Kamehameha has spent the past few months of preseason and Interscholastic League of Honolulu wrestling action fine-tuning its grappling skills and aligning competitors to achieve the best possible team score.

Warriors girls coach Bill Venenciano finally got an opportunity to put all his aces in the right places during Saturday’s ILH wrestling championships at Punahou’s Hemmeter Fieldhouse and came up with a winning hand. Ten of Kamehameha’s female wrestlers won their weight classes and helped the Warriors dominate the team competition with 192.5 points and fend off talented Pac-Five (169 points) and Punahou (102 points).

The Buffanblu took advantage of their home surrounding as its boys squad claimed team gold by a 169-148-147 margin over Pac-Five and Kamehameha. The Warriors ended up collecting six boys titles for the day, but Punahou’s fourth individual victory of the meet came in the event’s final tilt as Kana‘i Eldredge pinned Kamehameha’s Makoa Gaughen-Haili in the first round to wrap up the collective crown.

"It’s a milestone within the program, and we wanted to finish as best as possible for seeding purposes within the (upcoming) state tournament," said Venenciano after watching his wrestlers collect their medal haul. "It was a good competition and a couple of our lighter-weighted (wrestlers) pulled through, so that’s progress."

If one were to compare Saturday’s action to a political election, Teshya Alo of Kamehameha represented the unopposed incumbent no challenger wants any part of.

Alo, a two-time defending state champion, claimed her third consecutive ILH title by winning the 134-pound crown without having to take the mat — no other competitors entered the weight division. The decorated wrestler was on hand, however, and participated in the official weigh-in as well as pre-event drills and sparring with teammates before eventually entering the ring to have the referee raise her hand.

"It was very important for me to be here and support the team because we’ve been working really hard," said Alo, after humbly stating that the reason she was unopposed could have been that "I don’t think there are that many girls at 132 (pounds) this year."

"Not having any competition sends a message about the caliber of competitor you’re about to face," said Venenciano when asked about the lack of opponents willing or able to match up with Alo, who is on a path to training for the Olympics in the near future. "It’s a two-edged sword. She has the right attitude, helping the team and getting everyone ready — she does a lot more than just focus on herself."

As she looks ahead to the state tournament and a potential third gold medal, Alo plans on "training hard, pushing my team and hopefully the result comes out well."

Teniya Alo, Teshya’s younger sister, made a successful debut, as the ‘Iolani freshman secured the 124-pound championship with a first-round pin of St. Francis’ Laynee Pasion. The younger Alo explained that she has been battling a shoulder injury all season and has followed a regimen of practice and physical therapy to keep her in the best possible shape to succeed on the mat and withstand the painful ailment.

"It’s a pretty big accomplishment for me," said Teniya Alo, who was quick to thank her older sister for the motivation and coaching. "We start off with light drills, but end up going live. It makes me tougher."

The Warriors who also claimed individual titles were: Hilinai Meyer (104 pounds); Brooke Kawamura (109); Zion-Grace Vierra (119); Tate Williams (129); Kayla Gaspar-Takahashi (140); Jaclyn Fontanilla (147); Taj-Destiny Vierra (157); and Callan Medeiros. Kamehameha’s Leilani Camargo-Naone also claimed the league title in the 186-pound division after no other opponents entered the division.

In addition to Eldredge’s emphatic victory, the Punahou boys received gold-medal performances from Cameron Kato (115), Joshua Rosen (134) and Joshua Crimmins (140).

Kato turned in one of many gutsy performances on the afternoon en route to claiming his second ILH title.

While facing a scrappy Cody Cabanban of Saint Louis, Kato ended up suffering a bloody chin and aggravating a leg injury — an affliction he would later say first occurred earlier this season. Kato had to use up most of his five-minute break allowed to clean up the blood, but went on to string together multiple takedowns and an escape to notch a convincing 10-2 decision.

"Going into the match, I visualized myself doing well," said Kato, who won state championship gold at 106 pounds last year. "Hopefully we can continue to peak at the right time."

For in-depth analysis of each of Saturday’s championship matches, log on to hawaiiprepworld.com.