Got A Sport? Sani Will Do It, And He’ll Take It All The Way
By Jack Danilewicz
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Part of being a first-tier athlete is being able to withstand success as well as failure. As in other areas, Jonathan Sani Fuimaono passes this test with flying colors. When the junior from Kaneohe helped lead Punahou to a state wrestling championship recently, he didn’t linger on his success for too long.
“I enjoyed it, but I went right back to work again,” said Fuimaono, who went undefeated this season en route to winning the 285-pound weight class. “I took the next day off and maybe two the following week.”
For Fuimaono, who also is a stellar defensive end on the Punahou football team, there is no real off-season. In April, he’ll go through spring practice with the football team. Otherwise, his sights are set on the Wrestling Nationals in July on the Mainland. Last summer, he traveled to North Dakota as part of the Hawaii USA High School Wrestling team, where he took third in his weight class (above 180-pound). He had finished third at the 2008 state wrestling championships. While his never-wavering work ethic and focus is already legendary around Punahou, winning a state title is, nevertheless, a good time for reflection.
Upon further review, after all, it is perhaps a surprise that Fuimaono took up wrestling at all. Football was No. 1 for him at the time. He’d played for the Kaneohe Knights Pop Warner team since the third grade.
“I would usually do basketball (during the winter season), and I just decided to change up and try out for wrestling. I came to love it a whole lot, and it helps me with football. It’s another part of my training (for football).
“I’m a little surprised by my success in wrestling, I didn’t know anything about it,” he added. “It’s been an amazing experience. I’m very thankful and grateful to the Lord for my blessings.”
Much in his memory is a trip to Fresno, Calif., in the summer before sixth grade when he first trained with his uncle, Jackson Lakatani.“That began my journey,” said Fuimaono, who still trains with Lakatani when he is able. “He’s a certified trainer who worked with me for football and wrestling. He always tells me,‘dare to be great, and finish whatever you start, and never quit; sports, academics - always go the extra mile.’”
In his state championship match with Scott Suapaia of Aiea, the score was 0 to 0 through the first period. Having gone undefeated to that point, Fuimaono admitted to “a little pressure.” Within the next 20 seconds after gaining the first point in the match, he maneuvered his way to a riveting pin.
“Being favored to win, there were a lot of expectations by others, and I have a lot of expectations for myself.
“I tried to go out and wrestle my hardest and have no regrets. I felt more energized in the second period, and I knew I had to try to end the match quick.”
As in football, Fuimaono credits his conditioning in part for helping to win matches on the wrestling mat.“My strength is that I’m more fit than some others,” he said. “My technique is good, not great. There’s always room for improvement, but my speed and quickness and being light on my feet and in good shape helps me.”
Down the road, Fuimaono, who is a 4.0 student, also will have another wrestling match to engage in - one in his mind over whether or not to wrestle or play football in college. He’s hearing from wrestling coaches at Army, Stanford, Michigan and Princeton, among others. Oregon, Washington, Washington State, UCLA, San Diego State, Cal, Dartmouth and Army are among the schools courting him for football at present. In the spring, he will begin taking repetitions at middle linebacker, a position he could play in college.
“They’ve been asking if I’m able to play it,” he said of the schools recruiting him for football. “I’ve been getting my mind set to play middle linebacker.”
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