Quinlan grapples with work study, wrestling injury

Daniel Quinlan went undefeated throughout the 32nd annual Maui Invitational Tournament for high school wrestling two weeks ago at the Lahaina Civic Center. He was set to compete in the championship match.

The MIT is one of the state’s biggest preseason wrestling tournaments, and Quinlan was on his way to winning his weight class.

Thirty one teams competed in the tournament, which included wrestlers from Oregon and Canada.

There were 33 wrestlers in his weight class. Quinlan was ranked No. 4 behind two former state champions from Oregon and one from Kamehameha School in Maui and rose to the top by the second day of competition.

But a knee injury forced the 16-year-old, 152-pound Lahainaluna High School junior from ‘Ele‘ele to withdraw and take home the silver medal.

“I was pretty sure I could’ve beat that guy,” Quinlan said of his opponent. “But it’s good I didn’t compete because I don’t want to mess up my knee.”

Quinlan went through the whole two-day tournament with his knee problem.

“It was fine before. I just put a knee pad over it and when you get on the mat, the adrenaline kicks in and you don’t feel anything,” he said.

But on the second day, the badly swollen knee made coaches and a doctor decide he couldn’t wrestle in the championship match.

His knee also kept him from competing in the Officials Wrestling Tournament this past weekend on O‘ahu.

Quinlan is home now on Kaua‘i for winter vacation from the Maui prep school.

“I like it there, but it’s a little different from the school system on Kaua‘i,” he said.

Quinlan transferred from Waimea High School to Lahainaluna his sophomore year and is attending the school under a work study program.

Wrestling is not offered in the Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation so Quinlan hoped to pursue the sport at Lahainaluna.

He originally started wrestling in the eighth grade with the Westside Wrestling Club in Waimea.

In the early stages, Westside Wrestling Club coach Ray “Mac” Pigott saw incredible potential in Quinlan.

“When he first stepped in, he had outstanding leverage and balance,” Pigott said.

“He took on one of our kids who had been wrestling with us for a while and had taken judo and (Quinlan) took him down just like that. He was a natural.”

Prior to that, Quinlan had no practice in wrestling.

“He’s been developing throughout these years and I continue to coach and to sponsor him through clinics,” Pigott said.

The coaches at Lahainaluna have allowed Pigott to coach Quinlan on occasion for matches.

It was Pigott who encouraged Quinlan’s parents into checking out schools with wrestling programs.

“I told them he has a chance to earn a college scholarship and asked if they were willing to check out other schools,” Pigott said.

Quinlan qualified academically to attend Lahainaluna and was able to transfer a week before the cut-off date. Transferring to Lahainaluna appears to be a good move.

“We’re focused on two things: his grades and his performance on the mat,” Pigott said.

So far, both his grades and his performance on the mat have measured up.

At last year’s Maui Interscholastic League championship tournament, Quinlan took first place in the 142-pound weight class.

Quinlan said he enjoys wrestling because of the physicality of the competition and the camaraderie he developed with the team. While some wrestlers are pressured to cut down or bulk up, depending on the weight class, Quinlan is comfortable competing at 150.

“If you diet correctly and stay in shape, it’s pretty easy to maintain your weight,” he said.

But that doesn’t stop him from indulging everyone once in a while.

“After that tournament, we went to this restaurant Kimo’s and I ate a fat steak. It was so good,” he said.

Quinlan will be here for a week and a half before he returns to Maui to prepare for the upcoming wrestling season which starts Jan. 5.

• Lanaly Cabalo, sports editor, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 237) or lcabalo@kauaipubco.com.