Campbell Takes Home First OIA Title
By Jack Danilewicz
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Del.icio.usCampbell co-head boys wrestling coach Mark Buelow found a model program in Kahuku when he set out to build his own program three years ago.
This season, his Sabers took it one step further, edging out those very Red Raiders for the school’s first OIA championship.
“We knew we were doing all the right things two years ago when we won an OIA JV title,” Buelow said.“We were on everyone’s radar this year, but we thought we still had our work cut out for us since a lot of Kahuku’s guys were on the varsity as under-classmen.
“The kids were really driven. Their goal was to win the OIA, and they did it.”
Campbell was hoping to add to what has already been an extraordinary season over the weekend when no less than 10 Sabers were to compete in the State Wrestling Championships. Even so, their run at the OIA finals remains one of the feel-good stories in the West this year.
Buelow and co-coach Brian Weida both wrestled at East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania where they lived the work ethic that goes with wrestling at a high level. That same commitment to working hard was prevalent at Campbell, which had its share of leaders.
“We’ve always preached how hard you have to work to be successful, and they did what they needed to do,” Buelow said.
To that end, the OIA win backs up Buelow’s sentiments, as depth clearly carried the Sabers. Indeed, they took the league crown without a single individual winner, although Tyson Tynanes-Perez (189 pounds), Michael Lankford (171), Diego Meyers (215) and Kevin Corbett (160) all placed second in their weight classes.
Tynanes-Perez had won both the OIA and state title in his junior season and was still one of the favorites to win this past weekend’s state championship in the 189-pound class, despite his recent disappointment in the Feb. 20 league finals.
Lankford had dropped 18 pounds from the beginning of the season to make the 171 class in the OIA finals and boost Campbell’s overall chances. Buelow calls him and teammate Keanu Richardson, who finished fourth in the 130-pound class, “probably our hardest workers.”
Corbett also figured big in Campbell’s title in agreeing to drop down to the 160-pound class, although he had been faring well already at 171 pounds. The 160-pound class already included the state’s defending champ and runner-up in Raynald Cooper III (Pearl City) and Jesse Carney (Kalaheo), respectively.
Also turning in impressive outings at the OIA finals were Shane Pantastico-Banaay (114, 3rd), Matt Sunajo (108, 7th), Bryson PantasticoBanaay (125, 7th), Keoni Miller (145, 7th), Jeff Takazono (152, 4th), Zachary Kido (120, 6th) and Dhavin Spencer-Basa (285, 4th).
Veteran leadership and youth made for a good mix, too. Shane Pantastico-Banaay was one of the team’s captains along with Tynanes-Perez, while Spencer-Basa and Kido were both only freshmen.
As for choosing MVPs, Buelow would probably go with his wife Stephanie and Weida’s wife Monica whom he calls the unsung heroes of the Sabers operation.
“Especially this time of year,“Buelow said of the post-season.
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