The Big Island Interscholastic Federation’s (BIIF) golf season wrapped up Monday afternoon at The Club at Hokuli’a with the boys and girls individual championships’ final round.
Kamehameha Schools-Hawai‘i’s Kaha‘i Helm held onto his first round dominance by shooting a 71 in round two to win the boys title — which was his exact score from Saturday’s round. Helm’s cumulative score of 142 was good enough for -2, which beat out second-place finisher Jake Otani by five strokes. Not only did Helm win the individual title, but won his first outing of the 2024 season. The sophomore star finished the year with an average score of 76.2, qualifying him for states on Tuesday on Oahu.
Otani shot a 73 Monday, one stroke better from his first-round outing. He finished the season with an average round score of 75.6 — one of the top in the boys field. Hawaii Preparatory Academy’s Matty Inaba placed third with a 153 cumulative score (+9) after carding a 75 over the final 18 holes. Waiakea’s Ryder Ng, the BIIF boys’ top golfer by scoring average, placed fourth after shooting an 84 over the final round. He shot a 73 on Saturday. All of these golfers mentioned qualified for the state tournament next week.
Over in the girls field, it was no surprise that Ka Makani’s Anna Sailer won the girls individual title with a 160 total gross — shooting an 83 on Monday. Sailer won the competition by nine strokes.
With the BIIF season officially wrapped up, Sailer’s round average tallied to 77.1 — the only BIIF girl golfer with an average under 80. Sailer won six of the seven individual rounds she competed in, the best of both the boys and girls field.
Waiakea’s Madelyn Awaya placed second after posting an 88 at The Club to add to her 169 cumulative score. Her season average of 83.9 was good for second best of the BIIF girls. Hilo’s Kierstin Ramos placed third after carding a 90 to her total tally of 175 (+31). Teammate Kiara Kimata was in third after round one, but dropped to fourth after shooting a 94 Monday. All girls named will golf at states.
To see the full results from Monday’s round, please see Page 3B. The 2024 David S. Ishii Foundation Golf Championships will take place next Tuesday and Wednesday for the boys, while the girls will tee off May 7-8. Both tournaments will be played at Kaneohe Klipper Golf Course on Oahu. Sixteen boys and 11 girls will represent the BIIF.
BASEBALL: WAIAKEA 14, KA‘U 0
Waiakea baseball closed the BIIF regular season on a high note against DII opponent Ka‘u — routing the Trojans 14-0 for a second consecutive win.
With the win, the Warriors closed conference competition by outscoring opponents 97-8 with their 8-2 record. Waiakea also finished second in the DI standings, only just behind unbeaten Hilo. The Warriors are locked into the No. 2 seed in the BIIF playoffs, and will face No. 3 Kea‘au in a best-of-three semifinals series starting 3 p.m. Friday in Hilo.
Ka‘u (5-5) has lost four straight heading into the playoffs this week — officially positioning itself in the No. 3 spot in Division II. The Trojans will travel to Kealakekua to face No. 2 Konawaena in their semifinal series, with first pitch at 3 p.m. Friday at the Wildcats’ home field. The first team to two wins will advance to the championship stage.
VOLLEYBALL: HILO 3, KEA‘AU 1
Hilo boys volleyball maintained its No. 1 spot in the DII standings with a convincing four-set victory over Kea‘au on Monday on the road. The Cougars won the first set 25-22, but the Vikings redeemed themselves with three straight frame wins — 25-14, 25-12 and 25-11.
Hilo (10-1) has won eight straight matches while still maintaining the No. 1 spot in its division, and has one opponent remaining before DI playoffs begin Monday. The Vikings will travel across town to play local rival Waiakea tonight in Hilo. First serve’s time is still to be determined.
Kea‘au (1-10) remain in the cellar of DI, and will have one match remaining in the regular season. The Cougars will play Kealakehe tonight at home, with a first serve time still to be announced.
JV score: Hilo wins 25-11, 25-20.
OTHER SCORES
West Hawaii Today and Hawaii Tribune-Herald were unable to obtain the scores from the following volleyball matches by Tuesday evening, April 23. For any readers that may know the results, please email clangs@westhawaiitoday.com or cwhitt@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
4/22 Waiakea boys volleyball at Kealakehe