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There were lots of tears shed Saturday night at the Blaisdell Arena, both of joy and heartbreak.
The most important thing was that wrestling was back at the Blaisdell Arena.
Four of the five leagues across the state brought home at least one individual title at the Texaco/HHSAA State Wrestling Championships, which was held for the first time since 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
That meant a lot of new faces on the podium at the end of the night as 25 of the 28 individual champions crowned were first-time winners.
Moanalua’s Blaze Sumiye won the 160-pound title two years after claiming the 152-pound crown as a sophomore.
On the girls side, three-time ILH champion Haley Narahara of Kamehameha added her second state title, winning at 122 pounds two years after she bested the rest of the field at 112.
Mililani’s Erin Hikiji stayed in the same 97-pound division as she did two years ago and reclaimed the title in dominating fashion, pinning all three opponents she faced.
“It was fun. I’m just happy to be able to wrestle,” Hikiji said. “I was so excited to come back and really grateful to win my senior year.”
Hikiji is one of 13 champions to come out of the OIA. The ILH was represented by nine winners while four the five champions from the MIL came on the girls side.
Kamehameha-Hawaii junior Lainey Eckart made sure the Big Island didn’t leave empty handed, pinning Kamehameha freshman Jax Realin in the 127-pound final.
“I really appreciated the effort and the support that my coaches and my family gave me. That’s what pushed me to win first for them,” Eckart said.
For a few wrestlers, the two-year wait felt like a lifetime.
Saint Louis’ Cyrus Bucsit and Moanalua’s Karter Nitahara both broke through to win state championships after placing third two years ago.
Nitahara had the most dominant finals performance, pinning his opponent in 42 seconds to win the 182-pound crown.
“I heard (Lahainaluna’s Keawe Kane-Keahi) is a really good wrestler and Told myself to go out there and wrestle,” Nitahara said. “I didn’t want to watch videos. I didn’t want (to know) anything about him.”
Baldwin senior Liana Ferreira finished third as a freshman and lost in the 97-pound final to Hikiji two years ago.
This year, she moved up a weight class to 102 pounds and was locked in another tough battle against OIA champion Tristan Nitta of Mililani before breaking through at the end to win a 3-2 decision.
“It feels so good after this hard year of training. I worked so hard every day at practice and I pictured myself being in the state final and winning it,” Ferreira said. “I had a lot of time to prepare for this tournament, learn from my mistakes and analyze every video from my sophomore year.”
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