HONOLULU — The Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation made history with three wrestlers placing in the final day of state competition at the Hawai‘i High School Athletic Association Texaco Wrestling Championship last weekend at the Blaisdell Center Arena.
Kaua‘i High had two state medalists, Alana Takata (155 pound girls), and Kaimiloa Padrones (195 boys), who both finished fifth at state.
Kapa‘a High’s Jolette Miner-Ho (168, girls) also placed fifth at state, marking the first time more than two wrestlers from Kaua‘i placed at the state championships.
Warriors’ coach Jess Jensen said the results were an excellent representation for the island, which has only competed at the state competitions for eight years.
The other two competitors who made it to day two of the tournament, and nearly placed, included Waimea High’s Barak Aviguetero (126 boys), and Kaua‘i’s Mason Stoll-Tolentino (120 boys), who both lost in the quarterfinals.
“It was a good showing for the KIF,” Jensen said. “The kids competed well and represented the league, with three wrestlers when we only had one in some of the tournaments before.”
Kaua‘i High School coach Paul Shindell was pleased with his team’s overall performance at the meet.
For Padrones, it was his very first off-island match.
“He had very few matches this year, and it was his first off-island wrestling tournament for Kaua‘i,” Shindell said. “He wrestled great. Even the matches he lost, with every single match he wrestled he wrestled to the best of his ability. He pushed a relentless pace because he is confident and aggressive. He had a lot of fun doing it, and I am very proud of him.”
Takata captured fifth place by defeating Hilo’s Kitina Lowery in overtime.
“To win and place was tough,” Shindell said. “It’s a scarce thing to finish your season on a win, and she did it over time. There were a lot of tough matches, but she improved a lot throughout the season, and just kept getting better and better. One of the big reasons for that is she had great practice partners.”
One of the main KIF wrestlers many predicted would medal was Miner-Ho.
“I was happy with the way our kids wrestled, and even the kids that finished 0-2 came out, fought hard and did their best,” Jensen said. “They lost some close matches, and competed very well. I am very proud of all of them. They wrestled well, did well, and they are doing their best to improve. That is what we as coaches are looking for.”
