ISLE FILE
Kawika Shoji on MPSF volleyball first team
Advertiser Staff
Former 'Iolani School multi-star athlete Kawika Shoji, a junior setter for Stanford, was named to the All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation men's volleyball first team yesterday.
His younger brother, Erik, a Stanford freshman libero from Punahou, was named to the second team.
The Shojis were among several players with Hawai'i ties who were honored by the MPSF.
Brigham Young freshman middle blocker Futi Tavana, a Kaua'i High alum, was named to the second team.
Stanford outside hitters Spencer McLachlin, a sophomore from Punahou, Brad Lawson, a freshman from 'Iolani, were named to the third team.
Shoji, Tavana and Lawson were named to the all-MPSF freshman team.
University of Hawai'i junior libero Ric Cervantes and USC sophomore setter Riley McKibbin, a Punahou alum, were named honorable mention.
Paul Carroll, a senior opposite from Pepperdine, was named MPSF player of the year. Carson Clark, a freshman opposite from UC Irvine, was freshman of the year. UC San Diego's Kevin Ring was named coach of the year.
BOXING
STATE TITLES AT STAKE
The 2009 Hawai'i State/Regional Boxing Championships will be held today and tomorrow at the Queen Kapi'olani Hotel Ballroom.
Winners of the senior and open divisions advance to the National Championships, June 4 to 14, in Denver, Colo.
Boxers from O'ahu, Big Island, Kaua'i, and Maui are expected to compete. About 25 bouts will be held each day (7 p.m. today and 6 p.m. tomorrow) with boxers competing in bantam (9-10), junior (11-12), intermediate (13-14), senior (15-16) and open (17-34).
Among the nationally ranked and defending Hawai'i champions entered are Chazzette Sau, Bruno Escalante, Joshua McShane, Emmit Bolibol, Keanu Sabado and Gino Ramos in the Under-19 division. Escalante competed in the 2008 Olympic Trials. Defending champions competing are Colleen Loo, Isaiah Manalo, Earl Fitts and Kainoa Oca-Kauhane.
Admission is $20 for each night and $5 for 10 and under. Proceeds go toward travel costs to the nationals.
WRESTLING
MINA, IKEHARA MEDAL
Branden Mina (Waipahu '07) and Kazden Ikehara (Kamehameha-Kapalama '07) both medaled at the Fila Greco-Roman Junior National Wrestling tournament held in Las Vegas last week.
Mina, a sophomore at Portland State, wrestled for Team Hawai'i and placed sixth in the 60K class and Kazden, an Air Force Academy sophomore, wrestled for the Falcon Training Club and placed seventh in the 96K class.
The top eight finishers are awarded medals in national competition. Kazden, a major in systems engineering management, also was selected for the Western Wrestling Conference coaches honor roll last week.
ACADEMICS
UH TEAM HONORED
The University of Hawai'i women's volleyball team was among nearly 800 Division I teams recognized by the NCAA for their academic performance based on the most recent multi-year Academic Progress Rates.
The Rainbow Wahine earned the NCAA Public Recognition Award given each year to teams with APRs scoring in the top 10 percent of each sport. The women's volleyball team posted a perfect APR score of 1,000 during the 2007-08 academic year, the third consecutive year they have done so, and increased their multi-year APR score to 996.
"This is a tribute to our student-athletes who worked hard in the classroom and placed a very high priority in academics," UH coach Dave Shoji said. "It's also a tribute to our academic support staff who advises our student-athletes and help to provide them with the resources to excel."
The APR includes eligibility, retention, and graduation in the calculation and provides a clear picture of the academic culture in each sport.
