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Four of five Trojan wrestlers qualified for states on Saturday and will fly Thursday to O'ahu. See more below. Wrestlers left to right are: La'akea Kajiwara-Ke, Ocean Nihipali-Sesson, Rain Nihipali-Sesson, Alazae Forcum, Stephen Adler II, and Eli Crook. Coaches left to right are Head Coach Ray Mazyck, Assistant Coach Joe DeYoung, and Assistant coach Connor Norton. Photo by Elizabeth Crook |
A COMMUNITY EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM TRAINING is offered, with live training in Discovery Harbour. The Hybrid Basic CERT training class consists of an online course taken at each trainee's pace and Two-Day Practical live sessions to practice and improve the skills learned in the online course.
The online course is available now, with registration and more info at https://forms.gle/MC15rgijsaKy1EDeA. The two-day, in-person practical sessions are scheduled for Saturday, April 6 and Sunday, April 7 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Discovery Harbour Community Center, 94-1604 Makali'i Street, Naalehu. Completion of the online course by Friday, March 22 is required to be eligible to attend the two-day practical. There is no charge for the course.
Those who already completed the CERT program, said Steffen, are encouraged to share this opportunity with family, friends and neighbors. The online and/or in-person classes can also be taken as a refresher.
To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar. See latest print edition at kaucalendar.com, in the mail and on stands.
TROJANS ARE HEADED TO THE STATE FINALS IN WRESTLING on O'ahu for Friday and Saturday, Feb. 23 and 24. Four out of the five Trojan wrestlers qualified by placing fifth or better at the Big Island Interscholastic Federation Championship wrestling tournament last Saturday.
MEET THE ARTIST IN RESIDENCE AT AFTER DARK IN THE PARK this Tuesday, Feb. 20 from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Kīlauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park.
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| Rain Nihipali-Sesson, on right, qualifies for states. |
The BIIF Championship hosted 13 teams from around the island, each entering their top wrestlers. Wrestlers representing Kaʻū were Seniors Stephen Adler II, La’akea Kajiwara-Ke, Ocean Nihipali-Sesson, Junior Rain Nihipali-Sesson, and Freshman Eli Crook.
Senior Stephen Adler II had the toughest day out of the Trojan Wrestling team. Wrestling at 120 lbs, he faced a tough Kealakehe opponent in his first match ultimately losing by pin in the second round. In his second match Adler wrestled against an experienced Waiakea opponent, and got caught in a pin in the second round. He ended up taking seventh place at the tournament, just a round shy of qualifying.
Senior Stephen Adler II had the toughest day out of the Trojan Wrestling team. Wrestling at 120 lbs, he faced a tough Kealakehe opponent in his first match ultimately losing by pin in the second round. In his second match Adler wrestled against an experienced Waiakea opponent, and got caught in a pin in the second round. He ended up taking seventh place at the tournament, just a round shy of qualifying.
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| Eli Crook podium finish, right. He goes to states on O'ahu. |
Coach Ray Mazyck said, “Stephen is the hardest worker I’ve ever met. He has come so far since the beginning of the season, and it’s tough to see him not qualify. Wrestling is an incredibly tough sport that requires a lot of technique, much of which is gained through years of experience. It is quite difficult to bridge the gap of experience in just one season, but overall he wrestled his heart out and left it all on the mat.”
Freshman Eli Crook, one of the four qualifiers for the Trojans had a turbulent start to the day, losing his first match by pin in the second round to a Hilo wrestler. After he lost to Hilo he received a bye to advance to the consolation semi-final round, where he faced a Kealakehe wrestler and lost by pin. "Losing in the consolation semi-final allowed Eli to compete for fifth place and earn his way to state," said Coach Mazyck. In his next match Eli defeated Kohala 12-7, taking fifth in the 126 lbs. weight class and punched his ticket to O'ahu.
Senior La’akea Kajiwara-Ke took fifth in the 138 lbs. class at the BIIF Championship. He suffered a first round loss to
Kamehameha, which dropped him into the consolation bracket. He then defeated Keaau with a first round pin, advancing him to the consolation semi’s. Kajiwara-Ke wrestled a Konawaena opponent in a back and forth match which went into overtime, it was close but the Konawaena opponent was able to secure the takedown to win. "In his fifth place match with state qualification on the line the Trojan rose to the occasion and pinned his opponent from Honoka'a late in the second round," reported Coach Mazyck.
Seeded first with an overall record of 7-0 in the 175 lbs. class was senior Ocean Nihipali-Sesson. He started his day strong with a first round pin against Kealakehe, advancing him to the semi-final round. He wrestled hard but was narrowly defeated by Kamehameha 9-6 in the semi’s. In his next match versus Keaau, Nihipali-Sesson was able to pull out a decision win of 3-1 to advance him to the third place match.
Freshman Eli Crook, one of the four qualifiers for the Trojans had a turbulent start to the day, losing his first match by pin in the second round to a Hilo wrestler. After he lost to Hilo he received a bye to advance to the consolation semi-final round, where he faced a Kealakehe wrestler and lost by pin. "Losing in the consolation semi-final allowed Eli to compete for fifth place and earn his way to state," said Coach Mazyck. In his next match Eli defeated Kohala 12-7, taking fifth in the 126 lbs. weight class and punched his ticket to O'ahu.
Senior La’akea Kajiwara-Ke took fifth in the 138 lbs. class at the BIIF Championship. He suffered a first round loss to
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| Ocean Nihipali-Sesson, podium finish left, qualifies for states. |
Seeded first with an overall record of 7-0 in the 175 lbs. class was senior Ocean Nihipali-Sesson. He started his day strong with a first round pin against Kealakehe, advancing him to the semi-final round. He wrestled hard but was narrowly defeated by Kamehameha 9-6 in the semi’s. In his next match versus Keaau, Nihipali-Sesson was able to pull out a decision win of 3-1 to advance him to the third place match.
Coach Mazyck said, "Ocean put all his skills on display in an exciting match for third place against a fierce Laupahoehoe wrestler. They were quite evenly matched, going back and forth but ultimately
Laupahoehoe walked away with a 5-4 decision win. “The skills and gameplan Ocean displayed in his third place match were well above any first year wrestler. He showed every ounce of the hard-work, athleticism, and coachability that makes him the outstanding young man that he is,” said the Trojan Coach.
For the Trojan girls junior Rain Nihipali-Sesson placed fifth in the 235 lbs. class. She had to medically forfeit from the BIIF championship. “Rain quite possibly had the toughest day of all, she is incredibly passionate about the sport and loves to wrestle. For her to watch girls she handedly beat during the season wrestle and place high really ate at her. She had aspirations to be the Big Island Champion and she very well could have been if she had the opportunity to wrestle. Next year is going to be a very big year for Rain,” said Coach Mazyck.
The Coach said, "Every Trojan wrestler far surpassed any expectation that can be had for a first year team." The Trojan wrestling team leaves for O'ahu this Thursday Feb. 22; the State Tournament starts the following day, finishes Saturday, Feb. 24.
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| La'akea Kajiwara-Ke, right, will go to states on O'ahu. |
For the Trojan girls junior Rain Nihipali-Sesson placed fifth in the 235 lbs. class. She had to medically forfeit from the BIIF championship. “Rain quite possibly had the toughest day of all, she is incredibly passionate about the sport and loves to wrestle. For her to watch girls she handedly beat during the season wrestle and place high really ate at her. She had aspirations to be the Big Island Champion and she very well could have been if she had the opportunity to wrestle. Next year is going to be a very big year for Rain,” said Coach Mazyck.
The Coach said, "Every Trojan wrestler far surpassed any expectation that can be had for a first year team." The Trojan wrestling team leaves for O'ahu this Thursday Feb. 22; the State Tournament starts the following day, finishes Saturday, Feb. 24.
“We are immensely excited to see the level of wrestling at the state tournament. Our wrestlers are going to get an idea of what state level wrestling is like, Freshman Eli Crook and Junior Rain Nihipali-Sesson will be able to bring this experience back home to help themselves and next season's team grow. I fully believe that these wrestlers earning their spot in state is going to be the catalyst that propels the Trojan Wrestling team to the next level.”
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| Diana Miller painted this image. She is Artist in Residence for National Parks Arts Foundation at Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. |
The artist is Diana Miller. She was born in France, grew up traveling the world, served as a National Park Service Ranger, and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in the US Air Force.
Her artwork "embraces the native landscapes of her Hawai‘i home and provides a hopeful vision for their continued protection," says a statement from the organizers of the event.
Artist in Residence program is co-sponsored by Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, Friends of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park and the National Parks Arts Foundation.
See more on Friends of Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park at https://www.fhvnp.org/
See more on the National Parks Arts Foundation at https://www.nationalparksartsfoundation.org/
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5,000 in the mail, 2,500 on the streets.
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