WAIKOLOA — The Big Island Interscholastic Federation’s (BIIF) golf season began Wednesday at the Village Course, hosting some of the top youth players on the island.
Defending state champion Waiakea boys picked up right where it left off from last season — winning comfortably over the field by shooting +28 overall. Three Warriors also tied for first in the individual competition, as Ryder Ng, Noah Otani and Jake Otani all posted 78s (+6). All three golfers finished in the top 20 in the Hawaii High School Athletic Association (HHSAA) Golf Championships last May on Oahu.
Hilo, the boys field’s next-best finisher, posted +57 in its second-place outing. Iakona Manuia was the Vikings’ top finisher, notching a +9 through 18 holes to finish in a fourth-place tie.
Kealakehe, who finished No. 5 overall at states in 2023, came in third with a +58, and KS-Hawai‘i posted +90 collectively to round out the team competition.
Over on the girls side, Hawaii Prep — who finished 11th at states last season — took home first with a team score of +48, beating second-place Waiakea by 20 strokes. Anna Sailer was Ka Makani’s and the field’s top performer, shooting an impressive 3-over (75) in the first-place finish. Sailer beat second-place finisher Ava Herr (Waiakea) by 13 strokes — the largest individual margin of victory in the event.
To round out the girls team competition, Hilo placed third (+78) and KS-Hawai‘i fourth (+99).
The season will continue on the windward side of the island next week, with Hilo Municipal Golf Course hosting the BIIF next Wednesday with a 9:30 a.m. tee time.
The official full list of Wednesday’s results can be found on Page 3B.
Warriors have sights set on state repeat
Waiakea High’s boys golf team made history last season, taking home WHS’ 12th HHSAA boys golf state title and first in 20 years — then going on to fifth at last July’s PGA national high school invitational in Texas.
Some things have changed for the Warriors since then, but much remains the same. Alika Toledo — a Waiakea alumnus who became the school’s first-ever individual state champion golfer in 1984 — is still in charge of the team.
Veterans Ryder Ng, who placed third at states last season, and Noah Otani are in their senior years — and both inked college golf scholarships earlier this school year, with Otani comitting to golf for UH-Hilo and Ng signing with Oregon’s Linfield University. Underclassman returnees Jake Otani and Trevor Kaawaloa-Okita are now sophomores.
“Last year we had six players — and of those, four are returning,” Toledo said. “This year, we have eight new players for a total of 12.”
At the end of last season, Toledo wondered how he’d be able to fill the gap left by two-time BIIF individual champion Dysen Park — who graduated in 2023 and now golfs for UH-Hilo. But now that golf season has come around again, Toledo has found himself with an even bigger team and a crop of promising youngsters.
Last year, the Warriors sent a suqad of five, the bare minimum, to Kauai for the state championship — they’re now looking to pump those numbers up as they enter title defense mode.
“We have five players who can shoot in the 70’s,” Toledo said. “Besides them, we have two other players who can shoot mid to low 80’s and another guy who is on the wall of qualifying for states. We’re trying to qualify at least eight players for states this year — qualifying as many guys as we can is our big goal.
“Because it’s a young team, I’m gonna have to be strategic with how I play my guys (during the BIIF season). We need to make sure that they all have enough qualifying rounds for state. The older kids might have to sit down a couple games so the younger guys can have a chance.”
A bigger team is even better for Toledo’s recipe for success — creating internal competition.
“Our attitude and format is just like last year — the competition is in our van,” Toledo said. “That’s what made us the state champions, the desire to beat each other. We’re not gonna lose focus on that, and it’s a plan that works, so we’re not gonna try to fix something that’s not broken.”
If the Warriors were to win the state title again this year, it would be their first repeat since the Y2K era — when Waiakea built a four-peat dynasty, winning state every year from 1998-2001.
The players are optimistic, but are still not taking it easy on themselves.
“I think we have a good chance to repeat,” Noah Otani said. “We’ve gotta start small with BIIFs, then states again and nationals again, that would be great.”