Wrestlers Work Overtime As State Championships Near
By Jack Danilewicz
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If the pace has picked up at Kapolei’s wrestling practices in the past two weeks, it isn’t because the Hurricanes weren’t already pushing themselves to the limit. For a handful of seniors, the knowledge that their collective eligibility clocks are ticking has quickened their steps toward the finish line of the 2009 season, which will come this weekend in the form of the 2009 State Wrestling Championships.
“We’ve been having two-a-days the past two weeks for those who want to be there,“head coach Shawn Salter said. “Hailey (Barnes) and (Louis) Smolka are both there every day.”
Salter was expecting as many as 12 Hurricanes to possibly have qualified for this weekend’s state meet, which will take place Friday and Saturday at Blaisdell Arena. In fact, anything near that number would seem a rousing success given the injury issues that plagued his team throughout the season. Three four-year seniors were lost to injuries, giving the once-experienced Hurricanes a suddenly young team. The silver lining for Kapolei was the development of its under-classmen.
“They’re solid kids throughout - they work hard every day,” said Salter, who is in his fourth year as the Kapolei coach after an earlier stint at North Shore High School in Slidell, La. “Our team is better suited to a dual meet than a team tournament. They try to work hard to help each other out.”
Although Kapolei finished third overall in the OIA’s Western Division, the Hurricanes were second overall in the league only to Kaiser at the dual meets Feb. 7. Last weekend, the OIA held its championships, where a top-eight finish also ensured wrestlers berths for this weekend’s state tourney.Among those expected to be in the mix for state berths were Mark Suarez (215), Trey Wise (189), Nathaniel Henderson (171), Jensen Balera (160), Nick Curcio (152), Donny King (145), Mason Roache (140), Tyler Kono (135), Kaleo Hew-Len (125), Donovan Nakama (108) and Maka Cofran (114), in addition to both Smolka (120) and Barnes (130). Barnes finished the regular season first in the West in his weight class, while Smolka and Hew-Len were both runners-up.
“Hailey brings experience and leadership. He’s been a starter since he was a freshman, and he’s the hardest worker on the team by a large margin. Louis’flexibility and his ability to adapt to different situations are his biggest strengths. He’s improved a lot through hard work.
“Kaleo is very excited about wrestling - he likes to learn new techniques,” he added.“His conditioning (level) is well above most of his opponents, and it gets him into position to win matches.”
Salter also noted the efforts of Henderson and Wise, who are wrestling in weight classes where they are outweighed in every match, and Curcio, who is among the Hurricanes’ seniors looking for a strong finish.
The Hurricanes are largely injury-free as they hit the most important point in the season, although Salter acknowledged there’s pressure for most wrestlers hoping to perform at their best at the state tournament.
“It’s a two-edged sword,“he said. “It’s really fun for them, and it’s really stressful for them. We’re trying to keep them in their normal routine, but we’re also throwing in some new drills and wrestling games just to keep them more open. It’s more of a fine-tuning of technique and keeping them loose.”
Contact Jack Danilewicz at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
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