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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, May 18, 2003

Pearl City's boys, Kahuku's girls capture state judo team titles

By Kyle Sakamoto
Advertiser Staff Writer

Moanalua's Caylene Valdez can add a state judo title to her four state wrestling championships.

Iolani's Amy Fujimoto, bottom, and Moanalua's Alicia Fu battle in a girls 200-pound class match.

Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser

Her opponents yesterday and a protest by her opponent's coaches in the final couldn't stop her at the inaugural Hawai'i High School Athletic Association State Judo Championships at McKinley High School.

The Pearl City boys and Kahuku girls took home team titles.

Valdez wrestled Waiakea's Eisha Matsubara in the 115-pound final.

Valdez was assessed a keikoku (unsportsmanlike conduct) penalty for kicking Matsubara near the edge of the mat early in the match.

Valdez recovered to win by yuko (five-point score), but the Waiakea coaches protested the result. They said Valdez should have been disqualified for the infraction.

The referees discussed the matter together and then with the Waiakea coaches. After a 10-minute delay Valdez's victory was upheld.

"According to the state rules, which supersede the IJF (International Judo Federation), there are no appeals. Whatever the judges say at that point that's it," Moanalua coach Richard Nakatsu said.

Immediately after her match, Valdez said: "It feels good I worked really hard for this."

She patiently sat in a chair near the scorers' table while her match was being discussed.

A Waiakea coach declined comment.

Valdez, Kailua's Kimberly Kido (121) and Kahuku's Kehau Kamauoha (160) were girls' No. 1 seeds who won titles.

Unseeded girls who won titles were Pac-Five's Tabitha Lum (98) and Pearl City's Corey Jo Tashima (109).

In the only final with two unseeded athletes, Lum beat Whitney Elizaga of Farrington by ippon (10-point winning technique).

Top seeded boys who won titles were Kahuku's Thoran Evans (105), Mililani's Justin Galvez (123), McKinley's Emile Suehiro (132), Pearl City's Joel Akimoto (150), Moanalua's Shingo Katsura (200) and Pearl City's Eddie Inuma (275).

Unseeded boys who won titles were Pearl City's Andy Hung (165) and Mililani's Sean Shingo (180).

Saint Louis freshman Brandon Low, who won a state wrestling championship earlier this year, took home a judo title after beating Gerry Malanog of Leilehua by yuko in the 114-pound division.

When asked if he could win four titles each in judo and wrestling, Low said: "I'll do my best and see how I do."

Teams were awarded 16 points for a first-place finish, 12 for second, nine for third, seven for fourth, five for fifth and three for sixth.

Pearl City won the boys title with 70 points. Mililani was second with 58, and Kahuku and Saint Louis tied for third with 38.

"The athletes are good players, good students, good kids and a lot of it goes to my assistant coaches," Pearl City coach Ivan Yoshimura said.

The Kahuku girls finished with 66 points. Pearl City was second with 58 and Kamehameha third with 55.

"We have some great girls, they work hard," Kahuku coach Reggie Torres said. "It's an accomplishment based on their performance, there work ethics."

Kamauoha was Kahuku's only champion, but the Red Raiders had three second-place finishers.

"We felt coming in if we could win the matches that we should we had a great chance of winning," Torres said.

Torres also coached the state champion girls wrestling team earlier this year, and he said seven of his eight judo athletes were on the wrestling team.

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