Given a choice, sisters Mindy and Chrissy Chow would have stood toe-to-toe in the center of the mat and wrestled for the 124-pound title of the USA Wrestling Junior Nationals Women’s Freestyle title.

You can read the complete article here.

Congratulations to Punahou Senior Jordan Ng, who was recently named to Wrestling USA’s Honorable Mention All-American team.  The 2010 All-American Team will be featured in the May 20 issue of Wrestling USA Magazine.

I am very pleased to announce the Stanford Wrestling class of 2014.  Our seven incoming freshmen are all tremendous young men and bring with them the work ethic necessary to succeed at the highest level.  Most importantly, they are all committed to our efforts of making the Stanford Wrestling program the premier destination for scholar athletes!  Below is a list of the recruits and a few of their notable accomplishments.

Luke Amuchastegui-157/165 (Phoenix High School, Talent, OR): Oregon state champion as a senior finishing with an undefeated record.  Was 5th in the state as a freshmen and the runner-up as a sophomore.  Unable to compete in state meet as junior due to an injury.

Galen McCleary-141/149 (Punahou High School, Honolulu, HI): Hawaii state champion as a senior finishing with an undefeated record.  Was 8th in the state of Virginia as a freshmen and 7th as a sophomore before moving to Hawaii.  As a junior in Hawaii he finished 3rd at the state tournament.

Kyle Pollock-HWT (Wiggins High School, Wiggins, CO): Three-time Colorado state finalist finishing state runner-up as a sophomore, junior and senior.  Finished 3rd in the state as a freshmen.

Garrett Schaner-157 (Big Rapids High School, Big Rapids, MI): Four-time Michigan state placer finishing 7th, 2nd, 5th and 3rd respectively at the state tournament.

Dan Scherer-197 (MICDS High School, St. Louis, MO): Missouri State Champion as a senior finishing with an undefeated record.  Was 3rd in the state as a sophomore and junior.

Matt Schneider-141/149 (Milton High School, Alpharetta, GA): Three-time Georgia state placer finishing 4th, 2nd, and 3rd respectively in the state tournament.

Alan Yen-184/197 (Saratoga High School, Saratoga, CA): California state qualifier as a junior finishing 2-2 at the state tournament.  Unable to compete in state tournament as a senior due to an injury.

Lead Clinician:

Brian Smith, Head Coach, University of Missouri

• Three-time All-Big Ten wrestler and four-time letterman at Michigan State
• 13 All-Americans and 2 National Champions  have come through Coach Smith’s program
• University of Missouri has finished in the top-15 at the NCAA Championships for six straight years, placing as high as 2nd.

The format of the Iolani Clinic includes:

• Intense work on developing the skills of age group wrestlers
• Instruction on core strength development
• Live competition between the campers

Fee: $225 per wrestler Check due by May 21, 2010

Download the registration form here.

8th Place – Kory Johnson & Makana Valdez
7th Place – Patrick Sheehan
4th Place – Bryant Fukushima
2nd Place – Evan Johnson

Some good, solid wrestling (according to Coach Oney) — Congratulations!

In a performance that truly defines the concept of “team”, our wrestlers pulled together and delivered a series of incredible matches to repeat as both Boys & Girls State Champions.

All season long, the coaches emphasized the wisdom of Joe Paterno, when he said “Take care of the little things and the big things will take care of themselves.” In the state tournament, the wrestlers took this to heart, scoring pins when needed and grinding out tough wins when it counted, and securing the team title in spite of serious challenges.

The Boys were impressive in both the first round of the tournament and the semi-final round, racking up enough pins to pull away from second place Kamehameha in spite of a few big losses.

Several wrestlers favored to win/repeat as state champions were upset in what the Star Bulletin called “stunning losses”. But true to their character, they put their personal disappointment aside and finished the tournament with pins. The rest of the team also rallied, earning pins and crucial placement points. So solid was their wrestling that the Boys finished the tournament within striking distance of last year’s scoring record.

Whereas everyone on the Boys team stepped up their performance to counter the upsets against them, the Girls pulled together to overcome the superior numbers of OIA champions Kahuku and repeated as State Champions by an incredibly thin margin of just 2.5 points. With just 8 girls entered in the tournament (vs. Kahuku’s 10), the Girls put five into the finals and scored key pin points to earn the team victory. In spite of the numbers being stacked against them, the Girls were undaunted, believing until the very end that they had what it took to win.

Congratulations to State Champions Jordan Ng (114), Todd Murakawa (125), Galen McCleary (140), Chrissy Chow (125), Mindy Chow (130), and Kaimana Lundquist (155).

Full results can be found at the links below.

Boys Final Standings
Boys Final Results
Boys Final Brackets

Girls Final Standings
Girls Final Results
Girls Final Brackets

The formal announcement from the HHSAA:

Due to the tsunami warning, the HHSAA State Wrestling Championships will be rescheduled to Sunday, February 28, 2010.  Weigh-ins will begin at 7 a.m. (scratch weight plus 4 pounds).  Wrestling will begin immediately after weigh-ins and wrestling will continue, without break, until completion.  Further information will be provided as it becomes available.

To our Punahou Ohana:
The HHSAA is concerned that many of the neighbor island competitors and their families may not be able to get flights out tomorrow after the tournament. Punahou and McKinley have offered their gyms for families to stay at and we have been asked to provide additional kokua. Depending upon the number of stranded families, we may need to help with extra blankets, pillows, etc. for the families staying at the gyms, as well as possibly coordinating a potluck Sunday evening. If there are a smaller number of families stuck overnight, we may ask for families willing to be hosts for an overnight stay.

The situation is obviously very much in flux, so I will provide updates as needs become clearer. I just wanted to give the ohana a heads-up. THANK YOU in advance for your support!

Friday, February 26, 2010
Preliminary Round 10:00 a.m.

Saturday, February 27, 2010
Semifinals & Consolation Rounds 3 & 4 10:00 a.m.
Introductions 3:00 p.m.
Championship & Consolation Finals to follow Introductions

Grapplers Put Everything on the Fine Line