Eight Big Island Interscholastic Federation (BIIF) schools represented the island in the 2024 Hawaii High School Athletic Association (HHSAA) Texaco Wrestling Championships on Friday and Saturday at the Cannon Activities Center on Oahu — Konawaena, Kamehameha Schools-Hawai‘i, Kealakehe, Waiakea, Hilo, Pahoa, Hawaii Prep and Laupahoehoe.
Konawaena boys finished as the top BIIF team, placing ninth overall with 72 collective points. The Wildcats had four finishers in the top six — Akea Cariaga in fourth (144 division), Race Moxley in fourth (175 division), Nick Maira in third (190 division) and James Sina in second (126 division).
This past weekend also marked the first time Kona has placed in the top 10 at state since 2006.
“We had an amazing showing at states this weekend,” coach Fredrico Ventenilla told West Hawaii Today. “In general, the Big Island presence at (wrestling) states has been much greater than in years past.”
KS-Hawai‘i boys, who finished tied for No. 14 overall with 46 points, had three top individual finishers — Kainalu Kaku in third (113 division), Chayden Bertelmann in sixth (144 division) and Charles John Hao (120 division) in sixth.
West-side school Kealakehe had a top individual performer — Nehasi Faleofa in the 285 class — place fourth overall after winning his second BIIF title on Feb. 24. Faleofa improved from last season, where he placed sixth in the 220-pound class at states.
Over in the girls competition, Hilo took the crown as top BIIF finisher by placing No. 6 overall with 100.0 points as a unit. The Vikings had six top-six finishers — Kyra Mohundro in third (100 class), Taylen Babas-Masuno in fifth (105 class), Jeream Estabilio in fifth (110 class), Kamalani Rasay in fifth (115 class), Maile Hunter in sixth (135 class) and Paige Taasan in fifth (145 class).
“It feels great,” Hilo coach Tyler Milare said. “The thing about states is you can’t just squeeze by. No disrespect to anyone, but there’s levels to this game — and when you get to states, man those levels just show. All the training, all the competition it shows.
“Even for us, a lot of our wrestlers had clear cuts and some of them came up short or just lost by points. We were in a great spot, but there’s levels. I think after this weekend, we showed that Hilo High’s here to stay.”
Milare also gave Mohundro, the Vikings’ top finisher, maximum praise.
“She did phenomenally well,” he continued. “She pinned last year’s champ. She lost to (Waiakea’s Shaniah-Lee Ferreira), who beat her at BIIFs. I’m proud of her and all these girls.”
Kona, who claimed its first BIIF championship ever in 2023-24, placed 19th as the second-highest BIIF finisher in the girls competition.
Waiakea’s Ferreira placed second overall in the 100-pound class, falling short to Campbell’s Kaylie Zeller in the first-place match. Hawaii Prep’s Wynter Radey-Morgan placed fifth in the same class.
Kealakehe’s Emma Emmsley, a freshman, additionally placed sixth in the 235 class a week after winning the BIIF Championships for her division.
The official team results can be found below, with all BIIF schools highlighted:
Boys
1. KS-Kapalama – 188.0
2. St. Louis – 135.0
3. Moanalua – 124.0
4. Baldwin – 114.5
5. Mililani – 105.5
6. Lahainaluna – 99.0
7. Kapolei – 88.5
8. Campbell – 80.0
9. Konawaena – 72.0
10. KS-Maui- 63.5
11.Wainae – 61.5
12. Castle – 55.5
13. Kalani – 48.0
T14. Punahou – 46.0
T14. KS-Hawai‘i – 46.0
16. Pearl City – 45.0
17. Farrington – 32.0
18. Lanai – 26.0
T19. Aiea – 25.0
T19. Kahuku – 25.0
T21. Iolani – 24.0
T21. Kealakehe – 24.0
T21. Waiakea – 24.0
T24. Hanalani – 22.0
T24. Waipahu – 22.0
26. Maui – 20.0
T27. King Kekaulike – 19.0
T27. Molokai – 19.0
29. Mid-Pacific – 17.5
30. Radford – 17.0
Girls
1. Moanalua – 238.5
2. KS-Kapalama – 157.0
3. Baldwin – 136.0
4. Campbell – 125.0
5. Lahainalune – 102.0
6. Hilo – 100.0
7. Kahuku – 94.0
8. Kapolei – 94.0
9. Pearl City – 93.0
10. Punahou – 78.0
11. Iolani – 61.0
12. Leilehua – 60.5
13. Farrington – 55.0
14. Waipahu – 44.0
15. Waianae – 43.0
16. King Kekaulike – 38.0
17. Molokai – 37.0
18. Pahoa – 29.0
19. Konawaena – 28.0
20. Roosevelt – 27.0
21. Waiakea – 25.0
22. KS-Maui – 24.0
23. Kalani – 23.0
T24. Kailua – 19.0
T24. Kealakehe – 19.0
26. Mililani – 18.0
27. Maui Prep – 16.0
28. Hawaii Prep – 14.0
T29. Laupahoehoe – 13.0
T29. McKinley – 13.0