Judo
Chargers recapture girls state judo crown


 



MANOA — Pearl City is back atop the mountain.

The Chargers beat out the field at the Atlas Insurance Agency/HHSAA Girls Judo State Championships at the Stan Sheriff Center Saturday to capture their record sixth team championship.

Led by sisters Jackie and Jennie Fuamatu, Pearl City posted 78 points to hold off two-time defending champion Roosevelt for its first state crown since 2014.

"It's gratifying just to know that the girls could bounce back because a lot of these girls were on the team last year that lost by one point, so they were hungry for it," Chargers coach Robin Puahala said.

Jackie Fuamatu won her second straight individual title by besting Kamehameha's Mahea Lewis by waza-ari (half point) in the 154-pound final. She moved down a weight class after winning at 172 pounds as a sophomore last year.

"It's really satisfying," said Jackie, a junior. "It feels really good to take it as a team and for myself."

Older sister Jennie defeated Kahuku's Tangiteina Niutupuivaha by yuko (quarter point) to claim the 220-pound crown. She improved upon a third-place finish from a season ago.

"I'm proud because now I can go home and be called a state champ," she said.

Jackie and Jennie's older brother, Jackson, won an individual state championship at 220 pounds in 2015.

"That Fuamatu family has been good to us for years," Puahala said. "I think that's the fourth or fifth Fuamatu with five more to go, so I'm very happy with those girls; they worked hard. I'm glad Jackie could finish as a two-time champ before she finishes high school."

Pearl City qualified 13 judoka for the state tournament — by placing in the top eight of their weight class at last week's Oahu Interscholastic Association championships — and added two more entrants Saturday morning as alternates to fill all 10 weight classes.

"Out of the 15 state qualifiers on the girls' side, I only lose three seniors, so the future is bright," Puahala said.

The Chargers also got runner-up finishes from junior Kayla Odo at 109 pounds and senior Mikayla Abe at 122. Nina Seoane placed third at 139 pounds, Olivia Mataele fourth at 220 and Michelle Tanuvasa fifth at 172. Also, Maia Fernandez was sixth at 103 pounds and Channel Hunter and Shanna Inouye finished fifth and sixth at 129, respectively.

"I thought it came down to the wire with us and Roosevelt, but our heavyweights pulled it out," Puahala said. "In that respect, I wasn't too surprised because if I had to put it in my heavyweights' hands, I would do it every time. We placed in the last six weight classes and that helped us out a lot."

Puahala said his team dealt with its share of obstacles this season, but managed to fight its way through them.

"There was a lot of adversity this year and for the team to overcome it meant a lot to them," Puahala said. "A one point the team broke down and we had to fix it. We hired a motivational speaker and he just put us back on the track that we needed to be on and the girls closed it out for us."

Roosevelt finished with 66 points, 12 behind the Chargers. Kalani was third with 37 points, Kahuku fourth with 35 points and Mililani had 32 points to round out the top five teams.

The 129-pound division was especially deep in talent, but Charlize Jasmine Pascual-Tabuyo proved to be a cut above the rest of the competition. The Mid-Pacific freshman ran through the bracket, winning all four of her matches Saturday by ippon (full point).

Pascual-Tabuyo, who qualified to represent the United States at the Cadet World Championships in Santiago, Chile in August, capped off her stellar tournament by tossing Kalani's Zoe Tateyama — the 2015 state champion at 129 pounds — with an uchi-mata (inner thigh throw) just 37 seconds into the title bout.

"I did have some nervousness knowing that a lot of my family members and friends and it's nothing compared to when I go to nationals and it's only my mom and my coach," Pascual-Tabuyo said. "Here I get a lot of support and I just love seeing them and I'm nervous because I always want to make them proud."

Kahuku junior Teniya Alo won her second individual title after she defeated Punahou's Noelle Nakaoka by yuko in the 139-pound final. Alo's first title came at 122 pounds as an Iolani freshman two years ago.

Also capturing a second crown was Mililani sophomore Mayu Wise, who edged Pearl City's Abe by shido (penalty) in the championship match of the 122-pound bracket. Wise, who won at 115 pounds last year, also beat Abe at last week's OIA championships.

Roosevelt had a pair of individual titlists in Xiaolin Mai (103 pounds) and Yuting He (109).

Other individual winners were Waipahu's Precious Tampos (98 pounds), Kalani's Czarina Pineda-Abaya (115) and Keaau's Ivory Ayers (172).



Reach Kalani Takase at [email protected].




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