LIHU‘E — Kelli Oride shot a one-under-par 71 to lead the Kaua‘i High School golfers to a sweep Saturday at Puakea Golf Course. Justin “Pono” Tokioka ended the 18 holes with a three-over-par 75 to lead the Red Raider boys
LIHU‘E — Kelli Oride shot a one-under-par 71 to lead the Kaua‘i High School golfers to a sweep Saturday at Puakea Golf Course.
Justin “Pono” Tokioka ended the 18 holes with a three-over-par 75 to lead the Red Raider boys to a team score of 399 to beat Kapa‘a’s 435 and Waimea’s 467 as the Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation opened its golf season.
“If Taylor (Viquelia) and Daezsa (Tomas) shoot under 100, we’ll get the girls,” said Ross Shimabukuro, Kaua‘i athletic director, who was watching the crossing at the No. 9 hole.
That came to pass as Viquelia finished the round at 83, followed by Tomas at 89.
Melissa Kagawa led the Waimea girls’ team with a 98, followed by Mariah Paiste with 102 and Hamiha Arquette with 161.
Kapa‘a High School did not field a girls team for this season.
Tokioka was paired with Kapa‘a’s Sean Mamaclay, Waimea’s Dylan Santos-Balisacan and Island School’s Daniel Miller to open the match, the group heading to the Puakea No. 9 facing unpredictable variable winds that ranged from a whisper to flag-raising gusts blowing out of the east.
“We were supposed to have Konas today, and it looks like the winds are shifting,” said the attendant at the crossing station. “The kids are going to ace that hole, and the No. 10 as well.”
But those predictions did not come to pass as Tokioka and Oride were just two of the golfers who were able to green the No. 9 on their second shot at the par 4 hole.
Levi Miyashiro, finishing in a tie for second place with a 79 along with Braeden Robley, dropped his club, clearly unhappy with his second swing at the No. 9.
That move was unnecessary as Miyashiro greened the hole from the far left, while Kapa‘a’s Weston Moniz overshot the hole, coming to rest almost out of bounds.
“I really went deep this time,” Moniz said while making his way down the hole to his ball.
Moniz topped the Kapa‘a boys team with a 78 followed Ken Miyata’s 81, Justin Uegawa’s 84, Mamaclay’s 87 and Aaron Belmonte’s 105.
Dylan Santos-Balisacan topped the Waimea boys with an 88, followed by Joshua Matsusaka at 93, Marius Foudila at 94, Shawn Tavares at 95 and Ka‘imi Miyashiro at 97.
Reyn Morioka, clearly showing his frustration in the face of the unpredictable winds, finished at 82 followed by Walter Castillo at 84 to round out Kaua‘i team scoring.
Mitch Keep, with 85, and Kai Adachi, with 97, helped fill out Kaua‘i’s score.
Daniel Miller, a Kaua‘i Junior Golf regular, donned the cap of Island School at the KIF match, finishing the round at 99. He was joined by Rick Adam carding a 108.
Anthony Aiwohi, with 128, Jordan Guerrero with 93, and Eric Guyett, with 96, were the additional Kapa‘a golfers.
Ken Morikawa, with 113, Camden Nakashima, with 102, and Tresten Nakashima. with 106, were the additional Waima golfers.
Play enters the second week of the six-week schedule this Saturday when the golfers play the Wailua Golf Course, with the first pairings teeing off at noon.
