Daniel Quinlan earned the No. 2 seed in the 152-pound weight class for the Hawai‘i High School Association State Wresting Championships today and tomorrow at the Blaisdell Arena on O‘ahu. The Lahainaluna School junior from ‘Ele‘ele earned the spot and
Daniel Quinlan earned the No. 2 seed in the 152-pound weight class for the Hawai‘i High School Association State Wresting Championships today and tomorrow at the Blaisdell Arena on O‘ahu.
The Lahainaluna School junior from ‘Ele‘ele earned the spot and the first-match bye when he won the Maui Interscholastic League wrestling championships last week at the Lahaina Civic Center.
Quinlan battled through four matches in the eight-wrestler division, with several of his matches being decided by one or two points in the final seconds.
In the tournament’s second round, Quinlan edged Moloka‘i High School’s Colton Manley 2-1. Manley, last year’s MIL champion in the 160-pound division, dropped 8 pounds to compete in the 152-poind division in hopes of winning the state title. Quinlan himself also made changes for this year, gaining 12 pounds to compete in this division.
Last year, Quinlan won the MIL championship in the 140 weight class.
At this year’s championship, Quinlan defeated Chauncey Sinenci of Hana High School in a 5-0 decision.
Manley and Sinenci may face Quinlan in the state championships, having earned spots but received lower seeds. Manley is seeded in the qualifying round and must win his first match to advance. Sinenci received the No. 6 seed.
Last December, Quinlan went undefeated in the 32nd annual Maui Invitational Tournament at the Lahaina Civic Center. Thirty-one teams competed in the tournament, which included wrestlers from Oregon and Canada.
Quinlan, though, had to withdraw prior to the championship match due to an injury to his knee. There was no update on the status of his knee, but he is expected to compete.
The first set of matches start at 10 a.m. today at the Blaisdell. The champions in each division will be crowned tomorrow.
Quinlan is a transfer to Lahainaluna out of Waimea High School. He will face the winner of the Keola Knight (Kamehameha Schools Kapalama) and Alex Kea (Wai‘anae High School) bout today.
