WAIKOLOA — The Warriors came out to play at the HHSAA state championships.
Kailey Oki, a Waiakea sophomore, brought her A-game on Tuesday to Waikoloa Kings’ Course and is in a three-way tie for the individual lead after shooting an even par 72.
Warrior teammates Lacey Uchida (75) and Kiersten Saludares (76) are within striking distance as well after an eventful first round.
As a team, the goal for Waiakea for the state tournament was 225, which they bested thanks to the effort from the young gun Warrior trio. In the team competition, Waiakea (7-under 223) has a solid 9-stroke lead on Mid-Pacific (232) and a 13-stroke advantage on Punahou (236), which has pocketed six state crowns in a row, and 11 of the last 12.
Oki’s round featured three birdies, going back-to-back on holes No. 4 and 5. If not for a bogey on the final hole of the first round, the BIIF runner-up would have held the solo lead.
Oki is tied with Moanalua’s Tagirilani Luafalealo and Leia Chung from Leilehua for the lead.
While it wasn’t a surprise to see a Waiakea golfer at the top of the leaderboard, it was which Waiakea golfer that was a bit of a stunner. Uchida, a talented 10th grader, won the BIIF championship with a 16-stroke victory on April 30 and has been the most dominant Big Island golfer this year.
When she played the Waikoloa course in league play, Uchida scorched the front nine with a 33 before finishing with the low round of 74. Things were a little tougher this time around, especially a three-hole stretch from Nos. 5-7 where she went 4-over par. She rebounded the rest of the round — shooting 1-under on the other 15 holes — to stay in contention.
Maui’s Reece Guzman (74), a two-time state runner-up, is one stroke ahead of Uchida.
Waiakea is looking to break a more than decade-long drought in both the individual and team championships. In 2005, Warrior standout Christine Kim claimed a state championship, and the Warriors also claimed the team title that year, capping a four-year stretch in which Waiakea and Hilo combined for three medalists and three team crowns.
The final round tees off today at 7:30 a.m. at the Waikoloa Kings’ Course.
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HHSAA GIRLS GOLF TOURNAMENT
First round
Waikoloa Kings’ Course
Tuesday
CHUNG, Leia Leilehua 35 37 72
LUAFALEALO, Tagirilani Moanalua 34 38 72
OKI, Kailey Waiakea 34 38 72
CALIBUSO-KWEE, Lana Baldwin 35 38 73
GUZMAN, Reece Maui 34 40 74
MCDONALD, Myah MidPacific 35 39 74
TAKAMIYA, Alison Punahou 38 37 75
UCHIDA, Lacey Waiakea 39 36 75
HARTSOCK-BUNYAN, Kayli Kailua 40 36 76
PARK, Jae Eun Roosevelt 37 39 76
SALUDARES, Kiersten Waiakea 36 39 76
LESA, Anna Kahuku 38 40 77
TAKAI, Victoria Punahou 37 39 77
KEPPEL, Sara Kaiser 35 40 78
KIM, Michelle Kalani 41 43 78
AKAGI, Kaylee Punahou 38 37 79
CAMPOS, Madison Mid Pacific 40 41 79
DUDOIT, Ferrari Mid Pacific 42 39 79
HUANG, Katrina Iolani 38 37 79
INOUYE, Kelsie Punahou 36 41 79
KILBY, Karissa Punahou 38 43 79
KOBAYASHI, Hunter Hawaii Baptist 40 41 80
LU, Shayna Punahou 37 40 80
MITSUDA, Jillian Waiakea 41 43 80
OTA, Kelsey Hawaii Baptist 39 39 80
TAGUMA, Taryn Kauai 37 41 80
TOMITA, Kyra Punahou 36 43 80
WANG, Rachael Kalani 39 44 80
CORPUZ, Aubrey Radford 39 41 81
NAKAMURA, Mari Punahou 45 42 81
YAMANE, Kellie Iolani 45 36 81
CHEE, Jolie Mid Pacific 39 36 82
HWANG, Chanelle Hilo 43 43 82
LEI, Emily Kaiser 43 39 82
CHOI, Catherine Maryknoll 44 39 83
OTANI, Elle Waiakea 40 39 83
TODD, Kiara Punahou 41 43 83
HIRONAGA, Tori Waiakea 42 42 84
LUAFALEALO, Catherine Moanalua 42 42 84
BARAIODAN, Shai Baldwin 42 42 85
SHIRAISHI, Reiko Hawaii Baptist 41 43 85
KEOLANUI, Shelby Mililani 44 44 86
KUALII, Tia Waiakea 43 42 86
MAUGA, Jade Hawaii Baptist 44 43 86
WONG, Summer Seabury Hall 43 42 86
SHIMIZU, Payten Baldwin 43 43 87
TIGILAU, Shyla Mililani 40 44 87
OSHIRO, Tyra Kauai 42 47 88
HRELJAC, Jessica Kauai 45 46 90
ULUAVE, Patiola Kahuku 42 45 90
CHINEN, Lilinoe Pearl City 46 48 91
LEDGERWOOD, Trinity Kaiser 40 45 91
SiLVA, Kaela Kailua 45 51 91
YAMATE, Kristen Moanalua 45 46 91
ELAYDO, Erin Campbell 46 46 92
KAWAHARA, Sienna Baldwin 46 46 92
GARCIA-ARASHIRO, Sofia Seabury Hall 46 46 93
YAMASAKI, Jaeda Christian Liberty 46 47 94
YAMASATO, Hailey Moanalua 44 48 95
BROWN, Keesha Kauai 49 51 96
LEE, Reyan Waipahu 51 47 96
SPARKS, Kelsie Seabury Hall 49 45 96
MURPHY, Sabrina Kauai 53 47 106
OLSON, Gretchen Lahainaluna 52 53 110
