The Lahainaluna girls surfing team poses for a photo after winning the Maui Interscholastic League team championship. Photo courtesy Matt Cibulka

The Maui Prep boys and Lahainaluna girls captured the overall Maui Interscholastic League surfing titles after each team won the final MIL event of the year Saturday at Lahaina Harbor.

For Na Pueo boys, it was the final win in a dominant season in which they claimed all four MIL team events. For the Luna girls, they finished where they started in February, winning the first contest of the year at D.T. Fleming Beach.

The race for girls team championship was the closest finish ever with four teams — Lahainaluna, King Kekaulike, Maui Prep and Maui Christian — having all six of their competitors in the finals. And it came down to the last girls event, the bodyboard, before the title was decided.

Lunas freshman Ocean Lipstein, with her slashing style, did just enough to get past Ilana Caserta of Maui Prep and Lila Sloan of Maui Christian, which allowed the Lunas to edge Maui Christian, 67-66, while Maui Prep was third at 65 points and King Kekaulike took fourth with 58.

“Today was pretty amazing,” said Lara Claydon, the Lunas head girls coach. “We came together as a team today. We’ve been training at the harbor for the last two weeks and building team confidence, and it showed in our results.”

Lipstein, the Lunas’ workhorse, was second in longboard No. 2 and third in shortboard No. 1 in addition to her bodyboard victory.

Ocean Lipstein of Lahainaluna rides to victory in girls bodyboarding Saturday at Lahaina Harbor. Her win clinched the girls Maui Interscholastic League team title for Lahainaluna. Photo courtesy Matt Cibulka

Senior Gianna Pogni added a win in longboard No. 1 while younger sister Stella was second in shortboard No. 2 and Oliana Schur was fourth in shortboard No. 3.

Lahainaluna’s Gianna Pogni glides backside across a breaking section. Pogni won the girls longboard No. 1 as the Lunas captured the team championship. Photo courtesy Matt Cibulka

“Today, this meant everything to me,” Gianna Pogni said. “Finally accomplishing this goal was amazing. Winning as a team is honestly, for me, better than winning for yourself because you get to share it with people around you.”

Senior Zolten Poulsen continued to lead the Maui Prep boys, placing second in both shortboard No. 1 and longboard No. 1. Poulsen was a model of consistency throughout the season, claiming four of five shortboard titles, including the MIL individual championship and winning three of five longboard meets, including the MIL individual title.

The Maui Prep boys surfing team poses for a photo after winning the Maui Interscholastic League team championship. Photo courtesy Matt Cibulka

Poulsen, who never shows much emotion, was all smiles after the event.

“It feels amazing, especially to be able to do it here at Harbor,” Poulsen said. “Super special because this is the wave I grew up on, probably clocked a thousand hours out here. It’s just nice to come back to this place after the fire and see our community.”

Poulsen was one of several Maui Prep and Lahainaluna surfers and coaches who either lost their homes or were displaced after the August 2023 Maui wildfires.

Seth Jucker had Na Pueo’s lone win, taking longboard No. 2 while the other Maui Prep boys finalist was Makaiah Clark, who finished fourth at shortboard No. 3.

“It was a perfect day,” Maui Prep head coach Lyndee Sprenger said. “It was senior day so it was sad to see all the seniors have their last time together. What a great year we’ve had. Every single contest has been incredible waves. All these different schools are friends with each other, all the coaches are friends with each other and all the teammates are friends with each other — I just love it.”

Bode Davis of Kulanihakoi was the only double winner. He defeated Poulsen in the highest scoring heat of the day in the boys longboard No. 1, and also took the bodyboard title. Brothers Angel and Keano Jardine of Maui Christian won the boys shortboard No. 1 and No. 2, respectively. Another pair of siblings won titles as Sloane Jucker captured the girls shortboard No. 1 while Seth Jucker took the boys longboard No. 2.

Other winners included Thayane Colpas of Maui Christian (girls shortboard No. 2), Kaja Przeciechowska of King Kekaulike (girls shortboard No. 3), Talia Sloan of Maui Christian (girls longboard No. 2), and Mason Burns of Lahainaluna (boys shortboard No. 3).

In winning the MIL titles, the Maui Prep boys and Lahainaluna girls qualified for the inaugural Hawaii High School Activities Association at Hookipa Beach Park on May 1-2. The other MIL state meet competitors qualified individually at Hookipa two weeks ago.

Talia Sloan of Maui Christian rides to a win in girls longboard No. 2. Photo courtesy Matt Cibulka

Maui Interscholastic League Surfing Team Championships

Girls Results

Team scores — 1. Lahainaluna, 67; 2. Maui Christian, 66; 3. Maui Prep, 65; 4. King Kekaulike, 58; 5. Kihei Charter, 36; 6. Baldwin, 35; 7. Kamehameha Maui, 30; 8. Baldwin, 22; 9. Haleakala Waldorf 18; 10. Maui High 7.

Season standings — 1. Lahainaluna, 46; 2. King Kekaulike, 43; 3. Maui Christian Academy, 42; 4. Maui Prep, 41; 5. Kihei Charter, 29; 6. Baldwin, 28; 7. Seabury Hall, 26; 8. Kamehameha Maui, 21; 9. Maui High, 11; 10. Haleakala Waldorf, 10; 11. Kulanihakoi 4.

Shortboard No. 1 — 1. Sloane Jucker, Maui Prep, 10.73; 2. Ayla Daian, King Kekaulike, 8.33; 3. Ocean Lipstein, Lahainaluna, 8.10; 4. Lila Sloan, Maui Christian, 7.40; 5. Kelea DeCaro, Kihei Charter, 5.63; 6. Hi’ipoi Starbuck, Kamehameha.

Shortboard No. 2 — 1. Thayane Colpas, Maui Christian, 9.34; 2. Stella Pogni, Lahainaluna, 9.30; 3. Zoey Offergeld, Maui Prep, 7.73; 4. Mikaia Barnes, King Kekaulike, 7.18; 5. Moony Sanderon, Kihei Charter, 6.00; 6. Mya Pililaau, Kamehameha, 4.23.

Shortboard No. 3 — 1. Kaja Przciechowska, King Kekaulike, 8.80; 2. Talia Sloan, Maui Christian, 8.60; 3. Layla Merrill, Maui Prep, 8.33; 4. Oliana Schur, Lahainaluna, 5.00; 5. Kailani Smith, Seabury Hall, 3.90; 6. Wai Smith, Maui High, 2.74.

Longboard No. 1 — 1. Gianna Pogni, Lahainaluna, 12.26; 2. Sloane Jucker, Maui Prep, 10.90; 3. Lila Sloan, Maui Christian, 10.56; 4. Sochi Henderson, King Kekaulike, 5. Peyton Prouty, Seabury Hall, 5.33; 6. Akasia Knight, Baldwin, 3.62.

Longboard No. 2 — 1. Talia Sloan, Maui Christian, 10.30; 2. Ocean Lipstein, Lahainaluna, 9.57; 3. Zoey Offergeld, Maui Prep, 8.40; 4. Kaja Przciechowska, King Kekaulike, 7.84; 5. Hi’ipoi Starbuck, Kamehameha, 5.60; 6. Kaia Kim, Baldwin, 5.23

Bodyboard — 1. Ocean Lipstein, Lahainaluna, 10.36; 2. Ilana Caserta, Maui Prep, 9.00; 3. Lila Sloan, Maui Christian, 8.60; 4. Zoe Nagle, Seabury Hall, 4.86; 5. Hi’ipoi Starbuck, Kamehameha, 4.57; 6. Madison Hughes, King Kekaulike, 3.53

Boys Results

Team scores — 1. Maui Prep, 56; 2. Kihei Charter, 54; 3. Maui Christian, 53; 4. Lahainaluna, 51; 5. Baldwin, 50; 6. Kulanihakoi, 48; 7. King Kekaulike, 44; 8. Seabury Hall, 43; 9. Hana, 31; 10. Kamehameha Maui, 28; 11. Maui High, 18.

Season Standings — 1. Maui Prep, 52; 2. Kihei Charter, 42; 3. Maui Christian, 40; 4. Lahainaluna, 35; 5. Baldwin, 32; 6. King Kekaulike, 31; 7. Seabury Hall, 22; 8. Hana, 19; 9. Kulanihakoi, 17; 10. Kamehameha Maui, 13; 10. Maui High, 6; 12. Haleakala Waldorf, 6.

Shortboard No. 1 — 1. Angel Jardine, Maui Christian, 14.66; 2. Zolten Poulsen, Maui Prep, 14.37; 3. Matias Banto, Lahainaluna, 13.60; 4. Kahlil Pineres-Schooley, Seabury Hall, 12.74; 5. Bode Davis, Kulanihakoi, 10.93; 6. Kanoa Gaffney, Hana, 10.40.

Shortboard No. 2 — 1. Keano Jardine, Maui Christian, 10.83; 2. Rex Ang, Baldwin, 10.19; 3. Miki Przeciechowski, Kihei Charter, 8.94; 4. Johnny Mahan, Lahainaluna, 8.76; 5. Desmond Connelly, Seabury Hall, 6.37; 6. Jotel Holstein, King Kekaulike, 5.84.

Shortboard No. 3 — 1. Mason Burns, Lahainaluna, 11.27; 2. Luca Bianchi, King Kekaulike, 8.67; 3. Noah Haas, Kihei Charter, 7.47; 4. Makaiah Clark, Maui Prep, 7.33; 5. Noah Dvorak, Maui Christian, 6.17; 6. Kekai Bonifacio-Sahugun, Kamehameha, 4.67.

Longboard No. 1 — 1. Bode Davis, Kulanihakoi, 16.50; 2. Zolten Poulsen, Maui Prep, 15.00; 3. Aidan Haas, Kihei Charter, 13.14; 4. Chase Lee, Lahainaluna, 12.14; 5. Kanoa Kuailani, King Kekaulike, 9.00; 6. Jack Hill, Maui Christian, 8.83

Longboard No. 2 — 1. Seth Jucker, Maui Prep, 12.06; 2. Ayden Truong, Baldwin, 11.37; 3. Keano Jardine, Maui Christian, 10.00; 4. Taj Craig, Kihei Charter, 7.87; 5. Imiloa Nelson, Hana, 6.50; 6. Noah Lopez, Seabury Hall, 1.07.

Bodyboard — 1. Bode Davis, Kulanihakoi, 11.70; 2. Miki Przeciechowski, Kihei Charter, 11.37; 3. Sam Koshi, Baldwin, 8.50; 4. Imiloa Kanoho, Kamehameha, 7.36; 5. Levi Stoddart, Lahainaluna, 6.40; 6. Akira Thayer, Seabury Hall, 5.50