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Campbell, Pearl City, Kapolei All Boast State Titles In ‘10

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The magic number for Campbell pitcher Katie Manuma at the Division I state softball championships was 4 - as in four wins in four days.

The senior helped drive the Sabers across the finish line in the state title game May 14, yielding only four hits against Punahou in a 5-1 masterpiece before an overflow crowd at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium. All told, Manuma struck out nine and retired 13 of 14 batters at one point, while all five runs scored by Campbell were unearned. The win gave Campbell, which is coached by David Perreira, its first-ever state title in softball and culminated in an 18-1 record. Only a loss in the OIA tournament prevented an unbeaten season. Manuma and the Sabers outdueled Roosevelt 12-0, Mid-Pacific 6-3 and Castle 3-0 to advance to the title game.

Any discussion of West Oahu’s top 2010 prep stories begins with this softball run. A summary of other memorable prep stories follows.

Kapolei boys soccer team advances too OIA title game. Fans who thought Kapolei might be “a year away” last winter because of its youthful roster soon found out otherwise, as the Hurricanes defeated Kaiser 2-1 and Aiea 1-0 to make the OIA title game, which was played Feb. 6 on their own field. While Kapolei suffered a heartbreaking defeat in that encounter - 2-1 in overtime to Mililani on a rebounded penalty kick attempt - it still had a season to remember, making the state tournament and finishing 9-4-3 overall under coach Bryce Kaneshiro.

Campbell boys basketball makes sixth consecutive state tournament. One year after a successful run at Aiea, where he led Na ‘Ali’i to back-to-back Division II OIA titles, Campbell alumnus Wyatt Tau returned home to coach Campbell and led it to a sixth straight state tournament appearance in February. The Sabers finished 11-6 overall.

Waipahu, Pearl City football teams have solid seasons inn OIA White conference. The homecoming matchup between host Waipahu and neighboring Pearl City Oct. 1 didn’t make or break either school’s season,but it was perhaps the game that best showcased the interest in both teams with a capacity crowd on hand to provide a playoff-type atmosphere. Waipahu prevailed in the OIA White showdown 26-12 behind a monster game from Marauder running back Victor Moananu (31 carries, 177 yards). The game also showcased White Defensive Player of the Year, Cyrus Coen, a senior linebacker and Charger team leader, as well as a personal homecoming for Pearl City coach Kai Kamaka, a former Waipahu standout. Both teams went on to make playoff appearances.

Coached by Sean Saturnio, Waipahu finished at 6-3, while Pearl City ended its season at 6-4.

Waipahu baseball l team plays inn third straight OIA Division III title game. The Waipahu baseball team appeared in the OIA Division II championship game April 24 for an unprecedented third consecutive year when it met Radford at Central Oahu Regional Park. Sam Chee was the hero in the OIA semifinals the day before when he tripled in two runs in the sixth inning to rally the Marauders past Kaimuki 3-2. Although it dropped a heartbreaker in the OIA championship game to Radford, 3-2, it still posted another great season, which included a third straight appearance in the state baseball tournament. Waipahu finished its season at 10-5.

Campbell baseball makes riveting post-season run. Robert Kahana threw a five-hitter, and Michael Memea drove in the go-ahead run with a sixth-inning double to lift Campbell over Kailua, 4-3, in the semifinals of the OIA tournament April 23 at Central Oahu Regional Park. The win gave Campbell its first championship game appearance since 1995, when current coach Rory Pico was a star shortstop for the Sabers. Kahana was on all afternoon, compiling eight strikeouts against just three walks.While their bid for an OIA title was turned away the following day by then-unbeaten Pearl City, Campbell already had earned a bid to the state baseball tournament. The Sabers ended their season at 11-6.

Pearl City girls basketball team wins Red West championship. The close encounter between Pearl City and Mililani with the Red West regular-season crown on the line Jan.22 never materialized, as the Chargers overwhelmed the Trojans, taking a 17-6 lead after a quarter. Pearl City cruised from there, winning the game 48-33, which was played at Kalani before a statewide TV audience on OC-16,to finish the OIA-portion of their schedule 11-1. The win gave it and coach Mike Morton their first West crown since 2004. It also avenged an earlier loss to the Trojans.The Chargers went on to appear in the Division I state tournament, finishing their season at 15-4 overall.

Pearl City baseball team makes now-customary post-seasonrun.Pearl City endured high-drama to earn its fourth straight OIA baseball title April 24 at Central Oahu Regional Park, eventually celebrating a 4-3 win over a surging Campbell team in the league’s post-season championship game. Preserving their late one-run lead, they watched in horror as Campbell loaded the bases in the top of the seventh inning. Facing a 3-2 count, Pearl City pitcher Chase Numata recorded a strike-out to preserve the win. Jordan Oshiro and Reid Ramos both had a pair of hits for Pearl City, which had trailed 3-1 at one point. Then 15-0, the win also gave it the No. 1 seed in the state baseball tournament. Although Punahou ended its bid for a state title in the quarterfinals, it was still a season for the ages for the proud program. Pearl City coach Gary Nakamoto resigned at season’s end for health reasons, signaling the end of an era in Charger baseball. He led Pearl City to 34 straight wins in OIA play, a streak that is still intact.

Pearl City volleyball team wins Red West title. An eight-year wait for a return to the state volleyball tournament finally ended this fall for the Pearl City volleyball team and longtime coach Stephanie Shigemasa. It finished first in the West with an 11-1 mark (15-4 overall) en route to earning that much-coveted appearance. The afterglow of its 2010 season could be felt long after the fact when the OIA released its All-Conference picks, led by Shigemasa, who was named Coach of the Year by her peers. The Chargers’ paw prints could be found throughout the OIA’s Red West’s list of All-Stars, also with seniors Keani Passi, Tonisha Buford and Marie Fujii all earning spots on the First Team. (Pearl City also placed Brandee Chun, Kaya Chong, Sina Mauga and Kacie Chinen on the Honorable Mention team.)

Kapolei girls, Pearl City boysbowling teams win state titles. The OIA recorded a clean sweep at the HHSAA state bowling championships Oct. 29 at Lihue Lanes on Kauai,with both the Pearl City boys and Kapolei girls teams claiming team titles.

Pearl City won it with a combined team score of 8,528, followed by Mililani (8,466), Kalani (8,167), HBA (8,001) and Baldwin (7,833).

Pearl City’s Kevin Oshiro was named West Player of the Year at season’s end, while teammates Nicholas Azumi, Micah Lee, Sheldon Naauao, Derek Suefuji, Evan Hayashi and Jonathan Carino earned All-Conference recognition.

In the girls division,Kapolei won going away with a combined score of 7,643, topping second place Punahou by 450 pins. Mililani (7,037), Waiakea (7,037) and Kauai (6,986) rounded out the top five finishers. Christalynn Bonifacio and Valerie Ibarra were named to the All-Conference teams from the Hurricanes in a vote of OIA coaches.