Kaiser boys, Pearl City girls earn OIA crowns
By Stacy Kaneshiro
Advertiser Staff Writer
WAHIAWA — Kaiser's boys continued their domination in dominant fashion, but Pearl City's girls were the Cinderella story at the O'ahu Interscholastic Association wrestling championships yesterday at Leilehua High's gym.
The Cougars stormed to their third consecutive boys title with 250 points. Runner-up 'Aiea had 153.5.
The Chargers got two crucial pins in their heavy weight classes to hold off two-time champion Kahuku, 148-135. The first-place wins by Mei Ling Keiki (175 pounds) and Sanoe Spencer (220), both by pins and an additional two bonus points apiece, sealed it for the Chargers. Also taking first for the Chargers was Janine Razon in the 103-pound weight class.
"Our girls worked hard and we told them to leave it on the mat," Pearl City coach Michael Lee said.
Meanwhile, the Cougars claimed first place in six of the 14 weight divisions. Despite a commanding 216-140.5 lead entering the final matches, Kaiser's wrestlers still kept their focus.
"I liked the way we finished," Kaiser coach Mike Kim said. "Ahead or behind, they battled. It bodes well for us for next week."
Next week is the state championships.
The Cougars had eight wrestlers in first-place matches. Winning their divisions were: Jason Spiker (108), Ryan Nakagawa (114), Michael Nakagawa (120), Blake Ling (130), Byron Apo (135) and Douglas Pa'ahao (215).
What makes the Chargers' win special, aside from being the school's first title, is that they only could field seven of 11 weight classes. Yet six reached the finals and the other reached the third-place match.
Their three individual champions were sort of special. Keiki, a junior, is in her first year of wrestling after switching from soccer. Razon was injured (elbow) last year and only competed in the preseason. Spencer is just a freshman.
Spencer had been working out with the Pearl City wrestling team since she was in the seventh grade, following her older brother. Ironically, she wanted to work out with the wrestlers to lose weight.
"They train super hard," she said.
But she ended up sticking with the sport and those two years of training paid off to make an impact as a freshman. She said she used a half nelson to pin Kahuku's Libby Petrie with seven seconds left in the second period.
Keiki pinned Kapolei's Maura Tynanes with 44 seconds left in the first period for her win.
"My team needed it and I'm glad I did it," Keiki said.
Razon's match was a little tough, beating Kapolei's Sheri Tabion, 8-6. A third-period takedown snapped a 6-all match. It avenged a loss to Tabion in last week's Western Division championships.
"I was a little nervous, but I was confident because I was working hard all season," Razon said. "I really wanted it."
For Kaiser's boys, senior Spiker set the tone in the team's first match in the 108-pound division. He pinned Mililani's Nainoa Tompkins just 23 seconds into the match.
"I felt ready to wrestle," Spiker said of his quick finish. "I just wanted to do my best for the team."
Spiker improved to 33-0 this season. He was 46-1 last year, losing in the state semifinals before winning his third-place match. This year, he'd like to keep his record perfect. But the team to beat is Punahou, which has won the past two state titles. Kaiser is looking for its first state championship since 1982.
"We need to stay focused and keep working hard," Spiker said.
The only defending state champion to win at last night's OIA meet was Pearl City's Bill Takeuchi in 125. He pinned Moanalua Brycen Kometani with 1:30 left in the third period.
Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at skaneshiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.