Hawaii’s Brant Porter and Rysan Leong had quite a day in separate events on Saturday.
Leong, the former Kalaheo athlete now at Menlo College, won the 165-pound weight class at the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics’ national wrestling championships in Park City, Kansas.
Porter, a former Kamehameha athlete now at Northern Idaho College, won the 141-pound weight class at the National Junior College Athletic Association national wrestling championships in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
In addition, a former Kamehameha athlete now at Northern Idaho College, Kanai Tapia, placed fifth in the NJCAA nationals at 149 pounds.
The three wrestlers’ matches are listed below.
NAIA National Wrestling Championships
Rysan Leong, Menlo College (165-pound champ)
>> Round of 16: def. Wyatt Higgins (Reinhardt), 3-2
>> Quarterfinals: def. Cole Smith (Cumberland), 4-1
>> Semifinals: def. Marty Margolis (Grand View), 5-4
>> Final: def. David Rubio (Corban), 4-3
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NJCAA National Wrestling Championships
Brant Porter, Northern Idaho College (141-pound champ)
>> Round of 32: def. Gideon Cole (Southwestern Oregon), major decision, 10-1
>> Round of 16: def. La’Ron Ruffin (St. Clair), 6-3
>> Quarterfinals: def. Matthew Lewis (Indian Hills), 4-2
>> Semifinals: def. Malachi Bordovsky (Iowa Western), major decision, 12-4
>> Final: def. Easton Taylor (Pratt), 4-2
Kanai Tapia, Northern Idaho College (149 pounds, fifth place)
>> Round of 32: def. Omar Zamora (Rochester), fall, 5:42
>> Round of 16: def. Xzavier Seuss (St. Clair), fall, 1:03
>> Quarterfinals: def. Finnegan McFadden (Camden County), 4-1
>> Semifinals: lost to Matt Sarbo (Iowa Central), fall, 4:44
>> Consolation semifinals: lost to Kris Ketchum (Nassau), fall, 5-3
>> Fifth-place match: lost to Brayden Lowry (Northwest College), fall, 2:55
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ALSO AT BedrockSportsHawaii.com:
>> SEE: Videos And A Photo Gallery Of 2023 Texaco/HHSAA Wrestling State Championships
