Wrestling

Erin Hikiji doesn’t really keep track of wins and losses on the mat, but she certainly knows her grade-point average. The Mililani state champion in wrestling and judo is off to a strong start this season. Hikiji won her first four matches, or so she thought. It’s her mother, Candice, who actually keeps count. Hikiji is 6-0 with three pins and three technical falls. At 97 pounds in 2020, she won a state wrestling title. At 102 pounds this year, […]

Gladiator competition has been ingrained in Robert Hesia almost from the start. Hesia grew up with combat fighting in his bloodline. Older brother Ricky Hesia was a prominent boxer back in the day. Years as a wrestler at the high school and collegiate levels led Robert Hesia to a career as an educator and state-championship coach at Kamehameha. Now, Hesia takes on a brand-new position on the hill: Director of Campus Athletics and Human Performance. If that sounds like a […]

Tyger Taam never wanted to be good. The Moanalua Middle School eighth-grader just wants to be great. The relentless wrestler is now ranked No. 6 nationally in his weight class by Rokfin.com. Taam took a step in that ascent by making sacrifices and stepping up to face the nation’s best wrestlers. He went 4-2 at the World of Wrestling tourney in Tulsa last fall. “Even though he went to Tulsa and took losses, and didn’t place, they still bumped him […]