With the Hawaii High School Athletic Association Judo State Championships just a day away, several pressing questions remain heading into the one-day tournament. The answers will play out Saturday at the Stan Sheriff Center. Preliminary-round matches begin at 10:30 a.m., with the finals expected to start at approximately 4 p.m.

1) Kapolei or Moanalua?

The boys' team title figures to come down to these two powerhouses. The Hurricanes are the defending champs and certainly have the horses to keep the Koa trophy in West Oahu. With five OIA champions, including three No. 1 seeds this week, it's hard to see them not repeating.

"Every year is always nerve racking and it's never the same where you feel comfortable going into it," Kapolei coach Marc Narciso said. "it's even more nerve racking this year knowing that we're better because more is at stake. I know they worked hard for it, I know their backgrounds, their talents and what they're capable of doing, but things can turn sour quick, so I just told them to go out there and try their best. That's all I can ask."

With a tournament-best 18 qualifiers spread across all 10 weight classes, Moanalua is hoping for a Kapolei slip-up to open the door on its chances for a return to the top of the podium. From 2010 to 2012, it was Moanalua who has a vice grip on the boys' prep judo world with three consecutive team championships.

"I feel like Kapolei is the favorite, but there's going to be little room for error on their part, just because it's going to open the door for other teams to get in if they make mistakes," Na Menehune coach Brandon Maki said. "I think it's a three-team race between Iolani from the ILH and then us and Kapolei."

Head-to-head matches between the Hurricanes and Na Menehune will be of utmost importance to the team race, especially when the tournament gets into its latter rounds.

The schools will do battle right off the bat in a 220-pound first-round match between unseeded Matt Fujiwara, of Moanalua, and third-seeded Ian Ramirez, of Punahou.

2) Will both Cole Chandler and Jordan Ng capture their third individual titles?

Chandler, a Mid-Pacific senior, and Ng, an Iolani senior, are looking to go out in esteemed company Saturday night.

As freshman in 2012, Ng won at 108 pounds, while Chandler — then at Kaiser — won the 114 bracket. The following year, Ng repeated at the same weight class, while Chandler transferred to Mid-Pacific and was forced to sit out the year due to ILH transfer rules. Last year, Ng was upset by Kapolei's Andre Pagurayan and ended up finishing third at 114 pounds, while Chandler moved up the way up to 145 and won.

Ng claimed his fourth straight ILH crown last week and is the No. 2 seed — behind Kapolei's Anthony Brett, the OIA champ — at 121 pounds. The road to a third title, however, won't come easy for Ng, who has a potential quarterfinal bout against Moanalua standout freshman Chase Wusstig and could see Castle's Wendell Ebesu — a three-time OIA runner-up — in the semifinal round.

"That 121(-pound) bracket is one with a lot of returning competitors, as far as state placers," Raiders' coach Dan Nishita said. "There are several athletes there that have done well in years past."

Chandler, meanwhile, is considered a heavy favorite at 145 pounds this week, where he is the top seed.

"I'd be shocked if he does not take 145," Punahou coach Greg Chow said of Chandler. "In fact, I'd be surprised if he doesn't take it easily."

Chandler will meet Pearl City's Christian Edwards in a first-round match before a potential quarterfinal showdown against Roosevelt's Jackapop Khongnawang, who he beat by ippon in last year's state final. If he makes it to the final again, he'll like face Kapolei's Rodman Salangdron — the No. 2 seed and OIA champion — or Waiakea's Dayton Towata, who is the BIIF titlist and seeded third.

"I think it'll be his tournament to lose," Nishita said of Chandler. "He definitely has the most experience and he's a competitor beyond the state level. He'll be going to the (Olympic Training Center) to train up there and that's a different level than high school judo. It would take a mistake on his part to lose the tournament. I don't see anybody taking it to him."

3) Can Aiea's Kari Okubo stop Kamehameha's Jaclyn Fontanilla from a three-peat?

The girls' 154-pound weight class could be one of the most entertaining to watch come Saturday.

Fontanilla, a junior, has won it the last two years, but could face a stiff challenge from Okubo, the Aiea senior who won a state title of her own at 139 pounds last season.

Last week, Fontanilla captured her third consecutive ILH individual crown with a win by ippon over Damien's Tara Labanon. She is the top seed in the state tournament and opens against Mililani's Angellyn Bas in the first round. Fontanilla has a potential quarterfinal bout against Kapolei Taysia Kano — a tough player in her own right — one round later and would likely have to go through Keaau's Cherish Harris, the BIIF champ and fourth seed, in the semifinals.

Okubo is on the other side of the bracket from Fontanilla as the No. 2 seed. She faces Roosevelt's Makela Lam first before a potential quarterfinal bout against Punahou's Kelsey Kim. Waiting in the wings in the semifinals could be either Labanon, who was fifth last season, or Pearl City's Kim Mendez, who placed third in the division last year.

Fontanilla should be considered the favorite if she and Okubo meet up in the finals, but she likely hasn't faced a judoka of Okubo's athleticism yet this season.

4) Can the Pearl City girls overcome its OIA miscues?

The Chargers are the premier girls' program in the state, as evidenced by their five state championships in program history. They have claimed the last three team crowns — all under coach Robin Puahala — but this one may prove to be a bit tougher than the previous title runs.

That's because Pearl City will be without four of its state place-finishers from a year ago. Chastyne Dolor, who won at 109 pounds as a freshman last year, and Antonio, who was third at 220, both moved in the offseason. Whatsmore, Adrienne Nazareno, who was fifth at 98 pounds last year, and Netanya Kang, who was the runner-up at 129 last season, both failed to qualify for the state tournament after missing weight the OIA championships two weeks ago.

"It's going to be close," Moanalua coach Brandon Maki said of the girls' team race. "I think it's wide open because those two didn't make weight at OIA's. I would still say Pearl City is the favorite, but there are a number of teams right behind then and that second tier can easily do it, too. It just depends on who has the best day."

Other teams expected to push the Chargers are ILH-champion Kamehameha, Punahou, OIA runner-up Roosevelt, Moanalua, Mililani and Aiea.

"No matter how much I play it out, it looks like it's a close race," said Puahala, who has guided Pearl City to five consecutive league titles and seven total in his tenure. "I think we're fine. I don't think we're the frontrunners, but I think we'll compete.

The Chargers have shown a strength in numbers over the years. Dolor was the lone individual winner last year, yet they scored a state-tournament record 104 points to run away from the field. Two years ago, they won the team title without a single individual champion and three years ago, Sanoe Spencer was their lone titlist.

5) Have we seen the last of Teshya Alo?

The Kamehameha junior has already put together a decorated prep career that consists of three wrestling state titles and one in judo. Alo missed out on a second state judo crown when she missed the ILH tournament for undisclosed reasons — and consequently failed to qualify for the state tournament. Had she entered, she would have won; Alo is that dominant.

Alo has a promising future in the sport of wrestling and if she has her way, it would include judo as well. Her dream — as depicted in the feature film "Winning Girl," which was featured in the 2014 Hawaii International Film Festival — is to win Olympic gold in both sports.

Over the years Alo has won countless titles in both wrestling and judo, at the national and even international level, but to further progress her career Alo will likely have to make a move to full-time training. That opportunity appears on the horizon for Alo, who appears likely to forgo her senior season at Kamehameha to live and train at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Last I heard Thursday, Alo will be participating in a national wrestling tournament on the mainland this weekend and will not take part in the state judo championships. It's yet another tremendous opportunity for Alo — who has all the talent and work ethic to make it big — but at the same time, a tremendous loss for the Hawaii judo and wrestling communities, who may have seen the last of the phenom in local competition.