Logan Lau brought Mid-Pacific’s combat sports machine back out of the garage.
A decade after fellow Owl Josh Terao turned a double slam into induction into the HHSAA Hall of Honor, Lau joins him among the list of immortals.
Lau won four combat sports golds, but it could have been more. He trails two Teraos — Josh’s older brother David had six — but his freshman year was wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“As a kid I didn’t really watch judo outside of practice and at tournaments,” Lau said. “I didn’t really know who the Teraos were at the time. I mainly looked up to the senseis and older kids at my practice.”
Judo came first for Lau, as a matter of convenience. The dojo was close to the family home.
Lau was ready to compete immediately as a prepster, he had been excelling in both sports for nearly a decade by then. He was already a national champion in judo as an eighth grader and won the Reno Worlds in wrestling as an eighth grader, rising to a national rank of No. 17 and being the first wrestler from Hawaii invited to the Doc Buchanan Invitational in Clovis, Calif., and the Gutcheck Elite Wrestling Invitational in Kent, Wash., wrestling in the main event of the latter prestigious tournament.
With all of the experience, Lau hit the ground running once he was allowed to compete in high school. He earned his first HHSAA judo title and finished third in wrestling as a sophomore. He completed his career undefeated at states in judo, with nine of his 12 matches ending early.
He won his lone state wrestling title as a junior and was set to repeat, but all of the top wrestlers near his weight class decided to jump into the pool with him at 120 pounds — a challenge he welcomed because it would benefit his team.
“It wasn’t a major cut to stay at 120,” Lau said.
He took third place again, losing to two-time state champion Evan Kusumoto of Kamehameha in overtime. Both of his losses in states went an extra period to state finalists.
After fashioning a grade point average of 3.81 (4.46 in his senior year), Lau will attend the University of Oregon and major in accounting and finance. The Ducks do not have a wrestling program, but combat sports will remain a part of Lau’s life. He was 43-4 in wrestling and 52-4 in judo.
“My plans for Oregon are to mainly focus on academics and look for clubs to join,” Lau said. “I will definitely lift weights and stay in shape. As for wrestling and judo, I would like to return home to help coach and run practice for my club and school.”
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Meet the 2024 inductees
>> Kamehameha’s Adrianna Arquette
>> Kalani’s Yuta Cole
>> Punahou’s Carly Cormack
>> Lanai’s Diesel Del Rosario
>> Kahuku’s Maia Esera
>> Kamehameha-Hawaii’s Maela Honma
>> Punahou’s Payton Jim On
>> Mid-Pacific’s Logan Lau
>> Hawaii Prep’s Brooke Samura
>> Mililani’s Belise Swartwood
>> Punahou’s Lulu Uluave
>> Kaimuki’s Jeremiah White
