked on the third team.

Honorable mentions were awarded to Kristen Fujioka, Castle graduate; DeAnna Lau, Punahou graduate; Anna Tong, Kaiser senior; and Elizabeth Torres, Kahuku junior.

The team was chosen by a nationwide panel and based on major postseason freestyle and folkstyle competitions as well as their high school achievements.

Miyasaki was the state high school 98-pound champion and placed sixth in the Senior National freestyle tournament. Migita went 38-0 in high school matches last season and won the state 121-pound title. Lau also was a state champion, at 114 pounds.

No wrestlers from three-time state champion Moanalua were included on the team. Coach Joel Kawachi said the reason his wrestlers were overlooked probably was that Moanalua did not go to the U.S. Girls national tournament this year in Michigan.

"We had the best team (in the nation), but we couldn't afford to go," Kawachi said.

Rankings

• Tong No. 1: Kaiser senior Anna Tong is ranked No. 1 in the nation at 138 pounds and five other Hawai'i girls are ranked in the U.S. Girls Wrestling Association preseason high school rankings.

The rankings are based upon results of non-seniors in the U.S. Girls high school nationals last March in Michigan. Tong took third place at 137 pounds.

The other Hawai'i girls in preseason rankings (with their finish and weight class in the nationals in parentheses):

One hundred pounds: No. 2, Elizabeth Torres, Kahuku junior (2nd, 111); No. 7, Shanel Vivas, Kahuku senior (9th, 111); 114 pounds: No. 3, Melissa Fukushima, Punahou senior (5th, 114); 130 pounds: No. 6, Jennifer Miyahira, Mid-Pacific senior (6th, 129); 165 pounds: No. 6, Ashley Gasper, Nanakuli senior (9th, 165).

Deanna Lau of Kane'ohe and Punahou was third at 122 pounds and Kristen Fujioka of Castle was fourth at 100 pounds in the national meet. They both graduated this year.

Hawai 'i was fourth in state scoring.

Correction: Ashley Gasper, No. 6 at 165 pounds in national pre-season rankings, will be a senior at Nanakuli High. Another school was listed in a previous version of this story.