Kamehameha senior Courtney Keli‘i is staying home to play soccer and hoping to make a difference on and off the field.
Kamehameha senior Courtney Keli‘i is staying home to play soccer and hoping to make a difference on and off the field.
She was one of six Warriors at the school’s recent annual recognition ceremony, which highlights those who sign college scholarships.
Keli‘i will play soccer and Kiarra Lincoln softball at UH-Hilo. Ka‘au Estrella signed to wrestle at Messiah College in Pennsylvania, and Jarvis Benito landed a volleyball deal with North Greenville University in South Carolina.
Avery Enriques earlier signed to play volleyball at Grand Canyon while his brother Addison inked with Concordia.
Jai Cabatbat, who signed with Hawaii Pacific to play baseball, was supposed to be honored as well. But he was at the HHSAA Division II tournament on Oahu at the time.
Keli‘i will major in nursing at UHH, which is getting an aggressive defender and smooth ball distributor.
She suffered several setbacks during her BIIF career. As a freshman, Keli‘i had a partially torn meniscus and a double concussion as a sophomore.
“I’m kind of shocked that I received this scholarship,” she said. “Throughout my high school career, I had a lot of injuries, but I’m eternally grateful for this opportunity.
“I have four more months until college ball starts, and I’ll continue to grow and improve in my work ethic and muscle gain.”
Keli‘i can’t point to winning the BIIF Division II title as a lasting memory because Kamehameha has finished runner-up to Hawaii Prep the last six years.
Besides, the best times of her life have been with her dad Vaughn Keli‘i, an early influence for her.
“My dad has made the biggest impact in my life,” she said. “When I was younger, he was my coach, and those were the best days of my life, and that’s where our bond was created.”
Lincoln has been at the school’s recognition ceremony before. She attended last year’s luncheon that featured her old teammate Mykala Tokunaga (Sonoma State), Preston Ching (UHH, golf), and Kamalu Makekau-Whittaker (Cal State Northridge, volleyball).
“It’s different when you’re in it,” Lincoln said. “It was nice each of us got to thank everyone out loud.
“We all grew up here and had different accomplishments, and to hear about each other it was a good feeling.”
Lincoln and Cabatbat will soon depart as BIIF title string producers. They’ve been part of Kamehameha’s softball and baseball teams that have each won the last six league crowns.
Sometimes, good fortune falls into your lap. That was the case with Benito, a 6-foot-3 middle blocker.
North Greenville lost out on a recruit and called coach Guy Enriques, who recommended Benito.
He worked out during the offseason with Barton College’s Justice Lord, a 2015 Hilo graduate.
The Crusaders and Lord’s Bulldogs, who fell in the play-in, first-round match to BYU at the NCAA Championships, are both in the Conference Carolinas.
“I wasn’t expecting a scholarship, but it was something that I would have liked to have,” Benito said. “I really liked the ceremony. It was nice to see that not everyone was at a Division I school like the twins. There were Division II and Division III, too.”
Next season, all men’s volleyball teams will be Division I. UHH and HPU are on the Division II level while Messiah College is a Division III school, which doesn’t offer athletic scholarships.
Estrella put up a profile on the popular ncsasports.org website and hooked up with Messiah, which offered him a package of non-athletic aid.
The Falcons finished fifth at the NCAA Division III national championships, and four earned All-American honors.
The two-time BIIF wrestling champ at 132 pounds plans to drop down to 125 at Messiah, where he’ll receive gold medalist tutoring.
Falcon senior Lucas Malmberg captured the 125 national title and will help out the coaching staff next season.
“Pennsylvania is one of the biggest wrestling states,” Estrella said. ‘The coach (Bryan Brunk) emailed me one day and flew me out there. The atmosphere was perfect. I felt like I fit in there.”
It was the second consecutive year the recognition ceremony was held in the school’s dining hall, where they were lots of proud parent moments going around.
It was the biggest recognition class yet with seven members. And Estrella did a nice job summing up the feeling for all.
“We all grew up here. Most of us have been at Kamehameha since middle school,” he said. “We’re a proud family. That’s what we are, a big family.”