Kaena DeSantos proved just how much a team sport wrestling is when he won his 132-pound third-place match at the Texaco/HHSAA State Wrestling Championships on Thursday at Blaisdell Arena.
With fans focused on the individual championship matches on the center mat, DeSantos fought his way to a 7-5 overtime victory over Saint Louis’ Ansen Ursua on a side mat to give Leilehua two points for a one-point (156 to 155) win over Kamehameha in the team standings.
Incredible.
Even more incredible: The Warriors were docked a point for a uniform infraction on the opening day of the tournament. Had that not happened, the two teams would be co-champs. It’s the first title for the Mules since 1995.
“It was tight and it seemed like neither of us (Leilehua and Kamehameha) wanted to win it because we kept losing in the medal rounds,” Leilehua coach Kevin Corbett said. “Finally, we caught up and were able to get the lead. DeSantos has now gone to overtime twice with Ursua. Those boys go at it. Kaena was on the short end of the stick the first time. This time, it was awesome for him to get it. I’m really proud of him and all of my kids.”
DeSantos’ heroics took just a tiny bit off the spotlight shining on Saint Louis’ Corey Cabanban. The tenacious Crusaders wrestler, who is No. 1 in Hawaii Prep World’s pound-for-pound rankings, wrapped up a fourth state championship by dropping Punahou’s Casen Watanabe 7-2 in the 126 final. Earlier, Watanabe upset Moanalua’s Logan Garcia (No. 7 p4p) to get his shot, or long shot, at Cabanban.
“I can finally call myself a four-time state champ now,” said Cabanban, who is the fifth boys wrestler to win a state slam. “It’s been my goal since my freshman year. I just took it one step at a time. I challenged Casen all season. He’s a great guy and I give him props. They (the four titles) were all tough, every single one. Everybody was trying to stop me from getting it four times. I had an opportunity and I took it.”
Brett Barefoot (No. 6 p4p) also helped Leilehua’s winning cause by snagging his second straight state title with a pin of Kapolei’s Vance Keliihoomalu in 43 seconds.
“My training partners — Keanu Punley and Jonah Caminos Freitas — really pushed me,” Barefoot said. “They don’t give up. We don’t give up.”
Campbell’s Zayren Terukina (No. 2 p4p) and his brother Kysen Terukina (No. 5 p4p) also won their second state championships.
“I wrestled him all season,” said Kysen Terukina about his 8-2 win over ‘Iolani’s Brady Hoshino in the 120 final. “Everyone expects you to win, so no matter how many times I wrestled him, I was still super nervous.”
Zayren Terukina got past Saint Louis freshman Boltyn Taam 11-6 in the 145 final and was impressed with the youngster.
“Boltyn is so tough and he made it this far,” he said. “I’d like to see what he’s going to do next year and the years after. This year, I had my mind right. Trained hard every single day, every single practice.”
Punley, the OIA champ who fought like a mad dog to come back and beat Salvador Gonzalez 8-6 in the semifinals, finally met his match at 170 pounds, losing to ‘Iolani’s Kaysen Takenaka 5-0 in the final.
“He’s a lot longer than most 170s, so I had a hard time getting under him,” said Takenaka, the three-time ILH champ who won his first state title. “But eventually I found it and I scored.”
In the biggest upset of the night, Kalaheo’s Rysan Leong edged Pearl City’s Makoa Cooper (No. 3 p4p) 4-3 at 160.
“I never give up,” Leong said. “And as my coaches say, I have a gas tank like no other. I lost to Cooper at OIAs, but I knew I could do it. It’s the best feeling in the world and I can leave a legacy behind.”
Lahainaluna’s Kainalu Estrella (No. 4 p4p, 132) and Campbell’s Alize Wright (No. 8 p4p) were among the boys who earned their first state championships.
Two McKinley big boys prevailed for their first state crowns — Laulii Iosefa at 220 and Ezekiel Samuelu at 285.
