Louise Pekelo is one of the top judoka in the islands, on the brink of her first state championship.

Her legacy, however, is something she shares equally with her Pearl City teammates. The Chargers fought off Roosevelt 65-30 on Saturday afternoon at Moanalua High School gym to capture their sixth OIA girls judo team championship in a row.

Pekelo, a senior co-captain, doesn’t roll off a lot of verbiage when it comes to her team. She’s straight to the point.

"We were going for the sixth. We made history," she said, contributing to the team win with a victory of her own. "We’re family. We stick together through anything."

Pekelo was second in the state last year, and finished second in the OIA individual championships last week. She won her match against Roosevelt in the 109 weight class.

Co-captains Kayelah Arakaki and Mikayla Abe contributed with wins on Saturday, as well. Abe, a sophomore who placed fourth in the state last year, took second in last week’s OIA individuals. However, she defeated her nemesis, OIA champion Macy Higa, on Saturday.

Arakaki won her match at 129. She also took second last week in the OIA individuals, and was second at last year’s state tourney.

"She closed the deal," coach Robin Puahala said.

The Chargers enter next week’s HHSAA Judo State Championships as a two-time defending champ.

"Now we’ll go for a three-peat at states," Puahala said. "For our seniors, this will be a trilogy."

Puahala has been in charge of the girls program at Pearl City for 11 years, starting at age 21.

"When I was the new kid on the block, I used to push, push, push for wins, but now I’m more laid back," he said. "You don’t need to worry about winning. The wins will come when you build character."

The Kapolei boys showed plenty of grit on Saturday, rallying from a 20-point deficit to edge Moanalua 50-45. Brothers Jason and Andre Pagurayan provided the spark, winning their matches to bring Kapolei within 45-40.

Then Anthony Brett won the final matchup, capping a remarkable comeback by the Hurricanes.

"Moanalua’s all seniors and they have four years of experience," Jason Pagurayan said. "My seos weren’t working, so I reached over and used a harai goshi."

It was his win that kept Kapolei’s hopes alive. A loss would’ve clinched a Moanalua team win. Then his brother, Andre, stepped on the mat for a 114-pound battle.

"We wanted to win this for the seniors," said Andre, who went up against Diamond Inouye.

He defeated Inouye in last week’s OIA individuals.

"I was practicing all week to do my seos on my left side," Pagurayan said. "I surprised him."

Brett, a state runner-up last year, was simply clutch.

"The intensity and knowing most of (Moanalua’s) guys are seniors and it’s their senior night, I had to figure out how he played, his technique," Brett said of his opponent, Chase Wusstig.

The two were former teammates at Pearl City Hongwanji, where Brett still trains.

"It was a great match between old-time friends," Brett said. "I’m not going to take my guard down for him. I’m going to keep training hard."

This is Kapolei’s second OIA boys team title in a row.

"It’s a big win, knowing that Moanalua has won it three or four times, so next year we might want to win our third straight (OIA) title," Brett said.