PUHI — As the seconds ticked down, Kapaa’s Braeden Jensen scored on a reversal and near fall to get ahead of Kauai’s Madison Leanio in the boys 162 pound class Saturday at the Wilcox Gymnasium at Island School. But Leanio
PUHI — As the seconds ticked down, Kapaa’s Braeden Jensen scored on a reversal and near fall to get ahead of Kauai’s Madison Leanio in the boys 162 pound class Saturday at the Wilcox Gymnasium at Island School.
But Leanio was not out and scored to force a sudden death overtime round to break the 12-12 deadlock.
Leanio got a takedown just 26 ticks into the one-minute overtime to claim the match during the first tournament of the Kauai Interscholastic Federation wrestling season.
“This was an exciting back-and-forth match with excellent technical wrestling skills,” said Mac Pigott, the KIF wrestling tournament director. “If you were there, you had to be on your feet for the Jensen and Leanio bout. The boys put on arguably the best technical wrestling display on the day with lots of action and scoring.”
The Kauai High School girls continue their dominance on the mats, taking three of the five weight classes with Kapaa taking the remaining two classes, led by Shanayah Marshall getting ahead of team mate Tessa Jensen in the 138-pound class.
Kauai freshman Sarai Valdez, making a strong showing in preseason off-island tournaments, controlled the 102-pound class, and defending KIF champion Halle Sakai was successful in the 145-pound class.
“The total number of wrestlers is down from the first tournament of the last season,” Pigott said. “However, the overall wrestling skills continue to trend up. After watching a lot of sophomores, it is evident they put in the time during the off-season to come back much improved this year. The more experienced junior and senior wrestlers are taking KIF wrestling to the next level.”
Kauai High School boys, led by Madison Leanio in the 160-pound class, continue to take gold medals, three of the six weight classes, followed by Waimea getting two and Kapaa taking the 145-pound mat when Ryan Joel defeated Donovan Laborte.
The next KIF wrestling tournament is Saturday at 10 a.m. at the the Kauai High School gym.
Results
Girls 102 pounds: Sarai Valdez (Kau), Shaelin Manibog (Kap)
Girls 112 pounds: Jordyn Kahananui (Kau), Justice Funamura-Sasil (Kau), Kaya Akana (Wai)
Girls 122 pounds: Anna Malia Santos (Kap), Danielle Santos (Kap), Rhea Michelle Gambeng (Kau)
Girls 138 pounds: Shanayah Marshall (Kap), Tessa Jensen (Kap), Aliana Ho (IS)
Girls 145 pounds: Halle Sakai (Kau), Audrey Warner (IS), Bryana Kawamura (Kap)
Boys 113 pounds: Mason Stoll-Tolentino (Kau), Marcus Charles (IS), Kaz Espina (Kap)
Boys 126 pounds: Corey Agena (Wai), Michael John Anderson (Kap), Sasha Ravinsky (IS)
Boys 138 pounds: Matthew Tamanaha (Kau), Noah Espanto (Wai), Lowen Matsusaka (Kau)
Boys 145 pounds: Ryan Joel (Kap), Donovan Laborte (Kau)
Boys 160 pounds: Madison Leanio (Kau), Braeden Jensen (Kap), Chasen Alayvilla (Kau)
Boys 220 pounds: Andrew Evans (Wai), Daniel Higa (Kap), Dustin Rasay (Kau)
