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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, February 22, 2009

WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Clean sweep for Punahou

Photo gallery: State wrestling championships

By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Punahou's Reid Oshiro takes Kamehameha's Shayden Terukina for a ride. Oshiro won at 125 pounds.

ANDREW SHIMABUKU | The Honolulu Advertiser

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Setting a tournament record with 255 points in the process, Punahou won its third straight Chevron Boys Wrestling State Championship last night at Blaisdell Arena.

The Buffanblu, led by five individual champions, took a solid 31-point lead into the second day and eventually outdistanced second-place Kaiser by a whopping 79 points.

Lahainaluna was third with 123 points, followed by Kamehameha (119), Pearl City (76), 'Iolani (72), Kahuku (68), 'Aiea (65.5), Moanalua (54.5), and Baldwin and Campbell (42 each).

Punahou also won its first girls state title for a clean sweep.

"It's just amazing," said Buffanblu senior Reid Oshiro, who repeated as 125-pound champion with a 6-4 victory over Kamehameha's Shayden Terukina in sudden death overtime. "We knew the girls worked really hard, and we said, 'This is their year.' Coach (Matt) Oney drills in us that we are all one program, one team, all the way from varsity down to intermediate."

Besides Oshiro, other individual champions for Punahou were Maika Nagata (130 pounds), Patrick Sheehan (171), George Kolu Buck (215) and Sani Fuimaono (285).

Oshiro was trailing 4-1 entering the third period of his match, but was able to tie it after an escape and two stalling calls on Terukina, who was last year's 114-pound champ.

Oshiro won it on a takedown 21 seconds into the extra period.

"He wasn't wrestling well early in the match," Oney said. "But the thing he did right was push the tempo. He never stopped pushing the pace, and he was constantly right there in front of Shayden."

Oshiro credited his conditioning through Punahou's rigorous training regimen helping him find the extra strength after six intense minutes against Terukina.

"We practice so hard every day; that's why we're in good shape," Oshiro said. "We practice wrestling in overtime, in double-overtime, triple-overtime, quadruple-overtime ... so I knew overtime would be my period (tonight) and I could get the points I needed."

Nagata won with a 12-0 victory over Kaiser's Blake Ling; Sheehan defeated Lahainaluna's Cole Loewen, 5-3; Buck edged Kaiser's Douglas Pa'ahao, 2-1, and Fuimaono pinned 'Aiea's Scott Suapaia at 3:11.

The Buffanblu started the day with 11 semifinalists and two others in the consolation quarterfinals (out of 14 wrestlers total).

"We had good numbers, but mostly I'm happy with the way the kids performed," Oney said. "It's always bittersweet when one of them loses, but it was a great season and great tournament. The boys stepped it up at the right time."

Kaiser started the day with six wrestlers in the semifinals and four in the consolation quarterfinals (out of 11 total).

One of them was senior Jason Spiker, who ended up winning the 108-pound title. Spiker's brother, Jonathan, won four straight individual championships at Saint Louis from 2001 through 2004 .

"It feels great, it took a lot of hard work," Jason Spiker said. "(Jonathan) was pushing me, helping me do better. He just told me to do my best and give it my all."

Spiker, who finished third in last year's state tournament and second as a sophomore, said he did not feel a lot of external pressure from having to live up to his brother's accomplishments.

"Most people told me just to do my best and be myself," Spiker said. "(Jonathan) told me , 'Good job.' He was proud of me."

Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com.