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.

This past Thursday, May 20^th Punahou wrestlers practiced and competed with the Washington Intermediate Eagle Wrestling Club for the last time this year.  This event capped off a successful month of joint practices and getting to know each other.

The day started off with warm-ups and team building.  Then our own Evan Johnson (2x state placer) started off a clinic with arm drag setups to a single leg.  Next Mckinley’s Bradley Suda (2x state placer and runner-up this year at 108lbs) demonstrated one of his favorite single leg finishes (An inside trip).  After learning these moves and drilling, the wrestling started.  It was an action packed meet with a lot of scoring and good, hard wrestling.  In the most anticipated matchup of the night Brett Kumabe c/o ’95 matched up with Brett Will c/’11 for an exciting match won by Brett Will.

Once the mats were put away we enjoyed a night of food and fellowship with the Eagles Wrestling Club and staff from the Boys and Girls Club.  We had a great time and would like to thank Coach Brett Kumabe for setting this up and providing us with such great opportunities.  What a coach!

We had a great time and look forward to working with them next year!

Coach Nelson coaches team "Brett Will and Friends"

Mckinley's Marilyn, Bradley Suda and Punahou's Bryan Peralta and Evan Johnson keep score

Alex and Hanale

The Bow n Arrow

Puma Michael Saito in his first wrestling match

Coach Brett Kumabe and Brett Will

This past weekend Punahou wrestlers from all levels competed in the annual AAU Maui State Wrestling Championships.  It was a great opportunity for our varsity wrestlers to get their feet wet in their first freestyle competition of the season, and for our younger wrestlers to compete against new opponents from different islands.

This year’s tournament of 552 participants was contested on 8 mats, Saturday May 15^th at the Lahaina Civic Center.  It was a great day of wrestling for all, and Punahou ended the day with three individual champions:  Josh Crimmins, Makana Valdez, and Nicole Taniguchi.

During down time the kids engaged in a variety of activities.  Among the highlights were dinner at Ka’ahumanu Mall, jumping whales on the drive to Lahaina, donkey and sheep petting, endless shenanigans at the Puma Inn, cooking breakfast together, eating 15 lbs of bacon and Portuguese sausage, Krispy Kreme, and learning that Tasaka’s Guri Guri shop is closed on Sundays =(.

Once again we were fortunate to stay at the Puma Inn in Makawao.  The kids had a lot of fun and spent time getting to know wrestlers from other grade levels.  Much gratitude goes out to the outstanding upperclassmen leadership on the trip, and to the young ones for bringing an endless amount of energy and enthusiasm.

Despite missing our initial flight, we were able to get all students and coaches back to Oahu by late Sunday evening.  We had a great time and look forward to next years trip!

Coach Mike

Go Airlines charges an extra $25 fee for all students 13 and under.  To avoid this charge you must do the following:

When you are booking the flight online, right before paying there is a box labeled “Special remarks

Fill out the box informing them that your child is 13 or under and that they are with Punahou wrestling and that Coach Michael Lee is responsible for them.

Most importantly you need to provide coach Mike’s reservation code which is LGRXTM so they know the passenger responsible for your child.

Coach Mike

-If your kids have nothing to do and want to be back on the mat, we have practices in the varsity wrestling room on tuesdays and thursdays from 3:00-5:00.  These will go until the last week of the year. 

-Every year Maui hosts the largest wrestling tournament in the state.  The very best youth wrestling programs in the state will be there, so in a sense… This is the unofficial K-8 wrestling state tournament.  As coaches we really feel like we had a great year on so many levels, and we would love to offer this one last wrestling opportunity before school is up.  This is a fun trip that we do every year, and the wrestlers get to experience a tournament with over 500 competitors and fans spilling out of the stands on to the mat.  We will be staying in Makawao at an alumni’s house and competing in Lahaina, Maui at the Civic Center.  The dates are May 14-16. 

If you are interested read the attached document, book your flight and pay coach Nelson by May 10th.  This information will be handed out at practice (Tues/Thurs 3:00-5:00) and posted on the website. 
Coach Mike

When:  May 14 – May 16. 
 Tournament:  May 15, 8:00a.m.-X:XXp.m.  The tournament will end when all participants have concluded wrestling.

Where:  The tournament will be at the Lahaina Civic Center in Lahaina, Maui.  We will be staying at an alumni’s house in up country Makawao area. 

Why:  To continue learning and growing together through competition and life

How: Parents are responsible for booking the following flights with Go Airlines:  
 Flight # YV1039 Departs: Honolulu, 5:35pm  Arrives: Kahului, 6:10pm
 Flight # YV1006 Departs: Kahului, 4:45pm  Arrives: Honolulu, 5:17pm

Cost:   $125= Vans and Gas, AAU Membership, Tournament Entry Fee, and Food (2B, 2L, 2D)

Maui Checklist:
Sleeping Bag or Warm Blanket
Pillow
Toiletries (Toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, shampoo)
Underwear/Shirts/Shorts 2-3
Swimwear (Jacuzzi on site, and possible beach trip)
Footwear (Shoes or slippers will suffice for non-wrestling days)
Wrestling Shoes
Socks
Optional:
Extra Spending Cash (For possible mall outings, movies, extra snacks etc.)
Homework/A deck of cards/Video Game Stuff (Remember that you are responsible for your personal belongings)
PUMA INN
 

Schedule of Events
Friday 5/14
5:30pm-6:30pm Leave Oahu and arrive on Maui
7:00pm-8:00pm Pickup vans and drive to Puma Inn
9:30pm-10:00pm Lights out

Saturday 5/15
6:00am-6:30am Wake up and drive to Lahaina
7:30am-8:00am Arrive at Lahaina Civic Center
8:00am   Weigh-ins
9:30am-10:00am  Wrestling Begins
7:30pm-9:30pm  Wrestling concludes followed by award ceremonies
xx:xxpm  Dinner at the Puma Inn

Sunday 5/16
6:00am-8:00am Wake up
10:00am-12:00pm Pack up and clean house
12:00pm-4:00pm Leave house, Breakfast, Mall/Movies/Beach/Etc.
4:00pm-6:30pm Return vans and return to Oahu

Chaperones: Michael Lee  cell:(503) 809-6761
  Nelson Nomura cell:(808) 782-9186
  Todd Fujie  cell:(808) 258-1522

Puma Inn Address:
1950 Olinda Road, Makawao, 96768

As the 2010 school year begins winding down, we wanted to update you of all wrestling related activities occurring through the end of the school year and throughout the summer.  Below is a brief synopsis of each activity.   A detailed itinerary and/or information regarding each specific activity will be sent out accordingly. 

April:
-USAW Season and Tournaments (Puma/Inter/JV/Vars)
USAW tournaments have already begun and will run until May 29th.  During this season your wrestler will have opportunities to wrestle both freestyle (One of two Olympic styles of wrestling), and folk-style.   USAW tournaments require the purchase of an annual USAW card.  The cost of a USAW card is $35 and can only be purchased online at the following website: http://www.usawmembership.com/

May:
-AAU Maui Invitational Wrestling Tournament May, 15th Lahaina, Maui (Puma/Inter/JV/Vars)
In May Punahou will be competing in the annual AAU Maui Invitational Wrestling Tournament.  The tournament is open to all grade levels K-12, with K-8 wrestling folk-style and 9-12 wrestling freestyle.  This is a great opportunity for our youth programs to wrestle different teams with different styles, and to develop positive relationships with our neighbor island teams.  This tournament is also a great chance for high school wrestlers to wrestle a different style of wrestling that will help prepare them for next season, especially those who plan on going to Fargo with Team Hawaii later this summer.  We plan on leaving Friday, May, 14th in the early evening and returning Sunday, May 16th about the same time.  A Maui itinerary will be posted to the website shortly as well as handouts to be passed out at our Tuesday/Thursday practices.

-Punahou Puma Judo Program
Beginning in May, Puma and Intermediate Coach Nelson Nomura will be starting a youth Judo club that will meet on Monday’s and Wednesday’s from 3:00pm-4:00pm in the wrestling room.  Judo is a great sport that helps athletes with their balance, body awareness and mental focus.  Judo will help your children learn to take a fall safely, increase their flexibility and provide them with a healthy perspective on life.  We look forward to the growth and success of this program and wish Coach Nelson the best.  More details to follow. 

-Washington Intermediate Eagle Wrestling Club Scrimmage (Inter)
Washington Intermediate 6th grade teacher and Coach Brett Kumabe (c/o ‘95) recently restarted the Washington Intermediate Eagle Wrestling Club.  Per our preexisting relationship, we would like to continue working together as neighboring schools in the wrestling community.  During the month of May we will have two joint practices with the Eagle wrestling club and an intermediate dual meet, games, award and potluck day to celebrate our friendship, and the ending  to our school years.  More details to follow.
 
-Spring Meat Club Beach Cleanup (Puma/Inter/JV/Vars)
The Punahou Meat Club will conclude their service projects with their Spring BBQ Makapu’u beach cleanup.  For those of you who didn’t make it out last time, you missed an awesome event and a fabulous meal.  While this event is optional, we are encouraging as many wrestlers to make it out as possible.  More details to follow.

Summer/June-July:

-Summer Wrestling (Puma/Inter/JV/Vars)
Summer wrestling practice will be on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s from 3:15-4:15 in Forrest Hall and will run concurrently with Punahou Summer School.  During this time period we will be focusing solely on folk-style.  To participate in summer wrestling your child must sign up through the Punahou summer school catalog. 

-Aloha State Games (Puma/Inter/JV/Vars)
The Aloha State Games is not a USAW event, and will be held in June.  This event is open to all levels and will be wrestled in Freestyle and Greco Roman.  More details to follow.  

-Steve Knight TEAM EXCEL Wrestling Camp Wednesday, June 30th – Saturday, July 3rd
Steve Knight is a former NCAA All American, Big Twelve Champion, freestyle world medalist and longtime coach with USAW.  He most recently coached the US national team in France at the Henri Deglane Invitational, and is director and head coach of Team Excel.  Steve has a great relationship with Hawaii and has been doing this camp for many years.  He is a great motivator and understands wrestlers of all levels.  His camp staff always includes some of the best wrestlers in the country and we highly recommend this camp for Punahou wrestlers of all ages.  

-Punahou Wrestling Summer Service Project
We are planning on having a program wide service event at some point during the summer.  More details to follow.

Thank you for your time.  All of these opportunities are available to your children, none of them are required.  Thank you for a great season from top to bottom, we look forward to seeing you all soon.

Ciao,

Coach Mike