Maui Preparatory Academy golf team members celebrate after winning the HHSAA Boys Golf Championship.

KAANAPALI — Led by Dillon Jonke’s silver medal performance, local favorite Maui Preparatory Academy combatted strong winds and fast greens to win their first-ever Hawaii High School Athletic Association (HHSAA) Boys Golf Championship presented by the David S. Ishii Foundation.

The Pueos’ 38-shot victory on May 9 and 10 at the Royal Kaanapali Course will be remembered as one of the all-time great performances in HHSAA Boys Golf Championship history.

“Our victory could not have happened without the ongoing support of the David S. Ishii Foundation, Lahaina Junior Golf Association, Maui Junior Golf Association, Kaanapali, Kapalua and the West Maui community,” said co-head coach Chris Salem, who is also the father of Maui Prep freshman Christopher Salem, who finished tied for fourth place.

In the 36-hole tournament, four of Maui Prep’s players finished inside the top 15. Punahou (second), Hawaii Baptist Academy (third), Moanalua (fourth) and Kamehameha-Kapalama (fifth) rounded out the leaders in the Team Championship.

Maui Prep’s Division I win comes just three months after their Division II HHSAA Boys Basketball Championship.

Entering Tuesday, 21 players were within eight shots of Joshua Hayashida, who was a key member of Hawaii Baptist Academy’s 2019 state championship team.

Hayashida utilized his strong short game to hold off the competition and secure a four-shot victory, despite finding trouble on the final two holes. The senior and University of Hawaii at Manoa commit shot a two-day total of 141 (-1). Jonke (Maui Prep), Tyler Tamayori (Saint Louis School), Christopher Salem (Maui Prep) and Dane Watanabe (Iolani) received top-five honors.

One of Oahu’s top amateurs, Hayashida won both the 2022 and 2021 Interscholastic League of Honolulu (ILH) individual title. Last year, he was named the Hawaii State Golfer of the Year, Hawaii State Amateur runner-up and was chosen for the Governor’s Cup team.

“Royal Kaanapali’s final round conditions were demanding,” said Hayashida. “However, I enjoyed playing against an elite field on this challenging layout. It brought out the best in my game.”

Arnold Palmer noted that Royal Kaanapali’s finishing holes were “some of the toughest on tour.”

The Robert Trent Jones Sr. layout showed its teeth for the state’s top juniors. The trade winds really picked up as the final pairings played the back nine.

This year marks the fifth time that Kaanapali has hosted the HHSAA Golf Championships (1998, 2009, 2013, 2017).

The 2023 tournament location will be announced in the coming months and will be contested on Kauai or Oahu.