When Waiakea’s Raelyn Ai-Yoneda and Hilo’s Ashley Lavarias meet on the judo mat there is little in the way of surprises.
One notable exception, and it’s a big one, is the result.
Encounters such as their match Saturday at Waiakea take on a hint of “friendly competition,” Lavarias said. They know each other and their moves well, but they’re also two of the fiercest competitors in the BIIF.
Just how fierce this matchup gets the rest of the way remains to be seen.
“We go to club judo together,” Ai-Yoneda said, “so I think we both know each others’ plays.
“It’s easier to defend what we are going to do.”
Last season, Waiakea’s LiAnn Yamamoto set history on the sidelines, winning her fourth BIIF title by forfeit. If Ai-Yoneda is to follow in Yamamoto’s footsteps this season, a fourth BIIF title will be anything but a formality if Lavarias is standing in her way.
Ai-Yoneda won Saturday’s matchup by shido (light penalty), avenging a loss to Lavarias earlier this season.
“I feel I like I wasn’t as prepared (in the loss) as I was today,” Ai-Yoneda said. “After I lost, I trained myself hard to beat her.
“The benefits (of the loss) showed.”
They may or my not meet again when it counts.
If they do, “I think I have to be really focused on my technique and watch what throws I do because you never know what is going to happen on the mat,” said Lavarias, a sophomore who has been practicing judo since age 8. “We’re up and up all the time.”
Lavarias is a judoka first and a wrestler second, but some of her Vikings teammates trend in the other direction, and coach Kerwyn Tokeshi is cautiously optimistic Hilo, with a roster of 21 strong, can ride the combination to its first BIIF team title.
“My program is the biggest in my three years,” Tokeshi said, “It’s ridiculous the amount of turnout that I had.
“Lots of my kids are wrestlers. I tried to have them recruit some of the wrestlers (to judo). I told the ones that came out to do judo and didn’t wrestle to go do wrestling. We send kids both ways.”
The Vikings got a big boost when Hula Kaho’okaulana, a three-time champion, transferred from Keaau High, and among the Viks’ BIIF wrestling champions on the judo team this season are Lilliana Campbell, a silver medalist last season in judo, and Leona Toledo.
Campbell has been locking horns with Waiakea junior Samantha Yamamoto, a two-time champ at 98 and one of the best pound-for-pound judoka on the island, but Hilo is hopeful Campbell can start to use her wrestling experience to her advantage.
Toledo has been winning matches at 225.
“Her wrestling experience is helping her through,” Tokeshi said. “The more mat time she gets, the more experience she gets, she’ll be strong.”
He also likes what he’s seen from as well from Auie Madiam and Angela Viernes in the lower weight classes. Last season in the 103 final, Madiam beat Viernes for gold. Freshman Liliane Toledo also is trying judo this season, and Saturday she ran into Konawaena’s Kapoina Bailey at 184. Bailey is the league’s only returning HHSAA champion. LiAnn Yamamoto also struck state gold in 2018 as a senior.
Tokeshi chuckled when he was told Waiakea coach Jason Tanaka considers the Vikings to be the girls favorite.
While Waiakea’s girls are going for their fourth consecutive BIIF crown – the team finals are April 13 at Konawaena – Tanaka has reason to feel much more confident that the Warriors boys can complete a threepeat.
“We can fill all 10 slots and all of them are really good,” Tanaka said.
The returning champions are Aden Leyson (108), Caleb Shimaoka (132), Dean Miura (161) and Isaac Ingall (198).
The only teams that can come close to matching the Warriors’ depth are the Vikings and Keaau. Earlier this season, Waiakea won nine of 10 matches against Hilo.
In one of the better boys matches Saturday, Shimaoka and Hilo’s Seth Wilson went to overtime, with Shimaoka coming out on top. Wilson claimed the 121 division last season.
Much like the Ai-Yoneda-Lavarias matchup, it remains to be seen if Shimaoka and Wilson will match up at BIIFs. If they do, there won’t be many surprises.
“They know each others’ moves left and right,” Tokeshi said.