Ushijima shakes off injury to grab victory

On a night when many of the ILH’s brightest judo stars were sidelined, Mid-Pacific senior Mako Ushijima came up with a courageous effort beyond the call.

Trailing Trinity Fautanu of Pac-Five in the final moments of their 220-pound match, Ushijima dug deep. Way deep. Earlier in the match, he felt a twinge on the inside of his left knee, the same knee that had a torn ACL two years ago.

“He was losing with 10 seconds left,” Owls coach Michael Valentine said about Friday’s battle. “I said, ‘Give me your best shot!’ ”

Ushijima used an uchimata (inside throw) to score the points he needed. Even with his newest injury, Ushijima defied gravity and leaped high in celebration. So did his coach.

“That’s just him. He’s very energetic,” Ushijima said.

It’s been a battle from the start for Mid-Pacific’s judo program, now in its second year. Talking about a standard of excellence is one thing — Ushijima put it into action.

“It’s all fun and games. Eventually, someone’s going to get hurt,” he said. “I kind of got tangled up in the middle of a throw and I felt it on the inside of my knee. My MCL is kind of sore.”

With the ILH meet at MPI’s Mills Gymnasium, the Owls had the full force of home-crowd support.

“It’s something special to have a match here,” said Ushijima, who trained with the judo club at the Waialae-Kahala YMCA, and then Hawaii Tenri. “The future is always uncertain and you just have to adapt. It’s not just one athlete. It’s the team. I can’t get better without a partner and my coaches.”

On a team this young, Valentine counts on his leaders.

“Our whole team is almost all rookies. Mako is a senior and he’s a grinder,” he said.

The second match on the schedule came at a time when many teams were shorthanded due to illnesses and spring break. MPI had two full teams between the girls and boys.

Kamehameha’s girls normally feature Jaclyn Fontanilla, a two-time state and three-time ILH champion, but she was absent due to illness.

“If she can get through while being sick, she’ll do it,” Warriors coach Scott Motoda said. “But this illness is pretty bad. I think she’s hungry for that state title. You can see that drive and want-to.”

‘Iolani’s dominant judooka in the 285 weight class, Dane Yamashiro, had no competition and won three matches by default. He doesn’t expect to have a match until the state tournament.

“He’s good,” Motoda said. “He has clean judo, no wrestling moves, and he’s strong. To be honest, I don’t see anybody beating him in the state.”

Yamashiro, who won the 285 state wrestling title in February, is getting workouts against assistant coaches at practice.

“Every week, I’m thinking in the back of my head, there might be a match,” he said. “I try not to use wrestling moves. A clean throw feels better to me, using better technique. My sensei always told us to go for ippon, not the stall.”