KAILUA-KONA — The Big Island Interscholastic Federation (BIIF) recently released its All-BIIF teams for boys and girls soccer — with the teams who played in the HHSAA tournament dominating the selections. BIIF coaches officially voted for these selections.
Boys
Kealakehe dominated the Division I team with five selections — junior Aukele Paikuli-Campbell, junior Ezekiel Imai, junior Brayden Heldt, senior Duke Kapuniai and sophomore Jason Bois.
“They trained really hard all season and deserve to be recognized by the league,” Kealakehe coach Adrian Guillen told West Hawaii Today. “Really looking forward to bringing four of the five back next season.”
Striker Paikuli-Campbell was also named Division I Player of the Year for his distinct athleticism and scoring ability. In the opening state playoff game against Oahu’s Kapolei on Feb. 5, Paikuli-Campbell scored two goals in a come-from-behind victory to advance in the tournament. Although the Waveriders fell to Iolani in the next match, Kealakehe ended 2023-24 as the only BIIF DI squad with a state playoff win.
“Aukele is a tremendous player and a great person,” Gullen continued. “He is well on his way to accomplishing big things in his soccer career.”
Waiakea, who fell to Punahou in its opening HHSAA match after a 7-3-1 BIIF season, had three players selected. Hilo additionally had four.
Over in Division II, state runner-up Kamehameha Schools-Hawai‘i had a whopping seven players named to the list — senior Lucas Kay-Wong, sophomore Gabe Arquitola, sophomore Micah Chung, junior William Henderson, senior Connor Gonzalez, sophomore Thurston Laa and junior Jacob Aiona.
Midfielder Kay-Wong was named DII Player of the Year. Wong scored 15 goals across the season, helping lead the Warriors to a 13-1-0 overall record and 9-0-0 in the BIIF — with their only loss being in the state championship match against Kauai’s Island School by a narrow score of 1-0.
Hawaii Prep — finishing 2023-24 at 6-7-1 overall and falling to the same state-champion squad in the HHSAA quarterfinals on Feb. 8 — had four players named to the DII list. Despite early elimination on Oahu, Ka Makani won the fifth-place game over Castle on Feb. 10.
Girls
Only Waiakea and Hilo made up the DI team in the girls division — with the Warriors fielding seven players and the Vikings five. The two squads controlled Division I all season, as Waiakea went 12-4-0 overall and 11-2-0 in league play and Hilo 11-3-1 overall and 11-1-1 in the BIIF.
The Warriors’ senior striker Kauionalani Mahi-Murray won DI Player of the Year for her exceptional offense — scoring 23 total goals and having four matches with three-or-more goals across the season. Mahi-Murray’s phenomenal play helped Waiakea finish second in BIIF DI.
“I think her selection is a cumulative thing,” Waiakea head coach Steve Petner said of Mahi-Murray. “She was really good last year and she kept her standard up this year. I think with her, all of the coaches know her and she’s been a proven player over the last two years. Plus, she’s an 80-minute player — she doesn’t come off of the field. She’s a captain, so she has responsibilities to the team that I feel like she handled excellently.”
Hilo’s selections were due to its island title over Waiakea on Jan. 24, finishing 11-2-0 in the BIIF. Later in the state tournament, the Vikings fell to Mililani 2-0 on Feb. 1 in the quarterfinals.
In Division II, KS-Hawai‘i fielded another seven players to the list — sophomore Rhacelyn Respicio, sophomore Alyssa Hudman, senior Teija Moses, sophomore Madisyn Meyers, senior Rebekah Sipinga and sophomore Lahela Cootey.
Respicio finished with seven goals as the team’s top striker, earning the DII Player of the Year nod. Respicio helped lead the team to the state championship match against PAC-5 on Feb. 3, when the Warriors fell in penalty kicks.
“She created a lot of dangerous opportunities throughout the season,” KSH head coach Steven Cootey said of Respicio. “She put a lot of pressure on every opponent’s defense, just worked really hard. Just relentless.
“She’s fairly quiet, pretty reserved — just a happy girl, but an absolute competitor. She’s just one of those quiet players who will always compete and work hard, but won’t say very much at all.”
HPA was the second most-popular school on the DII list, honoring four players. Like KS-Hawai‘i, Ka Makani fell to PAC-5 4-0 in the HHSAA quarterfinals on Feb. 1. HPA finished the season 9-5-0 overall and 5-3-0 in league play.
The official soccer All-BIIF rosters can be found below:
Boys
Division I
Aukele Paikuli-Campbell – Kealakehe
Aziah Nelson – Waiakea
Brennan Barrientos – Hilo
Channing Oda – Hilo
Ezekiel Imai – Kealakehe
Kani Tolentino Perry – Hilo
Rayden Handy – Kea‘au
Brayden Heldt – Kealakehe
Duke Kapuniai – Kealakehe
Justin AhSing – Waiakea
Kaden Aguilar – Waiakea
Nahiku Anderson – Hilo
Jason Bois – Kealakehe
Luke Laa – Kea‘au
Division II
Dani Habiak – HPA
Gabe Arquitola – KSH
Zachary Juan – Honoka‘a
Kauila Kapuniai – HPA
Lucas Kay-Wong – KSH
Micah Chung – KSH
William Henderson – KSH
Alika Puckett – HPA
Connor Gonzalez – KSH
Thurston Laa – KSH
Zach Montgomery – HPA
Jacob Aiona – KSH
Girls
Division I
Kau‘ionalani Mahi-Murray – Waikea
Kryslynn Nabarro – Hilo
Maiya Kepoo-Deconte – Hilo
Ailani Franklin – Waiakea
Charlie Silva – Waiakea
Kira Kuramoto – Waiakea
Naliipoaimoku Harman – Hilo
Leilillian Soloman Ho’opai – Hilo
Linsey Hiraki – Hilo
Sadee Tamanaha – Waiakea
Shaunteʻ Fernandez – Waiakea
Journey Morimoto – Waiakea
Division II
Dani Rojas-Castelblanco – HPA
Mia Chow – KSH
Rhacelyn Respicio – KSH
Alyssa Hudman – KSH
Madie Buczyna – HPA
Nohea Lansdale – HPA
Teija Moses – KSH
Alise Nakano – Honoka‘a
Madisyn Meyers – KSH
Rebekah Sipinga – KSH
Tae Detwiler – HPA
Lahela Cootey – KSH
