With gritty performances from Ashley Gooman, Paige Respicio and others, the Kamehameha Warriors took their third title in the past six years in the Texaco/
HHSAA Wrestling State Championships on Thursday night at Blaisdell Arena.
Respicio, who is No. 6 in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s pound-for-pound rankings, won her second individual state crown with a 15-3 rout of two-time state champ Jahnea Miguel (No. 5 p4p) of Baldwin in the 138-pound division.
Gooman (No. 2 p4p) sealed a third individual state championship with a 6-1 victory over Pearl City’s Makana Cooper at 122 pounds.
It turned out to be a mighty special night for Leilehua’s Kelani Corbett (No. 1 p4p), too. Earlier in the day, she signed a letter of intent to compete for Lyon College (Batesville, Ark.). Later on, she survived a tense match to beat Konawaena’s Kapoina Bailey (No. 10 p4p) 4-1 at 168 pounds for the rare four-year slam.
“I knew she was a tough opponent,” Corbett said. “She was my teammate from summer travels. I knew it was going to be a grind out. One of the main reasons I went to 168 was I wanted better competition.”
Only four girls have previously won four Hawaii state individual championships.
The winning Warriors also got an individual title from Alana Vivas, who pinned Campbell’s Kili Terukina in 1 minute, 15 seconds at 117 pounds.
“It shows what we did — put the work in every day,” Respicio said about Kamehameha’s team win. “We knew we would do good.”
The Warriors were way ahead of the pack in the team standings with 219 points, followed by Baldwin in second (1721⁄2), Moanalua in third (144) and Lahainalua fourth (143).
Respicio was surprised by the wide margin of her win on the mat.
“I knew if I could beat her to it first, I could get the match,” she said about a driving takedown of Miguel in the early going. “I knew I had to be dominant because she can also be dominating.”
For Gooman, it was a comeback of sorts. She lost to Tiare Ikei in last year’s 112-pound final, a loss that kept her from the four-year sweep.
“This is incredibly important to me with it being my last match, but I was doing it for the team and we were out to get what we deserve,” she said.
Lahainaluna’s Nanea Estrella (No. 3 p4p) became a three-time state champion, beating the Warriors’ Skye Realin 5-1 in the 127-pound final.
“It’s awesome. Just so much support from my team and my family,” Estrella said. “It just feels so awesome to be out there. I have so much passion for this sport. I needed to do it.”
Estrella’s cousin Waipuilani Estrella Beauchamp (No. 7 p4p) of Baldwin broke into the state winner’s circle with a 9-0 victory over Kamehameha’s Krystal Puahala at 132 pounds.
In the semifinals at 107, Leilehua’s Shantelle Mangrobang knocked off defending champion Sami Saribay (No. 4 p4p) of Lahainaluna and then pinned Kapolei’s Allicia Mahoe in 5:33 in the final.
“It’s unbelievable because I never thought I could make it,” Mangrobang said. “I’m always second. I’m always close. I never hit the top and today I hit the top.”
In a riveting 184-pound final, Lahainaluna’s Shannon Jaramillo scored a 2-0 upset of defending champion Roxie Umu (No. 9 p4p) of Kealakehe.
At 225, Kahuku’s Tangiteina Niutupuivaha won a second straight individual championship, beating the champ from two seasons ago, Farrington’s Sila Fotu, 6-2.
In addition, Baldwin’s Tianna Fernandez (102 pounds, No. 8 p4p) and Campbell’s Jazmyn Enriquez (97) captured their first state titles, as did Campbell’s Alizeih Villalpando (122), Castle’s Sadie Antoque (145) and Baldwin’s Shayna Kamaka (155).
“It means everything,” Fernandez said. “”I’ve been wrestling for four years trying to be a state champion and now I finally did it.”
Among this year’s girls champions, only Estrella, a junior, can get to the dream of all four titles.