KAILUA-KONA — New venue, no problem for Pearl City.
The Chargers swept the team titles at the Hawaii High School Athletic Association state tournament for a fourth year in a row Saturday at KBXtreme. It is the fifth straight title for the boys, and fourth for the girls.
McKinley’s Bryce Takenaka took home the boys top individual honors with a 190.2 average, including a tournament-high 273-game Friday. On the girl’s side, HBA’s Shelby Suzuki took top honors with a 188.4 average.
In 2000, the last time the state tournament was held in Kona, two Big Island bowlers — Konawaena’s Everett Tom and Pahoa’s Leanne Okamoto — took home the top individual honors. Tom even bowled the current individual record of 2,086 pins.
The Big Island Interscholastic Federation did not have as good a showing this time around.
The regular season girls champion Kealakehe finished sixth, and boys champ Konawaena settled for ninth.
The lone Big Island bowler in the top 15 on either side was Konawaena’s Madison Staup. The Wildcat senior rolled a 165.8 average. Kealakehe’s Desiree Ichishita (141.3) was next best, finishing 43rd.
Kamehameha-Hawaii’s Brandyn Lee-Lehano turned in the best performance by a BIIF bowler on the boys side, finishing 18th with a 165.33 average. Konawaena’s Torin Savella was next in 34th. Kamehameha’s Seth Yamaguchi, the BIIF individual champion, did not bowl.
Pearl City ran away with the title, and put it away with a tournament-high 930 game Saturday. Runner-up Kapolei finished nearly 400 pins back.
Asked how his program evolved into such a dominate dynasty, Pearl City head coach James Hayashi had a simple response.
“Bowl, bowl, bowl,” said Hayashi. “We practice a ton and the kids practice a lot on their own, too. They want it so bad and they go out and get it. They really want to take home that state trophy year after year.”
Hayashi said his squad didn’t bowl near its season-highs, but was proud of the bowlers’ adjustments.
“The kids like to travel. They get excited to get off the island,” said Hayashi. “This alley was not easy. We had to make adjustments, and after that we started bowling steady.”
Hayashi also broke a personal tie with brother and Hawaii Baptist Academy coach Greg Hayashi. The brothers had each led their programs to five state titles entering the weekend. Saturday’s win gave James six.
“I passed him,” James said with a chuckle and a fist pump.
The path to the championship was not as easy for the lady Chargers. Entering the day, Pearl City was down 90 pins to Kapolei — the team’s first deficit of the season.
But the Chargers refused to lose, closing out the tournament with a 890 final game and edging the Hurricanes 7,276-7,126 for a fourth consecutive title.
“It was not what we were use to,” said Pearl City girls head coach Millie Gomes. “Nobody was sure of their game. One game could be good, and the next horrible. But they bounced back and little by little we made it up.”
The state tournament venue rotates through the islands, and was slated for Hilo Lanes this year. However, with the facility closing its doors this summer, tournament officials were unsure if the Big Island would host. BIIF executive director Lyle Crozier petitioned to keep the tournament on the Big Island, suggesting KBXtreme as the new host venue.
It meant three days of bowling instead of two, but in its debut hosting duty under the KBXtreme name, the Big Island lanes did not disappoint.
“It’s awesome to have all these people here,” said KBXtreme general manager Calvin Higa. “We depend on the promotion of youth bowling. Those are our future league bowlers. Some are already in our leagues. We will keep investing in events like these to hopefully help grow the sport.”
What Higa said he enjoyed most about hosting the event was the camaraderie between the teams.
“It’s awesome to see everyone cheering for each other,“ said Higa. “In other sports you may see tension between the schools, but not here. This was a very cohesive and spirited event.”