HONOLULU – The first few moments of Lainey Eckart’s big test at the Blaisdell Arena did not go well.
But the Kamehameha junior found the resolve and turned the tables on her opponent quickly.
Down 2-0 to Kamehameha-Kapalama freshman Jax Realin, Eckart found her opening Saturday and pounced, winning by fall in 1 minute, 45 seconds in the 127-pound final at the HHSAA state wrestling championships.
Eckart had been to the tournament before, but now she is a state champion for the first time after placing fourth at 127 in 2020 and then sitting out like every other wrestler in 2021 due to COVID-19,
“Lainey’s experience as a freshman helped her and also motivated her to see what’s ahead of her, the next step,” Warriors coach Cary Masuko said. “When she took fourth after a semifinal loss, there were two more major levels she needed to jump. In talking to her about that throughout the year, it was clear she knew she had those additional goals and the state tournament is where you measure those goals so she took every match here on the Big Island with that mind-set.
“She knew she needed to work on some skills and she did. Not being able to see the best wrestlers in the state in the preseason, she came into the tournament taking nobody for granted.”
Eckart’s road to the title match included wins over Castle’s Destiny Ah Quin (fall, 1:10), King Kekaulike’s Briseis Obregon (fall, 4:34), and the 2020 state placer Rachel Oshita of Moanalua (9-8). The victory in the finale boosted her record this season to 17-0.
Warriors senior teammate Kealohi Grace nearly gave Kamehameha two individual championships, but the BIIF runner-up lost a close 6-3 decision to Moanalua’s Jadyn Crisostomo in the 168-pound title match.
“Kealohi is just a blessing,” Masuko said. “I watched her progress throughout her career, especially this year, and she got better as the season went on. And specifically she focused in on little things and fine-tuned those little things each and every week. That built her confidence going into the BIIFs and she took that same momentum into the state tournament.
“As a senior, she was mature enough to understand that process. She’s a thinker with a high sports IQ. She’ll be transitioning into softball Monday morning.”
Earlier at the tournament, Grace topped Lahainaluna’s Margaret O’Neal (fall, 1:41), Farrington’s Journie Kealanahele (fall, 1:53) and Kalani’s Sarah Balbarino (injury default) to push into the final.
Hilo junior Maile Kukahiwa worked her way to a second-place finish, unable to find the magic in the 145-pound title match.
After dispatching of Mid-Pacific’s Catherine Nelson (fall, 3:04) PAC-5’s Pua Beebe (fall, 5:49) and OIA runner-up Kaui Lee-Tynan of Kapolei (fall, 3:00), Kukahiwa dropped a 6-3 decision in the final to Baldwin freshman Jahlia Miguel, who is rising fast in state stature. Miguel’s sister Jahnea was a three-time state placer and two-time state champ for the Bears of the Maui Interscholastic League.
“They all did great from the BIIF schools,” Masuko said. “Three in the finals. Just to get there in general, it’s tough. We’re very proud of that especially since we have a lack of matches over here. Compared to the other leagues who have more matches, it kind of validates that we’ve got some talented wrestlers here.”
On the boys side, no BIIF wrestler made it to the semifinals, the first time that’s happened since 2018.
Waiakea’s Isaac Vickery took bronze. After losing his quarterfinal match Friday, Vickery reeled off four consecutive wins in consolation, beating Saint Louis’ Kolt McCreadie 5-0 to take third. He finished 5-1 on Oahu.
Hilo High’s Liliane Toledo also captured bronze. The top seed was surprised by Farrington’s Teizannahope Paleafei in her opening match Friday, a 6-5 loss in the quarterfinals. Toledo bounced back with three consecutive consolation pins, avenging the loss to Paleafei in the third-place match. The Hilo girls were fifth in the team standings.
Also placing
• Konawaena’s Aliza Leander (122), Kealakehe’s Lanna Abraham (145), Hilo’s Seraya Garrido (99) and Kamehameha’s Taylor Furstenwerth (138) also reached the semifinals before suffering their first loss. Leander and Abraham each wrestled for bronze and finished fourth; Garrido pinned Konawaena’s Raesha Aurelio in the fifth-place match. Aurello and Furstenwerth wound up sixth.
• Hilo’s Jeream Estabillio (102) and Paige Tasaan (132) each wrestled their way through consolation matches to go for bronze and took fourth. Andre Gantala (106) followed the same path on the boys side, finishing fourth.
• Hawaii Prep’s Luciana Conde-Cadena (132) lost in the quarters before wrestling her way to fifth.
• Pahoa High’s Jezney Chang (168) won three matches and wound up sixth.
