JUDO

GIRLS

May 19, 2007, Stan Sheriff Center

Team: McKinley

Recap: McKinley senior Lianne Tomishima became the first judoka to capture four state titles, and wins by teammates Nora Kent and Asami Kobata helped the Tigers edge Kamehameha, 53-52, for their first team title.

"It's really an accomplishment," Tomishima said. "I'm so thankful for everyone who supported me. Family I haven't seen in years came to support me. I really needed that. It really goes back to them."

Farrington's Taylor Ibera defended her 98-pound title and Hilo's Relle Sato defended her 154-pound title. Kamehameha senior Hoku Nohara won at 220 pounds after last competing as a freshman, when she won a state title at 200 pounds.

"It's a good ending," Nohara said. "It ended in a positive note."

SOCCER

BOYS

Feb. 17, 2007, Waipi'o Peninsula Soccer Stadium

Team: Punahou

Recap: In a back-and-forth final, Punahou's Ben Strand scored with less than a minute left to lift Punahou to a 3-2 win over Kalani for the Buffanblu's second straight title.

Kalani struck first on a Carter Kam goal, but Punahou answered on a volley by Alessi Sia. The Falcons went up again on a goal by Danny Higa, and again Punahou responded with a Deryck Lim score.

"It feels euphoric," Punahou senior captain Will Jensen said. "It feels like we really earned it. We've been down a bunch of games, and this team has a bunch of battlers. We didn't have one hero. We had 25 leaders."

It was Punahou coach Bob Clague's final game. He retired after 21 Interscholastic League of Honolulu championships and 16 state titles in 34 years.

GIRLS DIVISION I

Feb. 10, 2007, Waipi'o Peninsula Soccer Stadium

Team: Kamehameha

Recap: The Warriors scored twice in the first five minutes of the second half after being down 1-0 at the half to win their second straight title with a 2-1 win over Kapolei.

Meleana Shim and Mari Punzal scored for Kamehameha.

"Just to get out of the ILH, we were thrilled," Kamehameha coach Michele Nagamine said. "This is just the icing on the cake. It's an amazing feeling."

Nagamine challenged her team at halftime to play hard and score quickly, "but I didn't think they would score twice in the first five minutes. I told them we were here last year, and to rely on our experience."

GIRLS DIVISION II

Feb. 10, 2007, Waipi'o Peninsula Soccer Stadium

Team: Pac-Five

Recap: Pac-Five defeated Mid-Pacific, 3-0, in penalty kicks to win its first state girls soccer title in the inaugural Division II state soccer girls championship.

The Wolf Pack defeated the Owls, 2-1, after the teams tied 1-1 in regulation. In the third meeting between the teams, Pac-Five freshman Joanna Lawlor scored early in the second half, and MPI freshman Paige Young scored with five minutes left in regulation to tie it.

Pac-Five coach Eddie Wong said he wasn't surprised the two rivals needed extra time to decide the winner.

"Considering Mid-Pacific, the way they play, we expected a hard game," he said.

SOFTBALL

DIVISION I

Feb. 3, 2007, Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium

Team: Baldwin

Recap: Nicole Alconcel pitched a five-hitter with seven strikeouts and produced the game's only runs with a two-run homer in a 2-0 win over Mililani.

"Losing as a freshman, sophomore and junior, it all adds up by the time you're a senior," said Alconcel, who was the Bears' starting pitcher in heart-breaking quarterfinal losses the past three years. It was Baldwin's first championship since 2001.

DIVISION II

Feb. 3, 2007, Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium

Team: Sacred Hearts

Recap: The Lancers earned a 5-1 victory over Kaua'i behind a three-hitter by Joslyn Eugenio and scored all five runs in the first two innings.

"We've been visitors all three games in the tournament and in each of those game we were able to come out in the first inning and score some runs," Sacred Hearts coach Wade Okamura said.

Of Sacred Hearts' 11 hits, 10 were singles; four were infield singles. The Lancers also stole four bases.

SWIMMING, DIVING

BOYS

Feb. 24, 2007, Central O'ahu Regional Park

Team: Punahou

Recap: The Buffanblu boys won the 100 backstroke, 200 medley relay and 200 freestyle relay, and earned points with top-five finishes in the other nine events.

According to 'Iolani head coach Brian Lee, the turning point came with Punahou's victory in the 200 freestyle relay, the ninth event of the day. Punahou earned six points for the win while second-place 'Iolani got four.

The teams were virtually tied coming into the final exchange, but Buffanblu junior Brett Gomes pulled away in the final length to give Punahou a .52-second victory.

"I thought we'd have more of a lead, but we were tied when I dove in," Gomes said. "So I put my head down and said, 'I'm not going to lose.' "

GIRLS

Feb. 24, 2007, Central O'ahu Regional Park

Team: Punahou

Recap: The Buffanblu won nine of 11 events and shattered six state records: Christel Simms (100- and 200-yard freestyle), Rachel Cote (100 backstroke), Brittany Beauchan (100 breaststroke) all broke individual records, and Simms, Beauchan, Cote and Michelle Yoshida broke the records for the 200 medley and 200 freestyle relays.

"We really pulled it together this season," Cote said. "We're a team, no matter how much people want to view this as an individual sport."

TENNIS

BOYS

May 12, 2007, Wailea and Makena Tennis Clubs

Team: Punahou

Singles: Skyler Tateishi, Punahou

Doubles: Alex Ching and Erik Shoji, Punahou

Recap: Tateishi defeated Matt Westmoreland of Island Pacific Academy, 6-2, 6-2, to claim the singles title and help Punahou win its 17th consecutive state championship.

"He's just too tough ... He just killed me," Westmoreland said.

The top-seeded team of Ching and Shoji beat teammates and No. 2-seeded Hiroshi Hikida and Brad Takei, 6-7 (6), 6-1, 6-3.

"It was the toughest match we've played all season," Shoji said.

The four Punahou players roomed together the night before their title match, but that didn't take the edge off their rivalry. "Because they're your teammates you want to keep in mind to be respectful. They're your best friends but in a way you want to beat them worse than your other opponents," Shoji said.

GIRLS

May 12, 2007, Wailea and Makena Tennis Clubs

Team: Punahou

Singles: Kristin Lim, Punahou

Doubles: Ashley Ohira and Nicole Nakaoka, Punahou

Recap: Lim defeated Sara Yoshinaga of 'Iolani, 6-1, 6-2, for the crown. Lim joins older brothers Robbie (2003 and 2004) and Mikey (2005 and 2006) as state singles champs from Punahou. The Buffanblu won their fifth consecutive championship.

"She was very tough throughout the tournament. I'm not sure she was challenged very much," Yoshinaga said of Lim.

Ohira and Nakaoka, both juniors, beat Alyssa Shimizu and Erin Yamamoto from Mililani, 6-0, 6-3.

TRACK & FIELD

BOYS

May19, 2007, War Memorial Stadium

Team: Punahou

Recap: Punahou won its first title in five years by winning the last race of the evening, the 4x400-meter relay.

Punahou led Baldwin by just six points, 55-49 heading into the relay, with Kamehameha (47) close behind, and Mililani (42) in position to finish in the top three.

Punahou needed only a third-place finish to assure its victory, but the relay team wanted to leave no question that they were the best team.

"We knew we had to take it but we treated it like any other race," said Punahou junior Zach Coronas, who ran the anchor leg. "We go for the win every time."

Coronas also won the 200-meter and 400-meter dashes.

Mililani's D'Andre Benjamin won the 110- and 300-meter hurdles and Reece Alnas from Kamehameha-Hawai'i was also a double winner, capturing the long jump and high jump.

GIRLS

May 19, 2007, War Memorial Stadium

Team: Punahou

Recap: The Buffanblu won their fourth straight state title and Neighbor Island athletes won 10 of 16 events, including double wins by Sarah Nicolaisen of Ka'u in the 100- and 300-meter hurdles.

Mililani's Britney Stephens was another double winner (100- and 200-meter dashes).

Punahou's Samantha Cabreros successfully defended her title in the triple jump with a leap 38 feet and Maui High's Chelsea Machida was another repeat winner, capturing the high jump for the second year in a row by clearing 5 feet 2.

Cabreros and Punahou's 4x400 relay team were the Buffanblu's only gold.

VOLLEYBALL

GIRLS DIVISION I

Nov. 9, 2006, Stan Sheriff Center

Team: Kamehameha

Recap: After a marathon first game, which Kamehameha dropped to Punahou, 35-37, the Warriors won Games 2 and 3 by identical 25-21 scores to claim their second straight title.

"This is a great thrill," said Kamehameha junior outside hitter Kanani Herring, who finished with 19 kills and 10 digs. "After that first game, we told ourselves we were not going to let down at this moment, because we've come so far. This championship wasn't handed to us in a pretty bag. We had to work for it all the way until the end."

GIRLS DIVISION II

Nov. 9, 2006, Stan Sheriff Center

Team: Sacred Hearts

Recap: The Lancers won their first state volleyball title with a 25-21, 25-20 win over Word of Life in the fifth meeting between the teams. Sacred Hearts served eight aces and held Word of Life to a .000 hitting percentage (17 kills, 17 errors in 70 attempts). Kylee Maneja and Haililani Pokipala each had seven kills for Sacred Hearts. Chanteal Satele had eight kills and 10 digs for Word of Life.

BOYS DIVISION I

Nov. 16, 2006, Stan Sheriff Center

Team: Punahou

Recap: Punahou won its third straight state title with a 25-14, 25-20 victory over Kamehameha-Hawai'i. Buffanblu outside hitter Spencer McLachlin completed his illustrious career with 15 kills, nine digs and no errors in the title match. "This is exactly how I wanted to go out," McLachlin said.

"Our defensive game plan was to be disciplined," Punahou coach Peter Balding said. "We wanted to make sure and put up a nice block, but if we didn't block it, we wanted to make sure someone was there to cover."

Punahou has won 56 straight matches in the regular and postseason.

BOYS DIVISION II

Nov. 16, 2006, Stan Sheriff Center

Team: Maryknoll

Recap: Top-seeded Maryknoll defeated No. 2 Hana, 25-22, 25-22, for the school's first boys team state title since 1984, when the basketball team won the state title. Maryknoll was forced to play without starters Tri Bourne and Nick Castello because of a combination-team rule. Maryknoll junior Shelby Nakakura stepped up with 16 kills and two blocks. "We had to learn to focus not only on our go-to guys," Maryknoll coach Shawn Doo said. "It had to be a team effort."

WATER POLO

GIRLS

May 12, 2007

Team: 'Iolani

Recap: 'Iolani, making its first state tournament appearance, defeated Kahuku, 11-4, after scoring six straight goals in the second half.

The Raiders got four goals from Dara Tawarahara and three from Jade Look. Ashley Nickle and Aja Kusao each added two second-half goals.

"It feels great. We've been waiting for this," Tawarahara said. "We knew what we had to do at the beginning of the season, and it feels great to accomplish it with this group of girls."

It was the final match for Kahuku coach Aukai Ferguson, who retired to spend more time with his two young children.

WRESTLING

BOYS

March 3, 2007

Team: Punahou

Recap: The Buffanblu won their first state title since 1968.

"We've come so far, this is great for the program," said junior Daniel Chow, who won the Buffanblu's only individual championship at 140 pounds. "I knew everybody would step up today, and everybody did."

Chow and Waipahu's Branden Mina were the only repeat champions.

Some other individual highlights include: Lahainaluna junior Lake Casco, who won at 152 pounds to become the third Casco brother to win an individual state title. Kainoa won the 160-pound championship in 2002 and the 152 crown in 2001. Kawika won the title at 171 pounds in 2000 and the 152-pound title in 1999.

Richard Torres (145 pounds) and sister Kapua, the 108-pound state champ from Kahuku in 2003, are believed to be the first brother-sister combination to win state titles.

GIRLS

March 3, 2007

Team: Farrington

Recap: Kamehameha Schools senior Hoku Nohara became only the second Hawai'i girl to win four individual state wrestling championships.

"This feels awesome," said Nohara, who won all four titles at 220. "Even before my freshman year, I wanted to become a four-time state champ."

With the help of Samantha Batoon's win over three-time champ Carla Watase of 'Iolani at 108 pounds, Farrington won its first state title since 2004.

Watase was denied the same place in history when Batoon earned a stunning 3-2 victory.

Other individual highlights: At 140 pounds, Punahou senior Kara Takasaki won her third state title and 'Iolani's Megan Morisada, the 2006 state champ at 108, won the 114-pound title.