Posted on: Thursday, December 25, 2003

It's no holiday for many prep athletes

By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer

School may be out for another week and league play has yet to start in several winter sports, but prep teams and campuses will be buzzing with preseason activity over the next several days.

Here is a closer look at the busy week ahead:

Boys basketball

• Punahou Holiday Classic (tomorrow and Saturday; Monday and Tuesday): Some of Hawai'i's top squads — Iolani, Punahou, Kalaheo, Kea'au and Waiakea — plus Marina (Huntington Beach, Calif.) highlight the 16-team field that begins play at 9 a.m. tomorrow at Hemmeter Field House.

"We're not trying to compete with the Iolani Classic as far as bringing in all the top Mainland teams — that would be impossible," Buffanblu coach Greg Tacon said. "But we think we have some of the best teams in Hawai'i, and we'll try to make it a first-class tournament."

A player to watch is Punahou freshman Jeremiah Ostrowski, a 5-foot-9 freshman who is averaging 14.5 points per game, including 28 against Kaimuki and 17 against highly regarded St. John's (Washington, D.C.).

Also, Kea'au will make the trip despite the death of one of its players, Austin Meyers, after Tuesday's practice (see story, page D1).

"They have been through a lot, so hopefully playing these games will be a release for them and get their minds off the tragedy," Tacon said. "We're going to support them and try to make them feel as comfortable as possible."

• Walter Wong Holiday Classic (tomorrow and Saturday; Monday): Hosted by Saint Louis, the eight-team field at McCabe Gym features Highland (Gilbert, Ariz.), a team that was ranked in the Top 10 in the West Region by several national polls.

Other teams are defending state runner-up Saint Louis, West (Anchorage, Alaska), Kaiser, Mid-Pacific, Kalani, Word of Life and Christian Academy.

Wrestling

• Iolani Invitational (Monday and Tuesday): Six Mainland teams, including California state runner-up Ponderosa (Shingle Springs, Calif.), join Hawai'i powers Iolani, Kahuku and Baldwin in all-day competitions at the Raiders' lower gym and Father Bray Gym.

Iolani returns four individual state champions: Aaron Ishikawa (103 pounds), Jared Wakayama (125), Owen Yonehara (135) and Kyle Muraoka (145). The Raiders also won the Maui Invitational last weekend.

Baldwin landed six wrestlers in the finals of the Maui Invitational, including four champions: Kodi Shepley (125), Tim McClary (130), Bulla Tuzon (160) and Koa Chun (171).

Another Mainland team is Phoenix (N.Y.) Central, coached by former Syracuse coach Gene Mills. One of Mills' wrestlers at Syracuse in the mid-1980s was Yoshi Honda, a three-time state champion from Radford who is now the head coach at Iolani.

• Hawai'i Wrestling Officials Scholarship tournament (tomorrow and Saturday): This open tournament at Radford features some of the state's top individual wrestlers in head-to-head competition.

Proceeds go toward a scholarship for wrestling managers, who help with multiple tasks including scoring.

Soccer

• AC Honolulu Christmas festival (Saturday; Monday and Tuesday; Friday and Saturday): This informal event involves boys and girls teams from three Mainland schools and eight Hawai'i schools playing each other in a quasi-tournament at Waipi'o Peninsula Soccer Complex and school fields.

"This is just a follow-up to something we've been working on for years," said Myles Arakawa, director of coaching for the AC Honolulu soccer club. "It's just friendly games to give the local kids some exposure to the different styles of play and to network culturally. We'll have potlucks and stuff; it's more of a social thing."

Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) reportedly has national-caliber players on both its boys and girls teams, and Harvard Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.) and El Camino Real (Woodland Hills, Calif.) also are known for their strong programs.

Defending state champions Mililani (boys) and Punahou (girls) are among the Hawai'i teams participating.

Schedule: Saturday — Mater Dei (boys) at Iolani; Mater Dei (girls) at Kamehameha; Mililani (boys) vs. Harvard Westlake at Waipi'o field 6, all at 10 a.m.; Monday — Pearl City (boys) vs. El Camino Real at Waipi'o field No. 6, 10 a.m.; Mililani (boys) vs. Mater Dei at Waipi'o field No. 6 and Mililani (girls) vs. Mater Dei at Waipi'o field No. 7, 3:30 p.m.; Harvard Westlake (boys) at Iolani, 4 p.m.; Tuesday — Punahou (boys) vs. Mater Dei at Waipi'o field No. 6; Punahou (girls) vs. Mater Dei at Waipi'o field No. 7; El Camino Real (boys) at Mid-Pacific, all at 10 a.m.; Wednesday — Mater Dei (boys) vs. Harvard Westlake at Waipi'o Stadium, 8 a.m.; Friday — El Camino Real (boys) at Roosevelt, 3:30 p.m.; Saturday — Mililani (boys) vs. El Camino Real at site TBA, 10 a.m.

Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2456.