Tre Soultz and Amber Nagata, cousins and seniors at Waiakea, kept the BIIF air riflery titles in the family Saturday, and they did it to the honor the memory of a member of their extended ohana.
The Warriors had just finished practice Wednesday when they got the news: Kevin Jay Ishikawa, a former teammate affectionately known as KJ, died of an apparent drowning that afternoon while swimming in the Wailuku River.
“We spent an hour, an hour and a half, just letting the kids cry and deal with it,” coach Mel Kawahara said. “I was really worried about what was going to show up today.”
The Warriors remembered Ishikawa, a 2015 Waiakea graduate, Saturday at Hilo High with stickers on their phones and guns and a logo on their T-shirts.
Any number of Waiakea shooters could have been the ones to honor their friend in victory – the Warriors placed three out of the top five in both the girls and boys competitions.
“It was just a grit thing,” Kawahara said. “Determination.”
Soultz and Nagata were truest to the mark after entering as the Nos 6 and 2 seeds, respectively.
“We’re shooting for him at BIIFs, just representing our friend,” said Soultz, who’s 536 was seven points ahead of teammate Guy Yokoe, a senior.
While the grieving process continues, the Warriors aren’t close to being done celebrating Ishikawa’s life.
“We’re shooting for him at states, too,” said Nagata, who was eight points clear of Kamehameha’s Iceley Andaya.
Waiakea, the perennial BIIF team champ, has claimed at least one individual title at every BIIF final in recent memory, but the Warriors hadn’t swept since 2012.
Soultz, a four-year participant, not only nabbed his first title, but he also was the only boys shooter to finish ahead of Nagata, claiming the “cousin rivalry.”
“It keeps it fun and more of a challenge,” Soultz said.
He had the best score in the prone and standing shoots, building a big enough lead to hold off Yokoe’s charge in the kneeling event.
Nagata trailed by one after two events, pulling ahead in the kneeling.
“Being cousins helps us motivate each other, keeping it in the bloodlines,” Nagata said. “Having my teammates there supporting me helped, too.”
Mark Nemeth delivered a rare top-five finish for St. Joseph, finishing third, and he was followed by Waiakea Dillon-Jon Gabriel and Kamehameha’s Kahekili Donner. Waiakea’s Shaye Nishimura, Kamehameha Cobi Broad and Waiakea’s Mekayla King rounded out the top five on the girls side.
Waiakea is used to gathering at the end of BIIFs and celebrating as a family. This time, there were varying degrees of reflection.
“I told them, this puts in perspective of what is important in life,” Kawahara said. “(Air riflery) is important, but a friend just died. They spent a lot of time refocusing and understanding where they are. They did really well.”
