Judo

Thirteen Moanalua judo athletes were named to the 20-member OIA East All-Star first team. Noah Wusstig, a four-time state champion, leads that list of Na Menehune. Three others became state champions this season — Dayne Takai, McCade Ho and Faith Joy Okubo. Pearl City led the OIA West All-Star first team, with six Chargers’ judoka selected. Click here for a list of the OIA East and West All-Star first and second teams. The breakdown of selections by school follows. OIA […]

Noah Wusstig’s road to historic territory wasn’t as easy as he made it look. The Moanalua senior took home his fourth consecutive HHSAA judo title on Saturday evening with an ippon of Kapolei’s Grayson Ferreira in the 145-pound finals, which lasted 37 seconds. But in between Wusstig’s coronation at the Stan Sheriff Center and his two other individual state titles in wrestling was plenty of sacrifice, along with the pressure that came with heightened expectations. “It’s been really hard. I […]

The Moanalua girls also took home their respective team title for the second year in a row with 84 total points. Punahou was in second with 53 points, followed by Mililani’s 52. “For the first one, it was so special last year that we didn’t know if we would have this opportunity again so to get it back-to-back, it was super special for our team and they worked so hard for it,” Moanalua girls coach Derron Maki said, who is […]

Moanalua’s Noah Wusstig drew the top seed for the last leg of his journey toward a state judo slam. Wusstig opens his state tournament at 145 pounds against Campbell’s Jacob Andrade on Saturday at the Stan Sheriff Center. If things go according to form, he will meet second seed Kolby Kon of ‘Iolani in the final. Wusstig, who was unseeded last year, can become the sixth boy to complete the slam, and third from the OIA. Josh Terao of Mid-Pacific […]

For all the great female judoka who will be competing in the Atlas Insurance Agency/HHSAA Judo State Championships on Saturday at the Stan Sheriff Center, a lot of minds will be on a girl who will not be on the mat. Mililani senior Mayu Wise has won three straight state titles, the only girl from her school to do so. She was expected to go for the slam this year, the first girl to do so since Bree Rapoza of […]

You should have seen Faith Joy Okubo‘s face. Teeth clenched, eyes full of passion and concentration. She was holding on for an ippon by pin in the 154-pound division over Pearl City’s Chanel Hunter to lock up her second OIA judo championship Saturday night at the Leilehua gym. Okubo is about to wrap up her career as a tenacious Moanalua judoka and wrestler at next Saturday’s state judo tournament, where she has a chance to finally break through at that […]