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Judo a family affair for Patricio, Calaro

The Maui News 2023 MIL Judo All-Stars

By Robert Collias 5 min read

Based on their enthusiasm for the sport, Leinaala Patricio and Caese Calaro are trailblazers in Maui Interscholastic League judo.

Based on their results, Patricio and Calaro are The Maui News MIL Judoka of the Year for girls and boys, respectively.

Patricio, a Kamehameha Schools Maui senior, enjoyed an unbeaten run through the MIL five-meet schedule and then won a fifth-place medal at 109 pounds at the Odom Corporation/HHSAA state championships last month.

"It went by pretty fast and I thought it was a really good year, actually," Patricio said via phone on Wednesday. "It was a nice, chill year and we definitely improved a lot throughout our practices and competitions."

Patricio was one of three state medalists for the MIL, the high-water mark for the league since winning three state medals in 2018 -- the league record for state medals in one season is eight, from 2016.

The pandemic put a damper on the MIL's progress in the sport with the cancellation of the 2020 and 2021 seasons, but after having 52 total competitors last year, the MIL saw more than 80 competitors this season, according the MIL judo coordinator Robbie Spencer.

"It was a good year," Patricio said. "I definitely feel like we're getting better."

The other state medalists from Maui were Baldwin senior Shiloh Kamaka, who was fifth at 172 pounds, and King Kekaulike senior Krystel Valoroso, who was sixth at 122.

"All three of us were seniors, too, so I'm not sure how that would impact us in the later years, but I think we're getting better and we're more confident now," said Patricio, who has been practicing the sport for 13 years -- she began at Makawao Hongwanji. "I started when I was 5 because when I was 4 I wanted to start already, so I would just stand outside at the dojo door and watch people do judo because my sensei said I couldn't start until I was 5."

Patricio, Kamaka and Valoroso are joined on the MIL girls All-Star list by fellow league champions Jaliyah Rodrigues (98 pounds), Shaelyn Perreira (139) and Kamaile Talamai (154) of Maui High; Kaylie Okuni (103), Ariana Macanas (115) and Zahra Fernando Bell (220) of King Kekaulike; and Elena Beauchamp-Estrella (129) of Kamehameha Maui.

After COVID paused the sport, Patricio started practicing jiu-jitsu in her backyard Upcountry, mixing that sport with her judo training.

"It did (help), it gave me more knowledge," said Patricio, a brown belt in judo who will start her college journey at the University of Hawaii-Maui College in the fall as she pursues a nursing career.

She is good friends with Brenden Hanada, the 2022 MIL Boy Judoka of the Year. She will stay in the sport to help her lifelong friend in his pursuit of his black belt.

"I was recently asked to do Kata (a form of the sport) so that he could get his black belt," Patricio said. "We've done it in the past before, so it's nothing new. We just have to brush up on it.

"My mom used to do judo with his mom and they were partners, so we've known each other for 14, 15 years."

Calaro's older brother Blayd Calaro won the sixth-place medal at 198 pounds in 2015. Caese Calaro is a current junior and the MIL champ at 161 pounds -- he was the only MIL boy to win two matches at the state tournament on April 29.

"I think it's pretty cool, I wasn't expecting to get that recognition, but I appreciate it," Caese Calaro said via phone on Thursday.

Calaro has been practicing the sport since he was in second grade when he joined Wailuku Hongwanji.

He is joined on the MIL boys All-Star team by fellow champions Levi Brown (114) and James McCall (121) of King Kekaulike; Kalapana Labasan (132) of Baldwin; and Hakaru Nitahara (145) and Dominic Naganuma (178) of Kamehameha Maui.

Calaro said that the sport is a family passion, adding that he got into the sport because of family members. The leader of the Calaro judo family is one of their grandfathers, Richard Kimura, who passed away a few years ago when Caese was 13.

"I was kind of just following my siblings' footsteps; another part of it was my grandpa, I owe him a lot," Caese Calaro. "He used to do judo in the army. He was a teacher, he used to help teach judo in the army."

Blayd Calaro, 26, and fellow older brother Reece Calaro, 24, have shared their knowledge of the sport with Caese.

"Most of the stories I heard (about Kimura) were from my siblings," Caese Calaro said. "My brothers have shown me exercises he used to do, like, I don't know, jump squats. ... He used to give us small tips, but I never really did get to roll with him."

His older brothers have kept their advice simple to Caese Calaro.

"They always told me: 'Just go hard, go fast and don't overthink,' " Calaro said. "My goal for this year was just do better than last year. I knew it would be quite an accomplishment to get first place and I knew it wasn't that realistic, but I just wanted to do better than last year. I think I really delivered for myself."

* Robert Collias is at rcollias@mauinews.com.

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