Winter Swell

Ka Makani teams rack up BIIF and state championships

HPA boys soccer BIIF

The Winter athletic season belonged to HPA, with Ka Makani teams bringing home seven BIIF titles and a pair of state banners to add to the wall in Castle Gymnasium.

Girls soccer kicks off the gold rush

In a show of Ka Makani strength, girls soccer reclaimed the BIIF Division II title after a two-year drought. HPA knocked off Kamehameha-Hawaii in the final 7-2 behind a pair of goals from Bella Police ’21 and Malia Brost ’21. Riley Sohriakoff ’20, Angela Cipriano ’20, and Morgan Davis ’21 also netted goals for HPA.

“I’ve never won a BIIF title,” Brost says. “This was my first one so it’s a really good feeling.”

“The past two years we were disappointed,” goalkeeper Maia Mills ’20 added. “But we bounced back. It feels really good to have it back under our belt.”

After conquering the BIIF, the girls turned their attention to the state championship, where they captured a seventh consecutive state title — the longest string of dominance the tournament has seen in its 30-plus year history. HPA outscored opponents 13-1 over the three games, besting Kauai 4-1 in the title game.

Police, Kahele Walsh, and Cipriano were named to the All-Tournament Team, while Brost and Jenna Perry were named as the Co-Most Outstanding Players of the tournament.

Boys soccer golden again

It was thought to be a rebuilding year on the boys soccer side after graduating 13 seniors, but the squad rallied around the belief that they were “underdogs,” claiming their fifth consecutive BIIF title and fourth state title in the last five years.

In the league championship, Ka Makani rallied past Makua Lani 3-1 behind a pair of tallies generated from the foot of Conor Hunt ’20. One he fired off a Lions defender for an own goal, and the second he lobbed over the keeper, taking advantage of a miscue.

“I’m proud to prove everybody wrong,” Hunt told the Hawaii Tribune-Herald following the match. “They said we weren’t going to have a good season. I heard a lot of that. Maybe they’ll get second, maybe they’ll third.”

Hunt will attend Georgetown on a football scholarship and said his soccer days are behind him after graduation. But the Ka Makani standout took some time to reflect on his days after the big win.

“This is the last time for all us seniors to be on this field,” Hunt said shortly after winning the BIIF title. “It was nice to be able to play in such a great game.”

But the boys were far from done, saving their best play for the state tournament on Oahu. HPA outscored its three opponents by a combined score of 7-0, besting Kapaa 2-0 in the championship game. Zane Willman ’20 was a stone wall in net, recording the three shutouts.

HPA doubles up in paddling

On the water, HPA nearly pulled off a historic sweep at the BIIF paddling championships. The boys and mixed crews repeated as BIIF champs, while the girls settled for second — coming less than three seconds behind the winning canoe. No BIIF program has ever won all three races in the same season.

The boys crew was made up of Ford Stallsmith, Bennett Varney, Kama Liu, Sua Tufaga, Tain Lawson, and Carter Macy. Stallsmith, Varney, Lawson, Paloma Field, Te’a Kanha, and Ollie Hope made up the mixed crew.

“It doesn’t take just one person,” says Stallsmith. “We had some returning faces, but we also had a lot of seniors graduate. We had some uncertainty in our crew, but we came together and did it in the end. It’s pretty awesome.”

“It’s great to see all the hard work finally pay off,” added Macy.

At the state regatta, Ka Makani claimed bronze in the mixed race.

BIIF three-peat for boys hoops

HPA’s senior-laden boys basketball squad earned a third consecutive title, ripping through the BIIF regular season with just one loss and besting Kohala in the title game 60-42. KJ Walker netted 18 in the championship tilt, followed by Michael Hughes with 15.

Ka Makani advanced to its fourth consecutive state tournament, but were upended by Roosevelt in the semifinals. HPA settled for third, beating McKinley in the bronze medal game. Kohala—a team Ka Makani beat twice during the BIIF season—won the state championship, a first for the school.

Swimming makes splash with team title sweep

In the pool, HPA was unmatched on the Big Island, sweeping the girls and boys titles. It was the fifth crown in the last six years for the girls, who narrowly edged Hilo 110-108 in points. Meanwhile, the boys blew the competition away, 152-117, for their sixth consecutive crown.

List of HPA BIIF champions

  • Boys 1-meter diving: Jon, Kuyper
  • Boys 200 freestyle: Kaden Parker, Hawaii Prep
  • Boys 200 IM: Tedy Neliba
  • Boys 50 freestyle: Ryan Gamble
  • Girls 100 butterfly: Anna Sorensen
  • Girls 100 freestyle: Ryanne Doherty
  • Boys 100 freestyle: Kaden Parker
  • Girls 200 freestyle relay: Ryanne Doherty, Chloe Hughes, Anna Sorensen, Claire Hughes
  • Boys 200 freestyle relay: Jakob Honda, Tedy Neliba, Kaden Parker, Kaimana Stewart
  • Boys 100 breaststroke: Kyle Weyrick
  • Boys 400 freestyle relay: Kaden Parker, Jack Jefferson, Tedy Neliba, Ryan Gamble

At the state meet on Maui, HPA junior Kaden Parker nearly made BIIF history, coming up just short of the league’s first gold medal on the boys side at states since 2011. He finished just 18 one-hundredths of a second behind Kamehameha-Kapalama’s Noa Copp in the 50-yard freestyle. Parker also took bronze in the 100 freestyle and added more hardware (silver and bronze) in the relays with his teammates.

Girls basketball advances to state tourney

Girls basketball finished runner-up in the BIIF, falling to Kamehameha-Hawai‘i in the championship game. The girls won five of their final seven games to advance to the title game. As the league runner-up, HPA advanced to the state tournament for a second consecutive year. However, the girls were eliminated by Hawai‘i Baptist in the first round.

HPA Girls Basketball

Ka Makani wrestlers make their mark

On the mat, HPA’s Jeremiah Borce came up golden, placing first in the 128-pound class at the BIIF championships. Borce, Tayson, Hirayama, Joe Sadder, Braeden Samura, and Kamuela Gaughen qualified for the state tournament on the boys side. For the girls, Anuhea Elliott, Anita Lockwood, Tawela Takushi, and Aithne Wolfenberger all qualified.

HPA Wrestling