HILO – The 121-pound division was filled with thorns — a handful of judoka owned various medal colors — but Hilo sophomore Seth Wilson walked out smelling like a rose and carrying gold.
On Saturday at the BIIF championships, there wasn’t a deeper field with so much stacked talent. Out of the 13 judoka, four captured medals last season.
Wilson lived up to his billing as the No. 1 seed and defeated Waiakea senior Cayden Rillon, who’s tough as they come, for his first BIIF title at Waiakea’s gym, where in something of a rarity all of the champs were first-time gold winners.
Last year, Wilson was second at 114 pounds. Rillon is a two-time champion at 132 pounds and dropped down a weight, which made him a well-deserved No. 2 seed and dangerous foe.
Waiakea sophomore Timothy Nakamoto was the 108 champ last year and moved up a class. He was the No. 4 seed and battled to bronze.
Hilo senior David Newpher was fourth at 121 last season. He was the No. 5 seed and took sixth.
In his first match, Wilson pinned Waiakea’s Josh Kitamura. He later beat Newpher by ippon and defeated Rillon for the championship.
“It feels good,” Wilson said. “I go to Shudokan (for club judo) and Cayden used to go the same club. He was always stronger than me. But at the BIIF team championships, I beat him for the first time. I really haven’t faced him during the season.
“I think I won just because I knew his moves beforehand. My only other sport is cross country. It helps with my endurance.”
The 121 division could have been even tougher if Waiakea sophomore Caleb Shimaoka didn’t jump up a weight at 132. Last year at 121, he was the runner-up. Shimaoka was the No. 1 seed at 132 and won gold over senior teammate Zen Sakane.
“That division was stacked out,” Hilo coach Kerwyn Tokeshi said. “Out of the whole tourney, that was the most competitive division. Seth battled and he’s tough. He really knows his stuff, and with that win, he’s undefeated with a 16-0 record.”
Wilson doesn’t talk much, but he leads with his hard work, a reason Tokeshi named him a captain on a team with just two seniors, Newpher and 220 first-year judoka Kukila Wong, who finished second to Konawaena freshman Hailama Anakalea.
“Seth is very, very humble. He’s quiet and humble,” Tokeshi said. “He’s respectful, hard-working and quiet. He lets his judo do the talking.”
Waiakea freshman Aden Leyson (108), Waiakea sophomore Kolby Namnama (114), Shimaoka (132), Waiakea senior Mason Morimoto (145), Konawaena senior Mark Inouye (178), Waiakea sophomore Isaac Ingall (198), Waiakea sophomore Kalsey Nacis (220), and Anakalea (275) all won their first golds.
Lone upset
There was only one major upset. Keaau’s Titus Estocado, the No. 1 seed at 161, lost to Waiakea junior and No. 5 seed Anson Spain early.
Waiakea sophomore and No. 2 seed Dean Miura defeated Spain for the championship. Estocado finished sixth.
The 161 class also had 13 judoka. It was deep but lacked medal winners. Estocado was runner-up last year while Miura was fourth. No one else placed in other weight classes.
Dominant POY
Shimaoka was voted the BIIF Player of the Year by the league’s coaches. And it was a pretty easy call.
“Caleb practices hard, and his technique and judo IQ are very high,” Waiakea assistant Brian Tanaka said. “He’s the player of the year because, basically, he won all his matches pretty easily this year and went undefeated.”