Mindy Chow

Punahou • Sports: Wrestling, judo • GPA: 3.87 • College: Westmont (Calif.)

Mindy Chow leaves Punahou with an impressive haul of individual awards.

Yet the seven golds she won don’t carry nearly as much weight as the six team championships she contributed to as a member of the Buffanblu wrestling and judo programs.

"It’s more meaningful because it’s being part of something bigger than yourself," Chow said. "The individual titles really don’t mean very much to me. It’s nice to win, but at the same time it’s not everything.

"We spend so much time with our teammates and they help us through everything. They’ve seen us at our worst and at our best and it’s nice to be part of that family."

Family has been a constant theme for Chow during high school as she put together a resume worthy of joining her older brother and sister in the Hall of Honor.

Daniel Chow was part of the 2008 class after winning three state titles in wrestling and three more in judo. Chrissy Chow’s eight championships earned her a place in last year’s group. Mindy completed her dominant four-year run at Punahou by adding a fourth judo title to the three she’d won in wrestling and closed her career with eight Interscholastic League of Honolulu titles.

"It was the way we were all brought up," she said. "Our parents (said) if you’re going to do something, do it to the best of your abilities. That’s just our mentality for everything."

The discipline was also reflected in an academic record that included no grade lower than a B-plus.

She’ll join Chrissy at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, Calif., in the fall and plans to step away from the mat, though perhaps without removing herself from competition completely. "I’m not doing wrestling or judo but thinking about trying out for the track team," she said. "I’ve kind of always wondered how I would do. I guess I see it as just another challenge."