Na Pueo are now preparing for the Hawaii High School Athletic Association State Championship match that will be played at the Royal Kaanapali Golf Course here in West Maui later this month.

LAHAINA — Maui Preparatory Academy’s athletic breakthrough season (Na Pueo won Maui Interscholastic League and state basketball titles recently) continues as the Pueo golf team clinched the 2022 MIL Championship — its first in golf — two weeks ago at the Kapalua Bay Course.

Na Pueo will now focus on the Hawaii High School Athletic Association State Championship match that will be played at the Royal Kaanapali Golf Course here on the West Side later this month.

For now, the Maui Prep team, led by co-head coaches Chris Armanini and Chris Salem, will finish off an undefeated MIL gold medal season and fine tune their game for the HHSAA match-ups.

Na Pueo defeated Baldwin 142-197 in the MIL title-clinching contest at Kapalua, their home practice course near their campus at the foothills of Napili.

Maui Prep was led by Dillon Jonke and Landon Long, who both shot 35 at the world-class course, while teammates Christopher Salem and Renner Chumley both shot 36.

Maui Prep’s Caleb Chumley shot a 42, and Arshaya Marshall had a 39 that included a hole-in-one on hole No. 2 (he used a pitching wedge from 135 yards out to score).

Also playing as non-scorers were Carter Bozich (45), Jimmy Falk (47), Kai Shively (48) and Arjun Patel (51).

Coach Chris Salem recognized the leadership of Coach Armanini for the rising tide of Maui Prep golf.

“Chris is surely the one responsible for the success of the program and does so much behind the scenes with the administrative stuff and the leadership of the coaching staff,” said Salem.

He also praised the Lahaina Junior Golf program for growing the sport here on the West Side.

“Lahaina Junior Golf has done wonders to provide a first-class introduction to the sport for the youth of the community. Kudos to people like Joel Navarro for carrying the torch of Lahaina Junior Golf during COVID and beyond,” he concluded.