Moanalua, Kapolei primed for battle at state judo

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 was the last to do it, completing his mission in 2013. Other state slammers are Dane Pestano of Kamehameha (2013), Mid-Pacific’s David Terao (2011), Brady Lafortune of Moanalua (2010) and Pearl City’s Christian Pavo (2008).

The Moanalua senior can join an even more select list after earning his second state title in wrestling this year. If he can climb to the stop step of the podium one more time on Saturday, it will give him his sixth gold in combat sports, breaking a tie with Dane Yamashiro of ‘Iolani and Brandon Low of Saint Louis and joining David Terao (4 judo, 2 wrestling), Pestano (4 judo, 2 wrestling) and Daniel Chow of Punahou (3 judo, 3 wrestling).

Josh Terao tops the list with eight combat sports golds. Wusstig can do something even the greatest Terao never did, though, by navigating through four state tournaments and winning every match by ippon. Wusstig’s winning times in every state match were 1:11, 3:42, 2:56, 0:13, 1:11, 1:45, 3:07, 0:17, 1:08, 3:33, 0:41 and 1:05. Only Christian Pak of Punahou, Waiakea’s Zen Sakane and Jayson Pagurayan of Kapolei have lasted more than three minutes with him.

Wusstig will have even more pressure to perform as a senior because Na Menehune are out to defend the team title they earned last year to break Kapolei’s four year reign at the top. Dayne Takai (108) is the only other Moanalua judoka to be a top seed in this tournament while the Hurricanes have three.

Kapolei’s Rodan Salagdron was in Wusstig’s class the last two years and has taken a second and third. Saladgron is the top dog at 161 pounds this year and is expected to break through with his first state title. Teammates Jake Brett (178) and Branden Pagurayan (198) also have second-place finishes to their credit but enter the tournament as the top seed at their weights.

Kaiser’s Koby Chun is the only other state runner- up who received a top seed, being judged the top dog at 121 pounds.

Other top seeds include Halona Anakalea of Konawaena at 285, Damien’s Harry Lloyd at 220, Max Higa of Roosevelt at 132 and Aden Lesyon of Waiakea at 114.

2019 State Boys Judo Bracket

Here is a table of every state medalist: