SPRECKELSVILLE — Caleb Chumley and Dillon Jonke both know they are leaders for the Maui Preparatory Academy boys golf team.

The senior and junior help guide three freshmen on MPA’s five-player team that finished a 12-0 run to the Maui Interscholastic League title with a 156-199 win over Seabury Hall on Saturday at Maui Country Club.

Chumley, Jonke, Renner Chumley — Caleb’s younger brother — Christopher Salem and Landon Long are set to represent Na Pueo in the David S. Ishii Foundation/HHSAA state tournament May 9-10 at Royal Kaanapali Golf Course.

“It’s so much fun, just being able to have everyone on the team just be able to back each other up, having five solid scores is awesome,” Caleb Cumley said after he shot 40 in heavy winds on Saturday. “And especially being able to push ourselves out on the course and having all five of the main starters just being able to push each other and get each other to our limits, it’s awesome.”

Caleb Chumley is headed to Notre Dame for college and is considering walking on to the golf team.

He knows he is leaving a loaded Na Pueo team for years to come — there are just three seniors on the 17-player complete roster, one of whom is Drew Triplett, the MIL D-II basketball player of the year for the state championship team.

“I’m super stoked for these guys, especially when three out of five starters are freshmen, it’s amazing,” Caleb Chumley said. “And the fact that Landon, Chris and Renner are shooting the scores that they are, it makes me push myself to be the best leader I can be.”

MPA head coach Chris Armanini officially entered the five-player team into the state tournament last week. As MIL champions, Na Pueo get the first five of 15 spots that the league will receive to states.

The other 10 MIL spots will be decided in the individual championship, a four-round dogfight that begins Friday.

Salem led MPA Saturday with a 36, season scoring-average leader Jonke shot 38, while Long and Renner Chumley both shot 42s, the latter of which was the dropped score.

Seabury Hall’s Daniel Arashiro Garcia shot 43 to lead his team Saturday, while Crew Granum shot 45, David Arashiro Garcia fired a 53, Keahi Sjostrand shot 58 and Sig Konohia’s 63 was the throw-out score.

Na Pueo has the respect of veteran Seabury Hall coach Jake Grodzinsky, who is in his ninth year at the helm.

“Best team I’ve seen come out of Maui since I’ve been coaching, for sure,” Grodzinsky said. “I think that they’re the first team I’ve seen since maybe the ones with (former University of Hawaii standout) Justin Arcano (of Baldwin) that I’d say have a legitimate chance of winning state.”

Jonke said he takes the responsibility of leading his team seriously, too. The month between now and the state tournament cannot go quickly enough for Jonke.

“Oh, it’s everything on my mind right now,” Jonke said. “We had a boatload of confidence going into it and we still do, these guys definitely want to win it. We have three freshmen that just joined this year that are incredibly good.

“We have our senior, Caleb Chumley, who’s been with us shooting low scores all four years, then followed by me, a junior. The freshmen have the same skill level if not better than some of the guys up there.”

The state tournament being down the road from MPA’s Napili campus is a huge factor, according to Jonke.

“These guys, they’ve grown up on the Royal course at Kaanapali, so it’s basically their home turf,” Jonke said. “They know every single inch of that golf course, and with the confidence with such a good team we have, especially with the home course, there’s not a better chance that we have than this year.”

Jonke took a deep breath and smiled as he thought about the possibilities.

“For me, my years were cut because of the quarantine and everything, so this is my first MIL season to compete in, it’s my first state tournament going in to,” Jonke said. “So, I’m just totally excited, my first time doing it. These guys are just going to do the best they can and I am going to support them the whole way.”

Armanini is excited for the future, too, both immediate and the next few years with this program that has six freshmen currently on the roster, half of whom are unquestioned starters.

“Our boys have been working hard over the last four months, actually even longer,” said Armanini, a teaching pro at the Kaanapali courses. “I’ve known some of these boys for the last four years that we’ve been working together. So, it’s been a long time coming. It’s kind of one of those perfect storms where I got all these freshmen that are hungry, that want to play golf and want to do really good at golf.

“They are all in the same class and it’s just good to have that kind of camaraderie around the one goal.”

That one goal is simple, win the state team crown.

“That’s our goal, yup, we’re going in there, all five of us,” Armanini said of winning a state crown. “It’s something I talked to Caleb about his freshman year — it’s like, ‘You know, your brother’s coming up. Your senior year, he’s going to be a freshman. We’ve got these boys coming up, Dillon on the team.’ It’s just a well-rounded effort, everyone’s working, everyone’s doing their part.

“And, yes, it’s a good thing to be a part of.”

* Robert Collias is at rcollias@mauinews.com

Saturday’s Result

BALDWIN BOYS 193

LAHAINALUNA 193, TIE

At The Dunes at Maui Lani

Scorers–Baldwin: Brady Yokouchi 45, Eric Hwang 47, Nai Pagaduan 50, Ken Yamashiro 51, Aaron Nakamura 52 (dropped). Lahainalnuna: Ian Chapital 43, Joa Navarro 47, Khai Mullen 51, Gavin Melikidse 52, Cameron Jones 55.