There was never much doubt, but now it’s official: Kamehameha can go ahead and make plans for its annual appearance at the Hawaii High School Athletic Association water polo tournament.
There was never much doubt, but now it’s official: Kamehameha can go ahead and make plans for its annual appearance at the Hawaii High School Athletic Association water polo tournament.
The Warriors wrapped up the Big Island Interscholastic Federation regular-season championship on Saturday, easing to two victories at Naeole Pool in Keaau.
While Kamehameha (9-0) has long been the league’s top team — it hasn’t lost a BIIF match since 2009 — Kealakehe established itself as No. 2 after earning its second victory this season against Hawaii Prep. One more spot at states (April 30-May 3 at Naeole Pool) will be available at BIIFs (April 25-26 at Naeole Pool).
Konawaena avenged an earlier loss to Waiakea, so the only drama left to be decided until then is which one will grab the fourth spot in the league semifinals. The regular season concludes with five games next Saturday at Kona Community Aquatic Center, and the Wildcats will play in three of them.
Here’s a look at Saturday’s action:
Kealakehe 8, Hawaii Prep 6: Mehana Pilago powered in five goals as the Waveriders prevailed in what was most likely a preview of the BIIF semifinals.
Marissa Bryant-Manago scored twice and Sarah Somsanguansit added a goal for Kealakehe (5-2), who also will be busy next Saturday with three games on the schedule.
Louisa Duggan and Seychelle Francis posted two goals each for Ka Makani (5-4), which also got scores from Sarah Im and Hannah Twigg-Smith.
Kamehameha 10, Hilo 3: Missing three starters, the Warriors didn’t skip a beat, getting Halia Nahale-a’s four goals and a hat trick by Chloe Martins-Keliihoomalu. Pua Wong found the back of the net twice and Esther Kerr also tallied a goal.
Hayden Rooke led the Vikings (0-9) with two goals, and Ashleigh Kahawaiola’a Daffron also scored.
Konawaena 11, Waiakea 7: Mikala Fernandez poured in four goals and Chloe Delaney recorded a hat trick as the Wildcats earned their best victory of the season. Bailey Walters and Kaulana Ruedy came through with two scores apiece for Konawaena (3-4).
The Warriors (3-6) got contributions from Taislyn Ida (three goals), Grace Kalili (two) and Mary Economy and Coco Flores-Oishi.
Kealakehe 16, Waiakea 4: Bryant-Manago led the charge with five goals as seven different players scored for the Waveriders, including Pilago, who posted a hat trick. Anna Thomas, Naia Hemsher and Somsanguansit added two goals apiece, and Molly-Ann Jacoby and Naomi Tomlison also scored.
Kasey Kawakami put two in the net for Waiakea, while Katrina Ombac and Kalili each had one.
Hawaii Prep 5, Hilo 3: In one of the lowest-scoring matches of the season, two goals each from Im and Duggan and one from Twigg-Smith was enough to boost HPA.
Alana Flaherty scored twice for the Vikings and Rooke also had a goal.
Kamehameha 19, Konawaena 3: Three players recorded hat tricks for the Warriors, including Acacia Trusdell, who scored five times. Complementing Cassidy Fratinardo (three goals) and Wong (three) were Aylyssa Pelanca (two), Martins-Keliihoomalu (two) , Kerr (two) and Nahela-A and Shola Kahiapo.
Fernandez scored twice for the Wildcats and Delaney had a goal.
Results reported by Dorothy Staskawicz