The Waiakea boys golf team was in the hunt last season and felt hungry going into the season.
The Warriors entered the season as the three-time defending BIIF champions and would have been a favorite for a fourth because of their depth.
They finished fourth at the HHSAA championships last May at Waikoloa, 39 shots behind champion Hawaii Baptist.
But they trailed by just 12 shots after the first round. Waiakea’s last state title was back in 2003 at Waikoloa.
“In my eight years as coach, this was probably my most balanced team that I had,” coach Alika Toledo said. “I told them this definitely was our year.”
Of course, the coronavirus pandemic wiped out the 2020 sports season and ended the eligibility of seniors Isaiah Kanno, Aiden Oki, and Riku Omata.
Kanno shot a 77-78—155 total, 16 stroke behind state champion Jake Sequin from Mid Pacific.
Oki had a 169 total and Omata had a 171 total. It was good state experience but that’s in the wind now.
That team was also stocked with juniors Isaac Inouye, who had a 162 total, and Kobey Babas, who had a 175 total.
“One of our big forces was Babas. He put a lot into his game and he was playing well,” Toledo said. “He was 2-under after 15 (at the BIIF opener at Hilo Muni) and shot an 80. His game definitely improved.”
Don’t forget about Kanno, the BIIF champion as a freshman in 2017.
In March, he won the Hawaii amateur stroke-play title, right before the pandemic collapsed everything. (Waiakea junior Lacey Uchida won the girls title.)
Kanno won a three-way playoff for the title over Kolbe Irei, a Roosevelt senior who as second at states.
His caddie was Jake Sequin, the 2019 state champion from Mid Pacific, who carded a 68-71—139 total as a sophomore last season.
“It’s a sad year for our boys. We had so much potential, the girls, too,” Toledo said. “Next year, even though we’re losing three seniors, we have up and coming players. That will definitely start a trend for the next four to five years.”
Freshman Dysen Park was second at Hilo Muni with a 74 and tore up the junior circuit for years.
The other freshman, Aukahi Lapera, had an 82 and should be a good partner for Park.
“Dysen will definitely be a strong-holder for the next three years,” Toledo said. “He’s fearless. He’s definitely a leader and will win an individual title. He’s really capable, not only in the golf game but between the ears also.”
The 2021 school year will also mark the arrival of freshman Noah Otani, the younger sibling of Elle Otani, a sophomore on the girls team.
There nothing like a sibling rivalry discussion of one’s golf score to make dinner talk interesting and stoke the motivational fire.
Kamehameha’s Dillon Ah Chong, the BIIF runner-up in 2019, will be a senior next season and one of the favorites to win the BIIF crown.
As for how the state championship picture plays out in 2021, Sequin will be back as a junior, but Hawaii Baptist graduates two seniors.
Toledo still catches himself thinking about what might have been.
“We had an opportunity to get it done last year but it didn’t happen,” he said. “That made it only more so for his year. You could not only hear it in their words but see it in their actions.
“The main thing is everybody is safe. Hopefully we’ll get over this and try again next year.”