The biggest winner at the HHSAA state judo championships was the least impressed with her accomplishment.

Punahou’s Mindy Chow won her fourth state title with an ippon win over Lindsay Villarmia of Aiea, becoming the eight judoka to do so since the competition began in 2003.

"Honestly, it means very little if anything to me," said Chow, who joined her sister Chrissy on the list. "It was not really one of my goals. I focus more on the technique, I guess."

Like Chow, Pearl City senior Sanoe Spencer could be persuaded to give back the medal. But Spencer would want a little something in return.

"It’s cool, but I’d give up all of my state championships to take teams," Spencer said through a veil of tears after winning her third state title. "That means the world to me, more than winning for myself."

Spencer won’t have to worry about it. Her Pearl City teammates helped her win the girls team title by 13 points, 71-58, over Punahou and snap the Buffanblu’s three-year reign. Kapolei was third with 47 points.

Spencer was the only titilst for the Chargers. Punahou had three, with Tiara Kaye winning her second and Nicole Taniguchi taking her first. But Spencer beat teammate Dora Matsushima in the 220-pound final and the Chargers got third-place finishes from Taylor Vidad at 98, Taylor Castro at 115, Sharese Ader at 122 and Ariana Fernandez at 154.

The Chargers finished second to Punahou last year, just two points from the title. They might have taken down a dynasty, but they consider Punahou to be Punahou no matter what the standings are.

"Punahou makes us who we are," Pearl City coach Robin Pauhala said. "Without having to chase them we wouldn’t be here. They are excellent; they made the girls work as hard as they did. From the coaches to the kids, everyone made this happen."

With Chow gone, Kamehameha’s Bree Rapoza becomes the next judoka up to try to join the list of four-time winners. Rapoza, a junior, earned her third title by ippon over Cassidy Chandler of Kaiser. Chandler was hurt on Rapoza’s finishing move, making this the most bitter of her three state titles. Chandler and Rapoza are training partners and travel to tournaments together.

"She is my friend; I have so much respect for her," Rapoza said. "Off the mat we are like sisters, so it kind of sucks."

Kapolei’s Kaelynn Canyete earned her second state title, and teammate Diane Mikuni earned her first. Mikuni got her gold by beating McKinley’s Marissa Rogers by ippon, robbing the Tiger of her third straight state title.

Megan Aina of Kamehameha-Hawaii, Tanalei Louis of Waiakea and Lia Nakamura of Hilo also won their first state titles.

Like Pearl City’s girls, Moanalua’s boys had only one state champion but scored enough points to take home a team title. Unlike Pearl City, Moanalua’s win extended a streak of three in a row.

Moanalua’s Justin Fujiwara beat Punahou’s Zach Hernandez by han soku maki for his second straight state title. Na Menehune needed the points; they were playing catch-up from the start and beat Mililani by six points, 58-52. Kamehameha was third with 42.

"Hernandez was so strong," Fujiwara said. "This year was a lot harder; it is a huge relief."

Fujiwara won his title at 160 last year, his natural weight, but stepped up to 198 and got all he could handle. It paid off with a team title because teammate Sang Yoon Kim took second at 178 and Dillon Takeshita and Kulana Salera were third and fourth at 161. Kelson Onigama helped out with a third-place finish at 108 pounds.

"Three in a row, we’re on a roll," Moanalua coach Scott Pak said. "This year was tough, way tougher than the last two. We had a lot of disappointment, there was a little bit of panic, but all of the boys stepped it up."

Dane Pahi Pestano of Kamehameha was the individual star, beating ‘Iolani’s Matt Noguchi by ippon to claim his third state title. Josh Terao of Mid-Pacific was the third boy to repeat, beating Ethan Ogata of Mililani by ippon to win at 132 pounds.

Maryknoll’s Brendan Chang was going for a third state crown but was denied by eventual champion Cole Chandler of Kaiser in the semifinals. Chandler went on to beat Justin Raymond of Konawaena by ippon for the 114-pound title. Mililani’s Jordan Ogata was denied a repeat by Royce Mori of Damien, who beat him by wazari for the 161-pound title.

Bryson Castro of Mililani beat Zachary Kido of Campbell by yuko for his first championship. He didn’t even compete at states last year.

"It was intense, a bit of redemption for me," Castro said. "Now that I am here, I finally made my goal. Last year fate wouldn’t allow it, but this year I made it happen."

Brandt Kageno of McKinley, Evan Uehara of Punahou, Chaeden Grace Reyes of Farrington and Weston Akamine of Roosevelt also won their first championships.