Historic Waialua is home to some of Oahu’s rooted history in the sugar industry.
Waialua High School, though, has made history of its own in the past decade with its softball program. The Lady Bulldogs won the OIA Division II crown in 2019 and reached the state semifinals after a 12-6 win over Honokaa. Wailua lost to Kohala, 6-5, but looked forward to a prosperous ’20 season.
The COVID-19 pandemic led to the cancellation of the ’20 spring sports season. Waialua has been waiting for a chance to get back on the diamond since.
“Last year was a very sad moment when the state had to cancel and shut down our promising softball season,” Waialua coach Rod Dicion said, noting the repeat championship performances of Aiea and Nanakuli in the past.
“I’m so glad we are able to play games for my two seniors, twins Trinity and Quinn Ozoa. They’re the only seniors who decided to come out and play in their last year as Waialua Lady Bulldogs,” Dicion said.
Quinn Ozoa will attend Oregon State. Trinity Ozoa will attend Pacific.
“They have proved to be true leaders and show good examples with their work ethic,” Dicion said.
OIA schedules for spring sports have been reduced significantly. Most softball teams had almost or no preseason games, though scrimmages varied from program to program. Waialua normally plays 18 preseason games.
“This year’s preseason and upcoming regular (season) has been very different from previous years with way less games to play. Living in a pandemic has brought on a lot of new rules and regulations. The biggest downfall is not having OIA and HHSAA tournaments. We could have been contenders for the championships games in both,” Dicion said.
“I want to thank the man above, my hard-working coaching staff and all the parents, fans and supporters,” Dicion said.
The ’19 OIA title under Dicion was the first for the Lady Bulldogs softball program since ’09, when Jay Keao was head coach.
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