Punahou's Brett Will attempts to pin Waiakea's Kenneth Pang. Will advanced to the semifinal round, where he will face King Kekaulike's Austin Bloch. Greg Yamamoto | SL
After the first day of the Chevron/Hawaii High School Wrestling Association State Wrestling Championships, Interscholastic League of Honolulu rivals Punahou and Kamehameha are in a tight battle for the boys' crown while the Buffanblu are among several teams atop the girls' standings.
A crowd of about 1,000 fans at the Neal S. Blaisdell Arena saw wrestlers complete two championship and two consolation rounds. Matches resume at 10 a.m. Saturday with the semifinal round, followed by two consolation rounds. The finals are expected to begin around 3 p.m.
Punahou has 106 points to lead the boys' race while Kamehameha has 99 points. Lahainalua is third with 70 points and Pearl City fourth with 62.5 points. The Buffanblu lead the girls' standings with 69 points. Pearl City is second with 62 while Kahuku and Lahainaluna are tied for third with 59.5.
Punahou, the Interscholastic League of Honolulu champion, have seven boys in the semifinals while the ILH runner-up Warriors qualified for eight weight classes. There are four weight classes that both schools have wrestlers in.
One of them is the 173-pound weight class where Kamehameha's Kahikina Burgess and Punahou's Patrick Sheehan are on opposite sides of the bracket.
Sheehan, the ILH champion, will meet Radford's Kevin Corbett in one semifinal, while Burgess takes on Pearl City's Raynald Cooper III in the other.
"It's tough, because these are long days and it's tiring both physically and mentally," Sheehan said. "It's even more taxing because you're watching your teammates wrestle and you're cheering them on, but you have to stay focused and at the same time you want to stay relaxed."
A potential showdown between Sheehan and Cooper III may provide the most exciting final of the night. The pair have split a pair of meetings this year.
"I got (Burgess) next and Patrick has Corbett, and I think Patrick will probably pull it out, so I expect to wrestle him in the finals," said Cooper, who beat Corbett for the OIA championship last week. "Mentally, I'm getting ready for Patrick and everything that he brings and I'm going to rely on my basics to get it done."
Sheehan was hesistant to comment on the much-anticipated potential showdown with Cooper III.
"He's a very good wrestler and it should be a tough match, but it's not a given that either of us will make it to the finals, so I don't want to look past my semifinal match," Sheehan said.
SATURDAY'S SEMIFINAL MATCHUPSBOYS110 poundsJosh Terao (Mid-Pacific) vs. Eleomar Cabbat (Baldwin)
Skye Yonamine (Kamehameha) vs. Christian Carbajal (Lahainaluna)
116 poundsCassidy Oshiro (Maryknoll) vs. Dennis Taira (Kaimuki)
Logan Yamamoto (Iolani) vs. Jonathan Kamaka III (Pearl City)
122 poundsRyan Nakagawa (Kaiser) vs. Sage Aoki (Konawaena)
Evan Yamamoto (Punahou) vs. Nalu Souza (Kamehameha-Hawaii)
127 poundsDavid Terao (Mid-Pacific) vs. Stefan Fujimoto (Kaiser)
Bryant Fukushima (Punahou) vs. Kelvin Cruz (Lahainaluna)
132 poundsTodd Murakawa (Punahou) vs. Derek Lee Loy (Moanalua)
Tyson Kuahine (Kamehameha) vs. Holden Takahashi (Iolani)
137 poundsShayden Terukina (Kamehameha) vs. Cheyden Quiocho (Keaau)
Brett Will (Punahou) vs. Austin Block (King Kekaulike)
142 poundsJacob Luning-Hoshino (Kamehameha) vs. Tyler Yonamori (Waiakea)
Blake Cooper (Pearl City) vs. Sean Hew-Len (Castle)
147 poundsIan Akamine (Iolani) vs. Joshue Rivera (Farrington)
Landon Oka (Damien) vs. Chanse Uyeda (Lahainaluna)
154 poundsBryan Peralta (Punahou) vs. Stalin Myers (Aiea)
Nalu Scott (Lahainaluna) vs. Chaeden Grace-Reyes (Farrington)
162 poundsLaurent Remillard (Punahou) vs. Norman Galacgac (Aiea)
Ikea Ikehara (Kamehameha) vs. Jonathan Pico (King Kekaulike)
173 poundsPatrick Sheehan (Punahou) vs. Kevin Corbett (Radford)
Kahikina Burgess (Kamehameha) vs. Raynald Cooper III (Pearl City)
191 pounds Zachary Hernandez (Punahou) vs. Totauhe Latolelei (Maui)
Christopher-Mas Kuaiwa (Kamehameha) vs. James Heron (Lahainaluna)
217 poundsJheryl Makaiau (Kahuku) vs. James Lloyd II (Kaimuki)
Teanu Rickard (Lahainaluna) vs. Dane Pestano (Kamehameha)
287 poundsHayden Wills (Kamehameha) vs. Akoakoa Paleka-Kennedy (Kamehameha-Hawaii)
Bodean Bates (Lahainaluna) vs. Devin Ching (Pearl City)
GIRLS100 poundsAllene Somera (Kailua) vs. Thai Ha Sloan (Punahou)
Mikayla Ford (Molokai) vs. Megan Aina (Kamehameha-Hawaii)
105 pounds Chloe Nagasawa (Pacific Buddhist) vs. Aarica Barcina (Kahuku)
Lauren Dias (Mililani) vs. Nikki Davis (Kamehameha-Maui)
110 poundsNicole Taniguchi (Punahou) vs. Brittany Balanay (McKinley)
Quinn Nagatani (Pacific Buddhist) vs. Shayna-Marie Oliver (Farrington)
116 poundsBree Rapoza (Kamehameha) vs. Samantha Higa (Aiea)
Precious Jaramillo (Lahainaluna) vs. Kristy Rabaino (Kahuku)
122 poundsMarisa Fukunaga (Roosevelt) vs. Kiana Yamat (Lahainaluna)
Kaimiloa Evans (Pearl City) vs. Kaela Shiigi (Iolani)
127 poundsChrissy Chow (Punahou) vs. Keani Sebala (Campbell)
Tanalei Louis (Konawaena) vs. Morgan Yamaguchi (Mililani)
132 poundsMindy Chow (Punahou) vs. Elizabeth Chong (Aiea)
Rustee Johansen (Kamehameha-Hawaii) vs. Charisse Manley (Molokai)
142 poundsMakana Hussey (Lahainaluna) vs. Rachel-Jean Factora (Campbell)
Zoe Hernandez (Punahou) vs. Charmagne Monis (Pearl City)
157 poundsAnela Santiago (Kahuku) vs. Erin Scheidt (Kamehameha)
Joslynn Kahala-Minczer (Nanakuli) vs. Tiara Kaye (Punahou)
177 poundsJoreece Peapealalo (Kahuku) vs. Janelle Fuamatu (Pearl City)
Darcie Manning-O'Brien (Aiea) vs. Tracy Pooch (Waiakea)
222 poundsGina Bella Mataafa (Lahainaluna) vs. Libby Petrie (Kahuku)
Brayanne Moe (Radford) vs. Sanoe Spencer (Pearl City)