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There aren’t a lot of 1-2 combinations like Allie Capello and Ailana Agbayani.
The ‘Iolani softball team leans on Capello’s prowess as a power hitter and fielder, and on the versatility, hitting and pitching of Agbayani. They’ll have one more season on the diamond come spring, but for now, the future is so bright.
Agbayani signed with BYU and Capello with Pacific on Wednesday morning as seniors student-athletes across the country signed national letters of intent.
The early-period signing day included all sports with the exception of football. The next national letter-of-intent signing day will be in December.
‘Iolani had a small, informal signing ceremony at 7:15 a.m. for the two softball standouts, as well as Carianne Takeuchi, Kawai‘apo Acopan and Ellie Asada.
Takeuchi is a standout bowler who has a 300 game and a 720 series to her credit. She signed with Newman University (Wichita, Kan.). Acopan will play soccer at Menlo College (Calif.). Asada will join the volleyball team at Bates (Maine).
Capello and Agbayani have history going back to the start of middle school.
“The thing I will miss about playing with Allie is how much fun we have together. I will miss our jokes on the field and just playing with her in general. We have grown up playing together since we were 12 years old or maybe even younger,” Agbayani said.
“I will definitely miss her,” Capello said. “We’ve been good friends for a real long time. We’ve played together always except for travel ball.”
Raiders volleyball standout Mokihana Tufono wasn’t able to be at the signing event, but the senior signed with UCLA and was also named AVCA second-team All-American.
At Kamehameha, a signing ceremony was held for six Warriors: baseball players Beau Sylvester (Washington) and Keola Yim (William Jessup), softball players Haley Agena (Saint Martin’s), Nikki Donahue (Texas-Arlington) and Madison Rabe (Georgian Court), and soccer player Anuhea Aluli (Oakland University, Mich.).
Sylvester, along with Saint Louis shortstop Aiva Arquette, is regarded as one of the top two baseball prospects in Hawaii. In addition, ‘Iolani ace pitcher Zach Tenn is also signing with Washington.
“Washington is a place I could call home aside from the baseball, and on the baseball aspect, the coaches were awesome and really seemed invested,” said Sylvester, a power-hitting catcher with tremendous arm strength and good speed. “I wanted to compete at a Power-5 school.”
In a signing ceremony at Saint Louis, Arquette signed with Washington, joining Sylvester as a Huskie.
“I am feeling great. It is a wonderful opportunity,” said Arquette, who is 6 feet, 4 inches and 205 pounds now as a senior.
That’s 25 pounds stronger than Arquette was as a sophomore.
The Education 1st signing event on Zoom included several top seniors. Among them were Punahou volleyball players Riley Haine (USC), Keau Thompson (Ball State) and Aidan Tune (Pepperdine), Kamehameha volleyball player Devin Kahahawai (Texas), Punahou baseball player Kaikea Harrison (Texas A&M), Mililani softball player Cierra Yamamoto (Hawaii), Konawaena soccer player Caiya Hanks (Wake Forest) and Punahou softball player Asia Lee (Pacific).
Along with Haine, that makes four Buffanblu boys volleyball players who signed on Wednesday.
“It makes me feel proud of the team and the hard work we put in,” Tune said.
Kahahawai recently returned from a stint with the national team that played in Mexico. Her Kamehameha teammate, Maui Robins, signed with the University of Portland.
One of the most unusual signing stories belongs to Tommy Musto, a soccer player who signed with Seattle University. He is a student at Hawaii Technology School, but never played in high school. Instead, he plays midfielder with the Rush Hawaii soccer club, training at his home base in Upcountry Maui with his father, Carl. A key to the process is being proactive.
“I think it is more important to go to camps at the colleges than to rely on your club. It’s mainly up to you to find a school,” Musto said. “I would recommend to do what is best for each person and do what they want to. For me, the most important thing is finding the best environment to train in, and that is training with my dad.”