As voted for by the league’s coaches, this year’s Kauai Interscholastic Federation basketball all-stars have been announced. The list of standouts was released by the league late Wednesday.
Kauai High School senior Kaimani Tecson was named KIF boys Player of the Year, and Waimea High School sophomore Kierstin Gummerus is the girls Player of the Year.
“I was in shock because I never expected to get that big of a title. I never got anything that big before,” Gummerus said.
Tecson couldn’t be reached for comment Thursday.
Among the boys, Kauai has two all-stars: Tecson and senior CJ Cromartie. Kapaa has three: senior Michael Encinas, sophomore Alaka‘i Gonsalves and senior Justin Faidley. Waimea has one: junior Wade Pimsaguan.
“For Kaimani and CJ, I’ll be straight up and honest, they just work hard,” said Kauai varsity boys basketball head coach Ipo Yoshioka. “They set goals and they work hard. They’re not yellers or screamers. They just flat out work hard, and that’s how they led this program for the last two-and-a-half, three years, by truly their hard work. It’s a credit to them and the rest of the kids how hard they work and what they put into the program.”
Yoshioka was named boys Coach of the Year.
The Red Raiders coach said Tecson is deserving of Player of the Year status because of his consistent play both ways.
“The consistency of how he plays defense, the consistency of how he plays offense, day-in and day-out, game after game, he works hard every play every night. ‘Why doesn’t he deserve it?’ I think,” Yoshioka said. “He’s a special kid. Any coach would be very proud to have a kid like that on their team.
“For me to speak of the kids, 16 of them are special. I don’t like to put one on top of the other. I can say Kaimani worked really hard for what he deserves, but the 16 other players that played on the team deserves the same accolades as Kaimani. Unfortunately, there can only be one. So, I’d proudly say I’m proud of all 16 of them.”
The Red Raiders were an undefeated 12-0 in league play en route to claiming Kauai’s third straight KIF championship.
At the 2019 Snapple Boys Basketball Championships-Division II state tournament, Kauai was 2-1 and placed fifth. The Red Raiders defeated Kaiser of the Oahu Interscholastic Association in the fifth-place game, 52-38, on Feb. 23 in Honolulu.
Waimea varsity girls basketball head coach Natalie Mata said among her all-stars, Gummerus was the most steady player throughout the season and that’s why she got the nod for Player of the Year.
“She’s our scorer, and of course the person who scores the points always gets recognition,” Mata said. “But if I had to put stats aside, she’s been the most consistent throughout the KIF. I’m not taking anything from anybody else because it’s a team sport, but Kiki has been consistent throughout the whole year.”
Gummerus said the award motivates her to have even better seasons in the coming years.
“It gives me motivation because it shows that my name is out there and I know people are watching me,” she said. “It definitely adds pressure, but I definitely feel motivated to have a better season for my junior and senior year.”
Among the girls, Waimea has three all-stars: sophomores Gummerus, Kaye Serapio and Braelyn Cayaban. Kapaa has two: seniors Jaliyah Casem and Mele Tafea. Kauai has one: sophomore Amalya Sales.
Mata was named girls Coach of the Year.
“Heart, hustle and determination would be the best three words to describe them,” Mata said. “They never gave up through any adversity. They come out, they try their hardest at whatever they do, they come to practice every day and try to push the rest of their teammates to give their 100 percent.”
Mata added despite their youth, the three sophomores were forced to grow up quickly and be leaders of the team.
“Our whole team was pretty young. We only had two seniors, and those two seniors, they’re vocal leaders,” Mata said. “As far as those three and the rest of the team, they were forced to be leaders because they’re the ones that’s playing. They had no choice.”
Waimea was 10-3 in the regular season and captured its first KIF girls basketball title in 12 years.
At the team’s first appearance at states in more than a decade, the Menehune were 3-1 and placed third. Waimea beat Hanalani of the Interscholastic League of Honolulu in the third-place game, 72-60, on Feb. 9 in Honolulu.
KIF Basketball All-Stars
Boys: Kaimani Tecson, Kauai, senior; Michael Encinas, Kapaa, senior; Alaka‘i Gonsalves, Kapaa, sophomore; Wade Pimsaguan, Waimea, junior; CJ Cromartie, Kauai, senior; Justin Faidley, Kapaa, senior
Boys Player of the Year: Kaimani Tecson, Kauai, senior
Boys Coach of the Year: Ipo Yoshioka, Kauai
Girls: Kierstin Gummerus, Waimea, sophomore; Kaye Serapio, Waimea, sophomore; Jaliyah Casem, Kapaa, senior; Mele Tafea, Kapaa, senior; Amalya Sales, Kauai, sophomore; Braelyn Cayaban, Waimea, sophomore
Girls Player of the Year: Kierstin Gummerus, Waimea, sophomore
Girls Coach of the Year: Natalie Mata, Waimea
•••
Nick Celario, sports writer, can be reached at 245-0437 or ncelario@thegardenisland.com.
