Forgive Teshya Alo for not sticking around to enjoy the aftermath of victory with her teammates.
Not long after Kamehameha defeated Pac-Five 42-18 in the final of the ILH dual-meet championships at ‘Iolani School gym, the Kamehameha wrestler was gone. Alo would’ve been happy to enjoy a potluck lunch, but the two-time state champion had more pertinent plans: hurrying to the hospital, where her mother, Cherrie, was about to give birth. Their whole family was there.
"Our captain had to dismiss herself and the coach said, ‘Go support your family,’ " Kamehameha girls coach Bill Venenciano said. "Her leadership has paid off. Sometimes, she models the drill for her partner, and she’s been very coachable for the other girls to improve. Several times, I’ve asked her to be the lead technician, to be the role model. She reads the situation well and always has good posture, always thinking three, four, five steps ahead of the competition, always refining."
The boys battle went to Punahou, which outpointed host ‘Iolani 46-21. For ‘Iolani, getting to the final was very notable. The Raiders upset Kamehameha 36-28 in the semifinal.
"A lot of hard work being put in by a young crew," third-year ‘Iolani head coach Walden Au said. "In the past decade or so, we’ve had really good individuals, but as a team, I think they’re finally starting to get together and believe in one another. Kamehameha came out tough and Punahou came out tough."
The 2003 ‘Iolani graduate wrestled under then-Raiders coach Yoshi Honda, who is now in charge at Punahou.
"He’s been a great mentor for me my whole life. One of the biggest goals of mine, and of several of my classmates coaching with me, is we’d love to take it to him and show him that what he taught us, we’re continuing and passing on to the next generation," Au said.
Punahou defeated Pac-Five 52-16 in the other boys semifinal.
Pac-Five reached the girls final by defeating Punahou 42-24.
Kamehameha’s girls won seven weight classes, led by two-time state champion Alo at 132. The other Warriors winners were Brooke Kawamura (107), Zion-Grace Vierra (117), Tate Williams (127), Kayla Gaspar-Takahashi (138) and Callan Medeiros (155). Leilani Camargo-Naone won her match at 184 by default.
Vierra, who hails from a longtime wrestling family at Kahuku, is just a freshman. She pinned her opponent from Pac-Five using a double shot, her favorite move.
Gaspar-Takahashi used a cow-catcher move, also known as front head chancery, against her opponent. In the third period, she used a scarf hold to pin her foe.
Medeiros used a single leg move against her opponent before her hand got stuck in her foe’s hair, costing her a point. She eventually used a half nelson to pin her foe.
Vierra’s older sister, Taj, is in the same weight class with Gaspar-Takahashi. By next week, Taj or Gaspar-Takahashi will bump up to 168, where the Warriors have a puka. They’ve already moved their previous 168 wrestler, Camargo-Naone, to 184 to secure more points for the team.
Camargo-Naone, a junior, moved up three weeks ago.
"I gained 9 pounds this weekend. I can eat, so I eat," she said.
To make 168 earlier in the season, she’d put on a couple of sweats and go run. Now she’s bulking up a bit to hold her own against bigger opponents.
"You go around the island and you think you can eat everything when you stop. I don’t want to have too much of a disadvantage with my weight being about 169 and other girls being 184. We went to Haleiwa shrimp, Giovanni’s, and my grandma’s house to eat bittermelon stew or soup. I don’t know what it is, but it tastes good," she said.
Camargo-Naone is in a position that few wrestlers get to enjoy.
"Most of the food I eat isn’t fast food. It’s my mom’s home cooking," she said. "I don’t eat fast food. No McDonald’s. Maybe sometimes a soft-serve cone."
Eating habits and tough practices aside, the Warriors are ready for the postseason. The ILH individual championships loom ahead at Punahou’s Hemmeter Fieldhouse, followed by the state championships. Kamehameha hasn’t shown its full deck yet.
"In the regular season, we haven’t shown our whole lineup," Venenciano said.
With a hole at 225, they don’t think of themselves as the girls favorite statewide.
"The talent there is a lot with Teshya and this junior class has a lot of talent. They like to pay attention to detail. They’re not as physical, but I think getting enough competition in our own room helps," he said.
Many of those juniors began as middle-school wrestlers and have climbed the ranks under Venenciano and his staff.
"It depends on our preparation in the next two weeks, the execution on those days. I just want to be sure that we prepare the best we can, and if you go up against a Kapalama wrestler, boys or girls, you’ll get a tough match," he said.
