Individually, Teshya Alo recently added a berth in the U.S. Olympic Trials to her ever growing list of accomplishments.
Her efforts this week, though, were all about the team.
After winning her division at the U.S. Senior Nationals in Las Vegas, the Kamehameha senior helped the Warriors win the girls title at the Moanalua Holiday Dual Meet Tournament on Tuesday.
Alo, a three-time state champion, was among four Kamehameha wrestlers who moved up to higher weight classes to win their matches in the final against defending state champion Lahainaluna and the Warriors pulled out the win 43-36.
“It’s been so hectic,” Alo said of her recent schedule. “It’s been so crazy, getting back from the mainland, having to still keep my eating habits good and training with the team. I’m just glad I can be here with the team and enjoy it with them.”
In her first competition of the high school season, Alo won three matches in pool portion of the meet on Monday and pinned Lahainaluna’s Noe Keahi in 37 seconds in her lone match on Tuesday. She wrestled in the 145-pound class in the final, up from her usual 132.
“It was very interesting, but it’s fun,” she said. “I can take challenges all day.”
Kamehameha’s Taj Vierra moved up from 155 to win at 168. Callan Medeiros, normally at 168, won at 184 and Leilani Canargo-Naone moved up from 184 to 225 in the final.
“Everyone stepped up because where we needed to make adjustments in weight classes they were willing to move up if we needed to fill it,” Kamehameha assistant head coach Fallyn Kapoi said. “Every one did their job.”
‘Iolani boys coach Walden Au had a similar take on the Raiders’ effort after a 42-27 win over Hillcrest of Riverside, Calif. in the final.
The Raiders went 4-0 in their pool on Monday and pulled out wins over Campbell and Pac-Five to reach the final.
“We weren’t at full strength in terms of we had some kids sick and we had some kids traveling. But the all the kids that were here stepped up for one another and scored big points when we needed it,” Au said.
The Raiders built a lead with decisions by Colby Watase (3-1 in the 126-pound class), Jake Nakasone (6-1 at 132) and James Mizota (10-3 at 138).
“I felt we had really good momentum from 126 to 138 and thats where two of my captains (Nakasone and Mizota) are and they stepped up and wrestled tough,” Au said. A third captain, KJ Pascua, won by forfeit at 160.
‘Iolani is 2-0 in the ILH dual meet season with wins over Punahou and Pac-Five so far and impressed Hillcrest coach Ernie Ledesma with their effort on Tuesday.
“Really good team, technical, smart out there,” said Ledesma, who brought about half of his team to Hawaii for the tournament.