The Kapolei boys judo team grew up all at once.
The Hurricanes had five individual champions and one runner up at Saturday’s OIA Individual Championships, equaling the number of league titleists from the school’s history.
Jayson Pagurayan and Kekua Marumoto each won their second OIA crowns and Andre Pagurayan, Anthony Brett and Rodman Salagdron added their firsts. Before Pagurayan and Marumoto came along, Kapolei’s only previous OIA champs in the state championship era were Kainoa Marumoto in 2012, Tyler Kono in 2011 and Phillip Trani in 2005. Kono and Kekua Marumoto are the only Hurricanes to earn state crowns.
The two OIA teams to do as well as the Hurricanes did this year learned that states is a different animal, getting only half of their OIA champs to the top step of the state podium.
The Hurricanes can look to 2007 Pearl City and 2013 Moanalua to judge its dominance in the state championship era.
The Chargers had six OIA champions in 2007, Bill Takeuchi, Derron Maki, Nick Pait, Christian Pavo, Joe Moe and Tyler Laufiti. Only three of them — Takeuchi, Pavo and Lauifi — went on to win state titles that year, but Moe lost in the final to teammate Andy Toyama.
The Chargers’ four state champions that year is the most in a single tournament and the mark Kapolei will be chasing.
Moanalua had five OIA champs in 2013– Kelson Onigama, Brant Tsuda, Kulana Salera, Justin Fujiwara and Chaeden Grace-Reyes — but only Onigama and Grace-Reyes completed the OIA-State sweep.
But the Hurricanes and coach Marc Narciso have big expectations. Narciso has been with the boys since they were nine years old.
“They have always done more than we have asked for,” Narciso said. “I didn’t see it coming, but I predicted it, if that makes any sense.”
His take on all of his Judoka in Saturday’s OIA finals:
Jayson Pagurayan, two-time OIA winner at 108 pounds
“He is a real scrappy fighter, he’s got a real good head on his shoulders. Classy athlete and academically sound, I predict that he takes states.”
Andre Pagurayan, 114 champ
“Jayson’s brother, same thing. He’s going to take states as well. It feeds off one another between the six of them, when one wins the rest just get stronger. It creates momentum and lets them know that they are not the only ones out there.”
Anthony Brett, 121 champ
“I think he came in third in OIAs last year and second in the state, but now he is poised to take the state at 121. All of these kids are above 3.0 (grade point) average, 3.3 average. They are all hard workers.”
Kaulana Narciso, 132 runner up
“My son. Unfortunately he had to play one of his best friends from another school (Kalani’s Micah Tateyama), and he might have took the foot off the gas a little bit but it’s okay. We’ll give (Tateyama) one and find him at states.”
Rodman Salagdron, 145 champ
“He’s a classy guy, all of these guys are classy. He has come a long way, last year he took second in the OIA, ended up taking the OIA this year and is poised to take states but he is one of the players who has a big, big obstacle in front of him on the ILH side in Cole Chandler. It’s going to be a very, very good match.”
Kekua Marumoto, 161 champ twice
“One of our captains, he is a senior this year and unfortunately he is going to be leaving us so I wanted him to go out with a bang.”
Here is a list of OIA judo champions since 2004:
Who’s the pagurayans best competiton this year ?
Between the cowardly rules changes, the crooked officiating and the anemic participation, Judo is dead sport waiting to be removed from true high school athletics.
I think the 108 Pagurayan’s best competion is Taylor Otsuka at Mililani, and at 114 I thought Kanoa Lanias from Mililani but he didn’t get the chance at Oia’s after losing in the quarters to Layne Fujioka
I’m thinking mililani boys or iolani
I was at westerns and the mililani guys have pagurayans hard time
When will brackets for states be out? Like next week ?