When Kaleonahe “Nahe” Bukoski was roused from sleep by the barrage of phone calls and text messages Sunday, she did not realize how special that day was.
“We celebrated her graduation Saturday night,” said Rynee “Aka” Bukoski, Nahe’s mother. “She was sleeping in.”
Those phone calls and texts were from her friends and family who learned Nahe was selected as an inductee to the Hawai‘i High School Athletic Association Hall of Honor Class of 2022. There were 12 inductees named, representing the top student-athletes in the state.
“Greg Gonsalves, the Kaua‘i representative to the HHSAA, tried to call her Friday,” said Keli‘i Morgado, Kaua‘i High School athletic director. “But she was in the middle of a heart-wrenching speech in the rain at Vidinha Stadium.”
What makes this day so special is that Nahe’s mom, Rynee, was also named to the Hall of Honor, Morgado said.
“And, in this year’s Hall of Honor, Ailana Agbayani of ‘Iolani School, who was nominated for her softball, is the daughter of Benny Agbayani, who was also in the same Hall of Honor class as Aka,” Morgado said. “A mother-daughter Hall of Honor is special. And a father-daughter combination, too? This is very special. Additionally, Greg Gonsalves is also a member of the class Aka and Benny were honored.”
Aka, who was nominated to the Hall of Honor from Baldwin High School for her performances in softball and track and field, said she knows Benny, and the two have kept up with each other because their daughters are the same age.
As a mother, Aka knows the feeling of watching her daughter compete in the athletic arena.
“Nahe ran track in the first years of high school,” Aka said. “She ran the complete season as a freshman, one event in her second year before the COVID-19 shut everything down. I did the jumps in high school, and every time Nahe was on, I’d be chewing on my nails.”
Nahe said the realization of being a Hall of Honor inductee hasn’t set in yet.
“I was surprised,” Nahe said. “I was seeing these things on Facebook. It was a nice way to wake from graduation.”
Nahe was nominated for her prowess in girls volleyball and soccer.
“She’s a real animal on the court,” said Shy Sadora, the Kaua‘i High girls volleyball coach. “She’s a natural leader, and is ball-driven.”
Nahe, who graduated among the 240 graduates from Kaua‘i High School Friday night, plans on attending the Pacific Lutheran University, where she intends to play soccer. While at PLU, Nahe will be studying kinesiology.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
