It wasn’t easy to tell that the two senior wrestlers scrapping on the mat Saturday were cousins. Yet, there they were, mixing it up for the 138-pound championship at Punahou’s 10th annual Pa‘ani Challenge.
Going at each other in an aggressive fashion is nothing new for Lahainaluna’s Nanea Estrella and Baldwin’s Waipuilani Estrella-Beauchamp. This time, Estrella prevailed 10-0. But just three weeks before that, at the Garner Ivey Maui Invitational, it was Estrella-Beauchamp who came out on top, 11-3.
The two are not only related, they are also in the top three of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s pound-for-pound rankings. That is an excellent sign for Valley Isle wrestling, but don’t expect that these two will tangle in the same weight class for league or state supremacy. There are just too many variables.
Lunas coach Todd Hayase put that particular possibility in perspective.
“They’re going to be battling all season long,” Hayase said. “This is what Maui needs. Steel sharpens steel. They’re just going to make each other better, more hungrier. I don’t know their intentions (for late-season weight class), but I would love for them to be separated for Maui.”
In other words, Hayase would like to see both of them compete for and win state titles this spring. They’ve done it before. Estrella, who is No. 1 p4p by the Star-Advertiser, is No. 1 in the nation at 122 pounds by FloWrestling.com and is a three-time state champ going for a fourth this year. Estrella-Beauchamp (No. 3 p4p) is No. 4 in the nation at 127 and is a two-time state titleist.
“I’d like it better if we both had a shot at a state title,” Estrella said. “If we both win, everything would be so much better.”
Estrella thinks she’ll end up at either 132 or 138 by season’s end, but Hayase thinks 127 is also possible. Estrella-Beauchamp is thinking of possibly winding up at 132, but could go up or down. Both girls want to go into the weight class where their team needs them the most.
The fact that they both wrestled at 138 on Saturday is a story in itself. According to Hayase, they moved up to be in the same class as another of Hawaii’s top grapplers — Kamehameha’s Paige Respicio (No. 2 p4p and No. 13 nationally at 138). Estrella pinned Respicio in the semis, giving her the chance to avenge the 132-pound loss to her cousin on Maui.
“Between the two girls, we know it can go either way,” Bears coach Race Hozaki said. “Every week can be different. As close as they are, they’ll bang heads each week.”
Estrella-Beauchamp would welcome a head-to-head shot against Estrella with the league or state championship on the line.
“Whatever is best for the team, but I would wrestle her at states,” Estrella-Beauchamp said. “We’ve been going back and forth since sixth grade. She really pushes me and helps me get better. If it wasn’t for her, I don’t think I would be as good as I am. We’re close. We talk all the time. It hurts sometimes when one of us wins and the other one doesn’t. When we went to the Sons of Thunder camp in Colorado, the coaches said we were the hardest drillers. When we’re partners together, we just are like we’re going live.”
Once in a while, there is heat between the two. That can happen when engaging in combat.
“Through the years, we’ve always had so much competition with each other in a good way, the best way we can,” Estrella said. “Basically, we’ve been really good friends and cousins and family and for us to be able to intensely compete with each other is such a great thing. It’s awesome to see how much we’ve both grown throughout the years and see how we are and where we are now. With any family, there’s going to be (some heat). Not everything can be perfect.”
Estrella is feeling the pressure of getting that last leg of the four-year slam done.
“I definitely feel it,” she said. “I’ve dealt with it for three years, but something is different this year — the way that people talk about you, talk to you, look at you. It’s just a different vibe.”
Next year, she’ll be wrestling for Menlo College in Atherton, Calif.
Estrella-Beauchamp will choose a college to wrestle at next year, too, and Midland University in Fremont, Neb., is at the top of her wish list.
NANEA ESTRELLA
>> School: Lahainaluna
>> Sport: Wrestling
>> Grade: Senior
>> Height: 5 feet 2
>> Weight: 134 pounds
>> State championships: 3 (117 pounds in 2017, 122 in ’18, 127 in ’19)
>> College wrestling commitment: Menlo College (Atherton, Calif.); other possibilities were Southern Oregon (Ashland, Ore.), Midland (Fremont, Neb.), North Central (Naperville, Ill.)
>> Favorite subject: Math
>> Possible major: Marketing
WAIPUILANI ESTRELLA-BEAUCHAMP
>> School: Baldwin
>> Sport: Wrestling
>> Grade: Senior
>> Height: 5 feet 3
>> Weight: 135 pounds
>> State championships: 2 (127 pounds in 2018, 132 in ’19)
>> College wrestling commitment: Undeclared; possibilities are Midland (Fremont, Neb.), Tiffin (Tiffin, Ohio), Lyons (Batesville, Ark.)
>> Favorite subjects: Language arts, reading, writing, culinary arts
>> Possible career path: Physical trainer
