The inner fire of Punahou cannot be quenched in this water-based sport. Just look at Buffanblu coach Ken Smith, the 72-year-old who was a relatively young man (61) when this run of state water polo championships began in 2008. Smith nimbly leaped into the Kamehameha pool Saturday night with a push-assist from his players after they made it 12 straight for the program —— and 14 out of 16 since the Stanford Carr Development/HHSAA competition began — with an 11-3 win […]

Punahou-Kamehameha for all the marbles, one more time? Believe it. Embrace it. Cherish it. (Or at least the first of the three.) The Buffanblu and the Warriors are meeting up in the final of the Stanford Carr Development/HHSAA water polo championships for the fifth straight year. They are like Golden State and Cleveland meeting up in the NBA Finals year after year, except it’s been even more lopsided than it was for Golden State in favor of Punahou. The Buffanblu […]

The Stanford Carr Development/HHSAA Girls Water Polo State Championships is objectively a great event. The action is entertaining, it’s easy to tell what’s happening (even for non-water polo aficionados) and the matches move pretty quickly. If there’s one drawback to it, it’s that the outcomes tend to be fairly predictable. Historically, it goes something like this: Punahou wins; the runner-up ILH team gives the Buffanblu a sometimes-competitive battle in the championship game; there’s a neighbor island team that proves itself […]

The last time the Kamehameha girls water polo team saw official action, it was a 12-6 loss to Punahou for the Interscholastic League of Honolulu championship. If the Warriors are to make it five straight finals appearances in this week’s Stanford Carr Development/HHSAA Girls Water Polo State Championships, and threaten their first state title since 2006, they’ll have to shake off whatever disappointment remains from that game — and every other loss to the dynastic Buffanblu over the last decade-plus. […]

Kaiser made like Dory from “Finding Nemo” and just kept swimming … just kept swimming. And before long Saturday afternoon, the Cougars swam right into their first OIA water polo championship. The OIA’s top seed turned to its experience and superior swimming ability to defeat nine-time defending champion Kahuku, completing a dominant run through its league schedule (17-0). Kaiser’s girls became the first school to sweep OIA titles in swimming and diving and water polo in the same school year. […]