Coach pleased with Lunas’ effort

The Lahainaluna High School wrestling teams competed in the 2012 Hawaii High School Athletic Association state wrestling tournament last week Friday and Saturday, March 2-3, at the Neal Blaisdell Center in Honolulu. One of the top finishers for LHS was Precious Jaramillo — pictured wrestling Alyssa Greenleaf of Kalaheo — who placed third in the 120-pound division. Photo by Momi Ball.
LAHAINA – In the end, after the final match of the 2012 Hawaii High School Athletic Association state wrestling tournament was completed on Saturday, the Lahainaluna High School coaches, athletes and their supporters were stoked.
After the Luna boys captured their seventh consecutive Maui Interscholastic League championship, and the girls won their third, the two teams fought their way to top-five finishes at the state tournament at the Neal Blaisdell Center in Honolulu last weekend.
The boys finished tied for third for their eighth straight top-five placement, while the girls took fourth place for their third consecutive top medal effort.
“We’re all just stoked,” exclaimed assistant coach Kim Ball after the meet.
“The kids all gave a tremendous effort, and we’re happy with the eight medal winners on the boys’ side and the five top finishes for the girls. We’ve got plenty of underclassmen on the team, and this bodes well for the future of the program. So, all in all, we feel like we’ve had a successful season.”
The Lady Lunas totaled 94 points to finish fourth in the team standings. The sister team of Precious and Carly Jaramillo led the way, taking third place in the 120- and 130-pound brackets, respectively. Kiana Yamat (114) and Jina Miyamoto (125) won fourth place medals.
The Lahainaluna boys tied for third place with 126.5 points. They were led by Hercules Mataafa’s silver medal in the 215-pound final.
Also placing were Gary Long in sixth place at 108, Christian Carbajal (third, 120), B.J. Pagdilao-Bala (fifth, 125), Nathan Inovejas (third, 135), Thomas Rosen-St. John (sixth, 145), Chanse Uyeda (fifth, 152) and Justin Taylor (sixth, 171).