Who’s Next? Elite, invitational wrestling meet shines spotlight (2024)

WAILUKU — The look on Diesel Del Rosario’s face said it all.

The senior wrestler from Lanai High School was sitting with his headphones on and staring straight ahead at the Who’s Next Wrestling Tournament at Nakamura Wrestling Gym on Saturday afternoon.

He was between wins in the elite invitational wrestling tournament — Del Rosario beat Rylen Gonda of Waianae 12-9 and then pinned Blaze-Kekoa Amano of Pac-5 in 2 minutes, 55 seconds — in the 126-pound weight class.

Del Rosario was third in the Texaco/HHSAA state tournament last year at 120 pounds. A year earlier he won the Maui Interscholastic League title at 120, but missed the state tournament with a concussion.

Now, as he starts his senior season fresh off of the Pine Lads’ eight-player football season, there is just one thing on his mind.

“For sure, state title,” Del Rosario said. “This year I’m just really trying to work for it, keep everything to myself this year and just stay humble.”

If that happens, it would be the first individual HHSAA state crown for any Lanai athlete in any sport.

Saturday’s event was set up to showcase the best wrestlers in Hawaii going against each other for national exposure.

When pressed on what making history for his school, Del Rosario said, “It would mean a lot.”

To get into Saturday’s meet, wrestlers had to be state medal winners and then their head-to-head matches were streamed live from the tiny gym on Mill Street for college coaches to view live or rewatch later.

“It’s pretty cool that I get to be in a meet like this with a whole bunch of state-placers and winners here that won it,” Del Rosario said. “I do think about college wrestling.”

Del Rosario looked around the jam-packed, sweaty gym and smiled.

“In Hawaii, I feel like we’re just as good as everywhere else,” he said. “You can’t count us out because we’re still up there with everybody.”

Kayce Dudoit is wrestling for Molokai this season after her house in Lahaina was destroyed in the Aug. 8 wildfire. She was third in the state tournament at 102 pounds for Lahainaluna in 2022 before missing the state tournament last season due to a shoulder injury.

“It feels good to be back,” Dudoit said after pinning Punahou’s Tatiana Paragas, last season’s state runner-up at 107, in 1:21.

When asked if she is thinking about college wrestling, she said, “It’s in my head. There’s been some thoughts, but I’m trying to focus on my senior year.”

Dudoit was also grateful for the opportunity that she was afforded on Saturday.

“I think it’s really good to try to encourage other kids to come out and try the sport,” Dudoit said. “Even though people say it might be hard, but don’t talk about it bad until you try it.”

Dudoit is originally from Molokai, but lived in Lahaina for eight years before the fire. Lahainaluna coach Zane Monteleone was in her corner on Saturday.

“I went back to Molokai because I’m still in school, but I also lived with my other siblings — they ended up staying on this (Central Maui) side,” said Dudoit, who is now living on Molokai with her parents. “I’m just trying to take it in, soak it in because you never know when you’re going to get a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

“This result gives me a lot of confidence going into the season, a big booster, a big jump.”

The event was organized by Grant Nakamura, a veteran world medalist, assistant coach and former state champion for Baldwin High School, an NCAA qualifier at Iowa State, and an Olympic trials competitor in 2008.

He lined up more than 15 college coaches to watch the action on Saturday from the Mainland.

“It’s good, man, everybody came to wrestle, we had some good matches, a lot of matches that we’re not going to see at the state tournament,” Nakamura said. “We had some guys wrestling some first- and second-placers, two-time state champs, it’s fun and all good matches.

“It’s very exciting for Hawaii wrestlers, for sure.”

Nakamura said six NCAA Division I schools, including powerhouses Iowa State and Iowa, were watching. Virginia, Princeton, Cal State-Bakersfield and Drexel were also on the list of coaches tuned in.

“We also have Grandview University, the NAIA national champs, we have Doane University, one of my buddies up there,” Nakamura said. “We’ve got at least 15 colleges.”

Nakamura, now a Maui Police Department officer, said it was gratifying to put on the event.

“One of the things when I was going through high school, there was Travis Lee, he did really well, got recruited to Cornell,” Nakamura said. “For me, I was actually going to go to Northern Colorado until Iowa State called me. I had to walk on before I earned my scholarship, but for me it was just the opportunity that I needed.”

Nakamura said the event already has gained traction and will be held on Oahu next year, starting an every-other-year rotation between Maui and Oahu.

“For these kids, a lot of them who are here realize how big this is and they did show up. Others who didn’t (show up) don’t realize what an opportunity they are missing. This is just going to blow up,” Nakamura said. “Next year is going to be on Oahu and it’s going to be huge. Two years from now, we will take it back … It’s going to be fun.”

* Robert Collias is at rcollias@mauinews.com.

• WHO’S NEXT WRESTLING TOURNAMENT

At Nakamura Wrestling Gym, Wailuku

Saturday’s Results

BOYS

113 pounds–Irving Bicoy III, Pearl City, def. Caden Guevara, Mililani, 5-4; Bicoy def. Eli Suan, Saint Louis, 7-4.

120–Suan def. Jona Dudoit, Molokai, 4-0; Dudoit pinned Guevara, 1:59.

126–Diesel Del Rosario, Lanai, def. Rylen Gonda, Waianae, 12-9; Del Rosario pinned Blaze-Kekoa Amano, Pac-5, 2:55.

132–Koen Shigemoto, Mililani, def. Gonda, 11-1.

138–Kanoa Iwankiw, King Kekaulike, def. Shigemoto, 7-6.

144–Mikah Labuanan, Kamehameha Maui, def. Hoakea Salter, Kamehameha Kapalama, 9-3; Labuanan def. Iwankiw, 19-4; Salter def. iwankiw, 8-6.

150–Xander Erolin, Pac-5, def. Bryson Adric, Baldwin, 14-7; Keenan Goeas, Castle, pinned Adric, 4:55; Goeas def. Justyce Dale Mercado, Punahou, 11-6.

157–Nai Hasegawa, Baldwin, def. Dale Mercado, 7-3; Erolin def. Hasegawa, 2-1, 2OT.

175–Ramsey Nishida, Kamehameha Kapalama, pinned Makai Farm, King Kekaulike, 1:36; Nishida def. Ethan Ito, Punahou, 2:39; Ito def. Farm, 10-8.

GIRLS

115–Tatiana Paragas, Punahou, def. Chaela Gantala, Baldwin, 12-0; Kayce Dudoit, Molokai, pinned Paragas, 1:21.

120–Rylie Nishida, Kamehameha Kapalama, def. Kanoe Kekiwi-Jones, King Kekaulike, 8-1; Nishida def. Gantala, 8-2.

130–Jax Realin, Kamehameha Kapalama, pinned Piikea Joy, Baldwin, 3:08.

135–Realin def. Teata Mataafa-Grove, Baldwin, 17-2.

155–Kaui Lee-Tynan, Kapolei, def. Mataafa-Grove, 8-7; Jahlia Miguel, Baldwin, def. Lee-Tynan, 3-0.

170–Shiloh Kamaka, Baldwin, def. Ohia Borden Phillips, Molokai, 13-9.