Members of the wrestling team are pictured at the Officials Tournament (above) and at practice.

LAHAINA — The iron will integrity at the grassroots of the Lahaina community is manifested in the leadership of the youth sports programs here on the West Side. Standing tall among them is the veteran staff of the wrestling team at Lahainaluna High School.

That sterling list includes lifelong coaching contributors such as Kim Ball, Neal Nakata, Conrad Bolor, Todd Hayase and several others that have expanded the sport to several age groups and across gender limitations.

The dedication continues today as West Side wrestling expands to include an intermediate program to complement the established Lahaina Roughnecks and Napili Surfriders teams that sends student-athletes up the hill to the championship caliber Lunas.

Zane Monteleone, himself a decades long wrestling mentor at Lahainaluna, rises to the head coaching position for the post pandemic campaign.

He will be assisted for the 2022-23 season by an experienced staff that includes Shane Cunanan, Christian Balagso, Nao Ah Puck, Sheldon Takayama, Kai Keahi and, according to Coach Zane, a host of alumnae volunteers.

“We get plenty of help from many of them,” he said. “This is the best (high school wrestling) program in the nation,” added Monteleone without hesitation.

“I have been blessed be able to take over after Coach Todd; to be able to absorb the leadership qualities he had, that he passed on to me. He was nicknamed ‘Rainman’ and ‘Mom’ because of his analytical style due to his background as a counselor at Lahaina Intermediate.”

“It is a blessing to be able to take over and absorb from Coach Todd. I learned how to communicate better from him and how to develop positive relationships with them,” he explained.

According to Coach Zane, the current Luna roster is made up of 42 student-athletes that have been practicing throughout the year.

“We sent 20 kids to Utah with Team Hawaii in mid-June to train and compete up there at the Western Regionals at Farmington, Utah. Eighteen of them finished in the top six in their divisions, and five of them were approached by college coaches.”

Lahainaluna consistently leads the Maui Interscholastic League in both the girls and boys divisions, as well as being a considerable force at the state championships.

The Lunas are the only school outside of Oahu to win a state title.

“So far we’ve had a strong showing at the Maui Invitational Tournament and at the prestigious Officials Tournament this month. Next up will be the Pa’ani Challenge, an all girls meet, that features a college fair and brings in teams from the Mainland southwest that includes a Native American team.

“The team looks really good and has made a great showing so far, and we hope to make a strong run to state title. The leadership and drive in this group is really strong, and we feel that this is due to the strong support of the community, the families and the school. Alumni from all over the country always reach out to the team with support as a family,” Coach Zane concluded.