Posted on: Sunday, May 23, 2004
Pearl City boys, Farrington, Kahuku girls win
| • | Match results |
By Brandon Masuoka
Advertiser Staff Writer
The Pearl City boys and Kahuku girls successfully defended their titles in the HHSAA/Judo Black Belt Association of Hawai'i State Championships last night at McKinley's Student Council Gymnasium.
The Kahuku girls shared co-championship honors with Farrington with 51 points each. McKinley was third with 40 points, followed by Pearl City (36), and Leilehua (35) and Iolani (35).
The Pearl City boys scored 51 points, followed by Leilehua (44), McKinley (39), Waiakea (36) and Iolani (31).
"I thought it would be close," Pearl City coach Ivan Yoshimura said. "But a couple of key performances by key individuals helped secure the team title."
Yoshimura was referring to Tommy Iinuma (150 pounds) and Everett Pavo (165), who won individual championships.
The Kahuku girls were led by state champions Roslyn Maiava (121) and Jenna Nihipali (145).
"This means a lot to us," Kahuku coach Reggie Torres said. "For one thing, we're going to lose four of our seniors. So for our young girls, this is an inspiration."
The Farrington girls, who placed three judokas in the top three, won their first state championship after finishing eighth last season.
"I'm looking forward to next season," Farrington coach Brandon Teshima said. "The interest in the sport is growing. A lot of the students are saying their friends are going to come out. The buzz around Farrington is that judo is the sport in the summer."
Maryknoll's Tabitha Lum (98), Iolani's Catherine Chan (103) and Mililani's Corey Jo Tashima (109) successfully defended their championships in the girls division, while Kahuku's Thoran Evans (105) did the same in the boys division. The four are all juniors.
Lum, Chan, Tashima and Evans each ended their five-minute matches early with ippon (full point) scores.
Lum defeated McKinley's Ning Feng with 2 minutes and 49 seconds remaining.
"I was kind of scared," Lum said. "I've never played (Feng) before. Trying to uphold a big title is a lot of pressure."
Chan, who overcame an eye injury earlier in the season, stopped La Pietra's Alicia Huang with 1:36 remaining.
"I was out for the majority of the season," Chan said of her injury. "It felt good to come back with very little time to train and get this far."
Tashima toppled Moanalua's Lisa Katsuura with 3:47 remaining. Tashima said she felt uneasy about competing against an injured Katsuura, who is her close friend.
"I was a bit nervous," Tashima said. "I always have to play (Katsuura) in finals. I've played her in national finals and (O'ahu Interscholastic Association) finals. We went to the same club. I didn't really feel comfortable playing her."
Evans defeated Leilehua's Paul Gerona with an outer leg throw to win the championship.
"The training and tough competition was harder this time around," Evans said. "But my coaches made me push."
Rounding out the girls state champions were: McKinley's Lianne Tomishima (115), Punahou's Kara Takasaki (128), Kapolei's April Due (136), Moanalua's Alicia Fu (160) and Kamehameha's Randolyn Nohara (200).
Tomishima, Maiava and Due upset league champions to earn state titles last night.
Rounding out the boys state champions were: Leilehua's Gerry Malanog (114), McKinley's Patrick Eglinton (123), McKinley's Michael Fujiuchi (132), Hilo's Johanson Quist (141), Leilehua's Brad Padua (180), Kamehameha's Jordan Fontanilla (200) and Saint Louis' Les Shiroma (275).
This was the second tournament in state history. Last year it earned the distinction of being the first sanctioned state high school judo championship in the United States.
Reach Brandon Masuoka at bmasuoka@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2458.
