HONOLULU - Donalyn Naihe didn't win a state championship, but came away from Saturday with some satisfaction.
The Hana High School senior finished sixth in the 172-pound weight class at the state judo tournament at the Stan Sheriff Center, and was the only Maui Interscholastic League competitor to place.
"I feel really proud of myself," said Naihe, part of a team that has just six members. "For me to make it to states from a small school is really good."
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DONALYN NAIHE, “I feel really proud of myself”
Dragons coach Vance Pu agreed.
"Being from a small team, we were already the underdogs," Pu said. "Just getting to this level is one thing in itself. She can hold her head up high even though we set our goals a little higher than we got today. All in all, she did great."
Naihe was the No. 1 seed at 172.
"We tried to keep it in her head that she deserved to be the number-one seed, that she deserved to be where she's at," Pu said.
Naihe said she only found out about the seeding when she arrived on Oahu.
"It was a lot of pressure," she said. "The more I thought about it, the more I went harder, but (my opponents) countered my moves. (Being seeded first) was good and bad."
Naihe received a first-round bye and advanced to the semifinals due to a forfeit by Kaimana Lundquist of Punahou.
Naihe lost to Hilo's Lia Nakamura in the semifinals and was sent to the consolation bracket. There, she lost to Campbell's Taylor Allen and then to Kaycee Awa of Pearl City in the fifth-place match.
Pu hopes Naihe's finish sends a message to other Hana athletes.
"We're trying to train them out of that small-town mentality," Pu said. "We love where we're from, we love the fact we got these small-town roots, but we don't want anything to be too big for them."
The MIL had four other No. 1 seeds - Kamehameha Maui's Darren Nakanuela (132) and Maui High's Jonathan Garcia (161) in the boys tournament, and King Kekaulike's Aelyssa Grace Sabado-Macanas (98) and Kapuaalohiokeakua Joy (115) in the girls.
Nakanuela and Garcia both lost their first matches.
Nakanuela was eliminated in the first round of the consolation bracket. Garcia got to the second consolation round.
Sabado-Macanas had a first-round bye, then lost in the championship-bracket quarterfinals to Pearl City's Taylor Vidad. Sabado-Macanas was eliminated in the consolation quarterfinal round.
Joy lost her opening match and in the first round of the consolation bracket.
Pearl City won the girls title with 71 points, while Punahou came in second with 58. Naihe's sixth-place finish earned the Dragons three team points, which tied them for 23rd.
Moanalua won the boys state title with 58 points, six better than runner-up Mililani.
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JUDO STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Saturday's Results
At Stan Sheriff Center
Boys
Team results
1. Moanalua 58, 2. Mililani 52, 3. Kamehameha Kapalama 42, t4. Iolani 40, t4. Punahou 40, 6. Damien 25, t7. Farrington 23, t7. Roosevelt 23, 9. Campbell 22, 10. Kahuku 21, 11. Kapolei 18., t12. Kaiser 16, t12. Maryknoll 16, t12. Mid-Pacific 16, 15. McKinley 15, t16. Keaau 12, t16. Konawaena 12, t16. Leilehua 12, 19. Kamehameha Hawaii 9, t20. Castle 5, t20. Waiakea 5, t22. Pearl City 3, t22. St. Louis 3.
Individual results
108-1. Jordan Ng, Iolani; 2. Brandt Kageno, McKinley; 3. Kelsen Onigama, Moanalua; 4. Micah Platt, Campbell; 5. Wendell Ebesu, Castle; 6. Michael Cadiz, Kapolei.
114-1. Cole Chandler, Kaiser; 2. Justin Raymond, Konawaena; 3. Bredan Chang, Maryknoll; 4. Sean Urabe, Punahou; 5. Chad Patuligan, Moanalua; 6. Alan Fang, McKinley.
121-1. Bryson Castro, Mililani; 2. Zachary Kido, Campbell; 3. Jaycob Deguzman-Arakaki, Kamehameha Kapalama; 4. Chevy Felcilda, Farrington; 5. Mason Kam, Campbell; 6. Michael Ishikawa, Pearl City.
132-1. Josh Terao, Mid-Pacific; 2. Ethan Ogata, Mililani; 3. Cody Uyejo, Mililani; 4. Skye Yonamine, Kamehameha Kapalama; 5. Bryant Fukushima, Punahou; 6. Kevin Lapitan, Campbell.
145-1. Evan Uehara, Punahou; 2. Kainoa Marumoto, Kapolei; 3. Ikaika Villanueva, Kamehameha Hawaii; 4. Royce Nelson, Roosevelt; 5. Cheyden Quiocho, Keaau; 6. Robert Kim, Mililani.
161-1. Royce Mori, Damien; 2. Jordan Ogata, Mililani; 3. Dillon Takeshita, Moanalua; 4. Kulana Salera, Moanalua; 5. Vonn Chee, Kahuku; 6. Sean Chan, Iolani.
178-1. Chaeden Grace Reyes, Farrington; 2. Sang Yoon Kim, Moanalua; 3. Spencer Kiehm, Iolani; 4. Timothy Rillamas, Kahuku; 5. Darren Lee, Kamehameha Kapalama; 6. Brentyn Lee, Moanalua.
198-1. Justin Fujiwara, Moanalua; 2. Zach Hernandez, Punahou; 3. Dayton Furuta, Mililani; 4. Ha'aheo Chan, Keaau; 5. Ka'ua Hoshino, Kamehameha Kapalama; 6. Christian Constantino, St. Louis.
220-1. D. Paihi Pestano, Kamehameha Kapalama; 2. Matt Noguchi, Iolani; 3. Simeon Vierra, Kahuku; 4. Troy Souza, Moanalua; 5. Matthew Lee, Moanalua; 6. Jonny Pane'e, Kamehameha Kapalama.
275-1. Weston Akamine, Roosevelt; 2. Jaryn Villegas, Leilehua; 3. Jacob Lewis, Damien; 4. Lukela Los Banos, Maryknoll; 5. Zeph Pavao, Waiakea; 6. Isaiah Alapai, Kapolei.
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Girls
Team results
1. Pearl City 71, 2. Punahou 58, 3. Kapolei 47, 4. Kamehameha Kapalama 35, 5. Mililani 31, 6. Roosevelt 28, 7. Kamehameha Hawaii 21, t8. Aiea 21, t8. Hilo 21, t8. Moanalua 21, 11. Waiakea 16, t12. Campbell 12, t12. Kaiser 12, t12. Sacred Hearts 12, 16. Ka'u 9, t17. Castle 7, t17. Iolani 7, t17. Kalani 7, t20. Kahuku 5, t20. Kailua 5, t20. Waipahu 5, t23. Farrington 3, t23. Hana 3, t23. Leilehua 3, t23. St. Andrew's 3, t23. University 3.
Individual results
98-1. Kaelynn Canyete, Kapolei; 2. Alexis Raia, Moanalua; 3. Taylor Vidad, Pearl City; 4. Thai Ha Sloan, Punahou; 5. Jahya Costa, Kahuku; 6. Jaclyn Agena, Moanalua.
103-1. Megan Aina, Kamehameha Hawaii; 2. Shanelle Ramelb, Kapolei; 3. Kristyn Takai, Moanalua; 4. Breanne Takaesu, Pearl City; 5. Mary Jane Garcia, Waipahu; 6. Taylor Miyao, St. Andrew's.
109-1. Diane Mikuni, Kapolei; 2. Marissa Rogers, McKinley; 3. Marina Higa, McKinley; 4. Ashley Lawhn, Kalani; 5. Angela Enos, Roosevelt; 6. Holly Kogachi, Punahou.
115-1. Nicole Taniguchi, Punahou; 2. Kristen Kojima, Roosevelt; 3. Taylor Castro, Pearl City; 4. Shana Dilliner, Kamehameha Kapalama; 5. Lauren Dias, Mililani; 6. Alyssa Miya, Leilehua.
122-1. Bree Rapoza, Kamehameha Kapalama; 2. Cassidy Chandler, Kaiser; 3. Sharese Ader, Pearl City; 4. Amber Hakkei-Nagaoka, Castle; 5. Haylee Shinsato, Mililani; 6. Sydney Cofran, Kapolei.
129-1. Tanalei Louis, Waiakea; 2. Phairin Hicks, Mililani; 3. Kari Okubo, Aiea; 4. Tara Srirangarajan, Iolani; 5. Abcde Zoller, Kamehameha Kapalama; 6. Khrysten Gameng, Campbell.
139-1. Mindy Chow, Punahou; 2. Lindsay Villarmia, Aiea; 3. Morgan Yamaguchi, Mililani; 4. Trudi Eltagonde, Pearl City; 5. Lahi Kanakanui, Hilo; 6. Dioan Cantiller, Farrington.
154-1. Tiara Kaye, Punahou; 2. Kaela Fiesta, Sacred Hearts; 3. Ariana Fernandez, Pearl City; 4. Mylinda Jefferson, Pearl City; 5. Nissi Flores-Jumalon, Kamehameha Hawaii; 6. Nicolina Pascua, University.
172-1. Lia Nakamura, Hilo; 2. Brianna Jeffries, Roosevelt; 3. Taylor Allen, Campbell; 4. Kailey Lapenia, Kamehameha Hawaii; 5. Kacie Awa, Pearl City; 6. Donalyn Naihe, Hana.
220-1. Sanoe Spencer, Pearl City; 2. Dora Matsushima, Pearl City; 3. Kiana Mello-Waiwaiole, Ka'u; 4. Rainbow Ulii, Kamehameha Kapalama; 5. Jamelyn Chinen, Kailua.
