Moanalua sweeps East titles

Moanalua swept the boys and girls team titles in the OIA East Division championships on Saturday at Farrington, but the battle to watch was in the girls 117-pound bracket.

Roosevelt’s Macy Higa, ranked No. 9 in Hawaii Prep World’s pound-for-pound rankings, edged Kaiser’s Tiare Ikei (No. 8) by a 4-3 decision in a razor-thin final.

Higa won a state title at 112 pounds as a sophomore and finished second last year. Ikei won Officials at 112 pounds last month, while Higa won Officials at 117. Ikei beat Higa during the preseason.

Kahuku senior Teniya Alo, a two-time state champion and the No. 1-ranked pound-for-pound wrestler, got in less than three minutes of mat time, pinning her first opponent in 59 seconds before winning the 138-pound final in 1:37 by pin.

Red Raiders teammate Tangiteina Niutupuivaha pinned Farrington’s Lavenia Fotu, the No. 6 pound-for-pound wrestler, in 1:50 to win the 225-pound weight class.

Moanalua won five of the 14 weight classes on the boys side, with Logan Garcia, the only ranked pound-for-pound wrestler in the meet at No. 9, winning the 126-pound division by pinfall in 5:00. It was his first major tournament of the season.