Konawaena freshman guard Cherilyn Molina and Mid-Pacific junior forward Tyler Allen helped their respective teams to pivotal victories last week. ScoringLive photo illustration

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Male Athlete of the Week: Tyler Allen, Mid-Pacific soccer
Perhaps the hottest team in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu boys soccer race is Mid-Pacific and without a doubt, Tyler Allen is its hottest player right now.

The junior forward scored a goal in both of the Owls' games last week: a 1-0 win over Pac-Five Tuesday and a 2-1 victory over Kamehameha Saturday. Against the Wolf Pack, Allen netted the game's only goal in the 76th minute, and followed that up with the a goal in the 25th minute against the Warriors.

"That's Tyler right there. That pretty much sums it up," Mid-Pacific coach Jayson Abe said of Allen. "I thought against Pac-Five he didn't play his best game and despite that, even when he wasn't playing well, he was still able to take control of the game and win a game for us and that's the kind of special player he is."

Allen, who was a First Team All-ILH midfielder last year, has started since he was a freshman, but has hit a growth spurt since and is now about eight or nine inches taller, accordingly to Abe.

"As a freshman he was incredibly tiny — maybe 5-foot, or 5-1 — but he really held his own and was still one of our better players and was able to make things happen for us offensively," Abe said. "I knew that he was going to grow because when he was a freshman he had size 10 1/2 shoes."

After his freshman year, Allen was kept away from the sport he loves for an extended period after a severe concussion he suffered during club soccer season.

"That was a rough stretch for him. He was out about nine months and it really bothered him that he couldn't play," Abe said. "He would come out to practice and hang out with the boys and you could see that he wanted to be out there and it killed him, but looking back that might have been one of the turning points of his career."

Abe said Allen was cleared to return to practice in November of that year, just before the start of his sophomore season.

"He was a step slow, a little sluggish and his first touch wasn't there," Abe recalled. "He wasn't sharp, but we really worked with him and told him that he had to put in that much more work to get better and be at the top of his game against the best and I think he's really taken that to heart."

Allen's sophomore season culminated with a first-half goal in Mid-Pacific's 2-0 win over Honokaa in the Division II state championship match. It was the Owls' first state crown since 2010 and just the third in school history.

"It hasn't always been pretty for Mid-Pacific in terms of soccer," Abe said. "Guys like Tyler Allen and Stirling Aponte were thrown into the varsity lineup as freshmen and sophomores and they were taking some beatings against Punahou, Kamehameha, Iolani, and three of four years later things are coming together and it's nice to see."

Allen and the Owls return to the field Tuesday afternoon when they host Punahou.

-Kalani Takase

Female Athlete of the Week: Cherilyn Molina, Konawaena basketball
Against some of the best teams across the country, freshman guard Cherilyn Molina handled herself like a veteran.

Cherilyn Molina, or "Baby Mo" as some Wildcats' fans cheered when she went to the foul line, is the youngest between the three Molina sisters on the Konawaena girls basketball team that took runner-up honors at the 8th annual Iolani Classic girls tournament this past week.

The Wildcats defeated the likes of Miramonte (Calif.) and Riverdale Baptist (Md.) and hanged tough with St. Mary's (Calif.) in the tourney final. Riverdale Baptist was ranked 17th in the nation by at the time (previously ranked No. 1) and St. Mary's tenth by MaxPreps.

Against these national powerhouses Molina averaged 10.7 points per game. She also accumulated 12 assists, five steals and four blocked shots over the three-day tourney.

"I'm very proud of her. She had a great tournament," Konawaena coach Bobbie Awa said on Molina's efforts. "To be in this type of tournament against these high caliber teams – this will just help boost her confidence even more. 

"She played over the summer in the mainland and I think that gave her the confidence leading up to this high school season. I'm looking forward to having her for the next four years."

Molina was on Awa's Team Stingray club that participated in the End of the Oregon Trail tournament and the 17th annual Midsummer Night Madness tournament in Seattle during the offseason.

One of Molina's finest moments in the Iolani Classic was when she outperformed Riverdale Baptist's 5-foot-9 freshman sensation Honesty Grayson in the semifinals. Grayson, who already is drawing interest from the likes of Tennessee and Ohio State, was coming off a 17-point outburst in the first round against ShenZhen, but was held to just two points on seven shots against the Wildcats. Molina was perfect from within the arc for seven points that day and also had team-highs in assists and steals that day.

Against St. Mary's Molina showed that she wasn't afraid of some contact in the paint. The 5-foot-4 guard snagged seven rebounds against a much taller St. Mary's team that dominated the offensive boards. Molina also had a clutch trey that made it a six-point game with under two minutes and 30 seconds to play.

"She hustles and is a really hard worker. If she gets pushed around, she'll push you back. She just has that mindset and mentality, she's so aggressive. She always looks for ways to pass the ball or go to the basket" said older sister Chanelle who was named the tournament's most outstanding player and is also the current All-Hawaii Division I player of the year.

"She learns from me. Everything I do, she learns and tries to improve on it. To see her be so aggressive against these ranked teams, its just makes her mindset more mature and she's just going to get better moving on."

-Michael Lasquero

BOYS BASKETBALL
Karson Cruz, Moanalua — Scored 16 points in a win over Mid-Pacific

Hugh Hogland, Iolani — Scored 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds in a win over Kalani

BJ Hosaka, Hawaii Baptist — Scored 27 points in a loss to Kaiser

JB Kam, Punahou — Scored 25 points and grabbed nine rebounds in a win over Farrington

Kelsey Lewis II, Kaiser — Scored 20 points in a win over Hawaii Baptist and 19 points in a win over University High

Keoua Mahiko, Kaiser — Scored 19 points in a win over University High

Ranan Mamiya, Farrington — Scored 19 points in a win over Iolani and scored 16 points in a loss to Punahou

Kyrie McRaven, Moanalua — Scored 21 points in a loss to Punahou

Zane Pantil, Hanalani — Scored 19 points in a win over Maryknoll II

Jake Smith, Farrington — Scored 21 points in a win over Iolani and scored 24 points in a loss to Punahou

Jayden Zarriello, Kamehameha — Scored 19 points in a win over Leilehua

BOYS SOCCER
Luis Alberto Aguilar, Leilehua — Scored two goals in a win over Aiea

Olokai Carvalho, Campbell — Scored two goals in a win over Nanakuli

Kalahikiola Judd, Mililani — Scored two goals in a win over Waianae

Takahiro Kosins, Kalani — Scored two goals in a win over Castle

Tyler Morton, Moanalua — Scored three goals in a win over Kalaheo

Reo Nagai, Punahou — Scored two goals in a win over Damien

Ezra Williams, Farrington — Scored two goals in a win over Kaimuki

GIRLS BASKETBALL
Riana Arima, Kamehameha-Hawaii — Scored 14 points in a win over Keaau

Sarah Banister, Hawaiian Mission — Scored 15 points in a win over Lutheran

Jessica Hanashiro, Sacred Hearts — Scored 15 points in a loss to Punahou

Kacey Kuchenbecker, Le Jardin — Scored 17 points in a loss to Hawaii Baptist

Celena Molina, Konawaena — Scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds in a win over Miramonte

Chanelle Molina, Konawaena — Scored 23 points with six rebounds and seven assists in a win over Miramonte, scored 20 points with 16 rebounds and five assists in a win over Riverdale Baptist and scored 17 points with 15 rebounds and nine assists in a loss to Saint Mary's

Doris Naulu, Lutheran — Scored 17 points in a win over Christian Academy

Keala Quinlan, Roosevelt — Scored 15 points in a loss to Saint Mary's and scored 16 points in a win over Kalani

Starr Rivera, Roosevelt — Scored 16 points in a win over Kalani

Nani Santos, Saint Francis — Scored 14 points in a win over St. Andrew's

Tia Thompson, La Pietra — Scored 18 points in a loss to Hanalani

Patria Vaimaona, Kailua — Scored 22 points in a win over Campbell

Ally Wada, Hawaii Baptist — Scored 14 points in a win over Damien and scored 18 points in a win over Le Jardin

Rylie Wada, Hawaii Baptist — Scored 15 points in a win over Le Jardin

GIRLS SOCCER
Megan Goo, Iolani — Scored two goals in a win over Sacred Hearts

Noelle Mercado, Kaiser — Scored two goals in a win over McKinley

Shay Nakahira, Punahou — Scored two goals in a win over Mid-Pacific

Keani Napuunoa, Aiea — Scored two goals in a win over Leilehua

Sara Olanda, Aiea — Scored two goals in a win over Leilehua

Alysha Somera, Waipahu — Scored three goals in a win over Waialua