It was all Waiakea at the BIIF season-opening golf meet on Wednesday at Hilo Muni, where junior Dysen Park and senior Kiersten Saludares won medalist honors, and the Warriors took the team titles.
There hasn’t been a BIIF or state championship since 2019 with the COVID-19 pandemic shutting that down for the last two years.
Park shot a 1-under-par 70, a round where he felt he left a few shots on the course.
“It could have been better, kind of left some putts short,” he said. “Everybody wants to get better at everything, but the main thing I need to focus on right now is definitely my short game. Like today, I was leaving some putts short, which is never a good thing.”
The Warriors top three golfers are Park and sophomores Noah Otani (72) and Ryder Ng (83). The team gets a big boost next year when eighth grader Jake Otani joins the team.
“I’m excited for that, the two Otani brothers,” Park said. “Unfortunately, it’s only going to be one year, but one is better than none.”
For the boys, five start, and the four best scores are taken. For the girls, four start, and the three best scores are counted.
There was just a field of 34 golfers, a surprisingly low number. It doesn’t help that the BIIF athletic directors canceled the junior varsity season, stunting the development of younger golfers.
Saludares, the sister of two-time BIIF champion and 2018 Waiakea graduate Kaley Saludares, fired a 5-over 76 to grab first place over teammate Elle Otani, who shot an 80. The two are Waiakea’s only seniors.
“I felt like my whole game the tide kind of turned on me. I shot even on the front nine and five over the back nine,” she said. “Usually, when I do practices I do better on the back nine. It was all different for me, but I tried to pull through. I haven’t practiced much since COVID started. This is my first 18 at Muni since COVID started.”
Hilo hasn’t won a boys BIIF championship since 2013, and the girls last won one in 2014.
But Vikings coach Randy Pak is building his depth. He has 12 boys and five girls.
“Next year, we might have more because I know of some eight graders,” he said. “We might add two each, at least two each. I have seven freshmen and three of them played today, Aiden Puleo, Kawika Peterson, and Reyn Kaneshiro. On our team the freshmen are strong for us. We’re excited about the freshmen.”
Historically, Waiakea has been the dominant program for the boys and girls. The Warriors won BIIF title from 2014 to 2019, except for 2016 when Kamehameha captured the school’s first championship.
But Waiakea boys coach Alika Toledo knows the tide can change all of a sudden.
“This is my 10th year coaching, and in my first year (2013) is when Randy had a strong team,” Toledo said. “Since then Waiakea has always prevailed. But Randy puts a lot into his school. We support his (fundraiser) golf tournament, and he supports ours.”
BIIF golf results
Wednesday Hilo Muni par 71
Boys
Dysen Park, Waiakea, 70
Noah Otani, Waiakea, 72
Caleb Markoff, Makua Lani, 75
Ryder Ng, Waiakea, 83
Darrell Ramos Jr., Hilo, 85
Reyn Kaneshiro, Hilo, 87
Michael Perry, Kamehameha, 94
RJ O’Dell-Lambeth, Hilo, 96
Kolton McCallum, Waiakea, 99
Tristin Laflamme, Kealakehe, 99
Mike Lopez, Waiakea, 99
Ezekiel Nicholson, Makua Lani, 101
Ashton Pugh, HPA, 101
Aidan Puleo, Hilo, 102
Kawika Peterson, Hilo, 103
Parker Smithson, HPA, 106
Eric Gee, Kealakehe, 106
Adam Perry, Kamehameha, 109
Jack Burdette, Makua Lani, 114
David Hoag, Konawaena, 118
Haena Isa Kamehameha, 121
Justus Jeffries, Makua Lani, 124
Devin Chung, Makua Lani, 139
Team
Waiakea, 40 over; Hilo, 86 over; Makua Lani, 130 over
Girls
Kiersten Saludares, Waiakea, 76
Elle Otani, Waiakea, 80
Isabella Rodriguez, HPA, 85
Michiko Ejima, Waiakea, 88
Ella Forrest, HPA, 94
Leiah Kang, Waiakea
Adrianna Volpe, Kamehameha, 101
Mika Holi, Hilo, 102
Caroline Jung, Hilo, 113
Christina June, Hilo, 123
Kylee Pua, Kamehameha, 124
Team
Waiakea, 31 over; Hilo 125 over