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MIL judoka make long-awaited return to mats

By Dakota Grossman 5 min read

PUKALANI -- As judoka returned to the mat on Saturday morning after nearly three years away from Maui Interscholastic League competition due to the pandemic, Kamehameha Schools Maui senior Bradin Nitahara said it felt good to be back.

"It's been a while, I've done this since I was a freshman, but with COVID and everything I couldn't practice or anything like that, so it's good to get back in it," said Nitahara after winning one of his matches via ippon with a Tomoe Nage throw during the season's first MIL round-robin meet at King Kekaulike.

The last time the MIL's judoka competed on island was when the Warriors won the boys team title at the 2019 MIL championships. Nitahira earned an individual gold in the 114-pound weight class.

After finishing on top of the 132-pound division on Saturday, Nitahira picked up right where he left off.

Growing up in a family of martial artists, Nitahara said it was only natural that he, and eventually his four siblings, would be involved with this sport and lifestyle.

"My family is a fighting family, my dad did judo -- he's a black belt in judo -- he did wrestling, he did jiu-jitsu and has a black belt in that also," he said. "My entire family is into the martial arts, so I started judo when I was younger and then I kind of progressed to jiu-jitsu."

Now that the season is underway, Nitahara said that he's been dedicated to practice and nutrition, as well as helping his younger teammates, including the new ones, "to get into the sport and work on techniques and prepare for training."

The Warrior boys had five top finishers Saturday: Nitahira, Brenden Hanada (114), Kalai Vickers (161) and Jasyeh Macugay and Ka'iwa Ho (tied at 198).

"Since it was our first meet, they were kind of getting a feel for the competition, but we have a lot of improvements to make before the next meet," longtime Warriors sensei Ronald Hiyakumoto said. "The boys did good, but you know, there's a lot of improvements we could make. Hopefully they're just nervous."

The field of judoka from participating teams-- Maui High, Baldwin, Kamehameha and King Kekaulike -- was unsurprisingly smaller than in previous years, with many coaches noting that participation is low following closures of judo clubs, facilities and schools during the pandemic.

There will be two tournaments involving Molokai this season. The Farmer girls won the last league team title in 2019.

"Just getting back into the rhythm of judo has been a challenge," said Hiyakumoto, adding that the Warriors lost a lot of graduating judoka over the past two years. "But Kamehameha had a pretty good turnout after COVID."

Maui High's Justen Patague, who finished third at the 2019 MIL championship at 108 pounds, said that he was "a bit rusty" after not competing for two years.

"But, you get back into the groove after a while," he said after winning a match at 132. "I was just trying to find my groove and get the feel of everything with judo."

Participating in her first-ever MIL judo meet was King Kekaulike sophomore Krystel Valoroso, who was advancing her way through the girls 122 division en route to a first-place finish Saturday.

"I'm doing pretty good," Valoroso said just before stepping back onto the mat for her fourth match of the day. She has been a judoka since the fourth grade, saying that the sport is "pretty fun" and can be useful in real life for self-defense.

Among the dozen Na Alii competing, seven picked up victories in their weight classes. In addition to Valoroso, Kaylee Okani (103), Miya Lu (129), Vivien Bennett-Felipe (154) and Alyxia Lyons (172) won in girls competition, while Donovan Taylor (121) and Alden Johnson (145) finished on top in the boys competition.

"I really like the judo team a lot," Valoroso said. "We laugh a lot too, so it's pretty fun during practice, but we're also very serious during practice."

* Dakota Grossman is a dgrossman@mauinews.com.

MIL Judo Meet No. 1

Saturday's Results

At King Kekaulike

Girls

98 pounds--1. Daphne Takahashi, Maui High; 2. Hiilei Roman, Kamehameha Maui.

103--1. Kaylee Okani, King Kekaulike; 2. Hashayla Tamayose, King Kekaulike; 3. Jamilyn Higa, Maui High.

109--1. Haylee Sedino, Maui High; 2. Sean Sakamoto, Kamehameha Maui.

115--1. Elena Beauchamp-Estrella, Kamehameha Maui.

122--1. Krystel Valoroso, King Kekaulike; 2. Shaelyn Perreira, Maui High; 3. Ava Takahama, Kamehameha Maui.

129--1. Miya Lu, King Kekaulike.

139--1. Zeysha-Maelee Keawe, Kamehameha Maui; 2. Mia DiRienzo, Maui High; 3. Diana Cantos, Maui High.

154--1. Vivien Bennett-Felipe, King Kekaulike; 2. Charlene Guansing, Maui High.

172--1. Alyxia Zyons, King Kekaulike.

Boys

108--1. Kaimana Reys-Hammond, Baldwin.

114--1. Brenden Hanada, Kamehameha Maui; 2. Luke Perreira, King Kekaulike; 3. James McCall, King Kekaulike.

121--1. Donovon Taylor, King Kekaulike; t2. Sai Alueta, Kamehameha Maui; t2. Bennett Takahama, Kamehameha Maui.

132--t1. Bradin Nitahara, Kamehameha Maui; t1. Tony Passetti, Maui High; 3. Justen Patague, Maui High.

145--1. Alden Johnson, King Kekaulike; t2. Jhai-re Domingo Andaya, Maui High; t2. Caese Calaro, Baldwin.

161--1. Kalai Vickers, Kamehameha Maui; 2. Kevin Kahoohanohano, Kamehameha Maui; 3. Ryden Higashi-Lenwai, King Kekaulike.

198--t1. Jasyeh Macugay, Kamehameha Maui; t1. Ka'iwa Ho, Kamehameha Maui; t1. Caleb Castillo, Maui High.

Starting at /week.