Unbeaten Wrestlers Scotty Dikilato And Tyger Taam Are Nos. 1 And 2 In Season-Ending p4p List

Nick Abramo
March 6, 2023
11:34 am

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The talent pool is getting deeper and deeper in Hawaii high school wrestling.

“This is the toughest boys tournament I’ve seen, top to bottom, in 20 years,” Moanalua boys coach Lucas Misaki said after the conclusion of the Texaco/HHSAA State Wrestling Championships on Feb. 25.

Now that this fantastic season in both boys and girls competition is over, it’s time to bring you Bedrock Sports Hawaii’s final 2023 pound-for-pound rankings. Today, we have the boys list, and in the near future, we’ll post the girls rankings.

You’ve heard it before and it must be said again: No rankings are perfect, so don’t read into the exact ranking too much. This is a way to honor the top wrestlers in the state, and we feel we have the right individuals on the list (and, as always, that point can be debated and so can the ranking order).

There were 12 voters on the panel for the boys rankings this time around, up from the eight we had for the midseason rankings.

There were a few instances where things were really close. For instance, Kamehameha’s Scotty Dikilato and Moanalua’s Tyger Taam — as was the case at midseason — were razor close after the voting.

Dikilato barely edged out Taam at No. 1. He’s a senior who went undefeated two years in a row, is a three-time state placer and he put the finishing touches on his career with a dominant win by fall after being in an early deficit against Waipahu’s Caleb Lauifi in the 285 final.

At No. 2, Taam, only a sophomore who is unbeaten after his two high school seasons, ran into a super worthy and tough customer, Waianae’s Hakuilua Paaluhi, at 138 in the OIA and state championships. And it is a testament to Taam’s tenacity that he came through both times after falling behind. At the OIAs, he did it dominantly with five late-match points. Then, at states, Taam successfully fought to keep his hopes of four state championships alive by edging Paaluhi 4-3.

As far as first-places votes went, Dikilato received five and Taam three.

Kapolei’s Brycen Pagurayan landed solidly at the No. 3 spot after an utterly dominant 15-3 major decision win in the 170 final over Tyler Shields, who is the only wrestler he lost to earlier in the season. By the look of concentration on his face during the final, you could tell that Pagurayan was on a mission to correct his mistake and he did just that. He’s also a three-time state placer, and he received two first-place votes.

PAC-5’s Xander Erolin, who won what many coaches feel was the most loaded bracket at 152 and is now a two-time state champ, earned the No. 4 ranking while receiving one first-place vote. He also avenged a loss earlier in the year in the state final by beating previously undefeated Keegan Goeas of Castle, 6-4. Among Erolin’s other highlights are two wins over last year’s 145 state champ, Justyce Mercado of Punahou.

It was a tight race for the next four spots, with two-time state placer and undefeated Logan Lau (120 champ) of Mid-Pacific and two-time state champ Mikah Labuanan (132) of Kamehameha-Maui checking in tied at No. 5.

Lau passed his toughest test in a close 120 state final, 6-4 against Mililani’s Kulika Corpuz.

Labuanan is another one who successfully avenged his only loss — a 5-4 tipping of Mililani’s Jaren Kimura in the 132 state final.

Undefeated freshman Hunter Berger (106 state champ) of Saint Louis got the nod at No. 7 over Kamehameha’s Evan Kusumoto (113 state champ after winning it all at 106 a year ago). The reasoning? Berger moved up a weight class and handed Kusumoto his only loss in an early season match.

Lahainaluna’s Keawe Kane-Keahi (195 state champ, two-time state placer) put his stamp on the No. 9 spot with a dominant, undefeated season.

Adrian Lee (160 state champ, two-time state placer) of Mililani and Rodstan Salangdron (220 state champ) of Kapolei round out the list tied at No. 10.

Lee was involved in a real midseason battle against No. 3 p4p Pagurayan, and suffered his only loss 14-11. Pagurayan moved down from 170 to 160 to face him.

So if you’re looking for another feather in Pagurayan’s cap, don’t forget that he beat the best wrestlers not only at 160 and 170, but also at 182 against Moanalua’s Jonas Baakkeland (182 state champ). A true pound-for-pounder, by definition. Those facts underscore how much of a costly loss it was for Pagurayan against Shields at the Officials tournament.

Salangdron, a judo state champion, returned to wrestling this season for the first time since he was a youngster and upended the defending state champion, Vanderlei Yong of Waianae, in the 220 final.

2023 Bedrock Sports Hawaii’s Final Boys Top 10 p4p

(If any of the W-L records below are not accurate, coaches can email [email protected] with a correction).

>> 1. Scotty Dikilato, 16-0 (Kamehameha), senior, 2023 285 state champion, 2022 285 state champion, 2020 285 state fifth place

>> 2. Tyger Taam, 27-0 (Moanalua), sophomore, 2023 138 state champion, 2022 132 state champion

>> 3. Brycen Pagurayan, 37-1 (Kapolei), senior, 2023 170 state champion, 2022 170 state champion, 2020 145 state fifth place

>> 4. Xander Erolin, 23-1 (PAC-5), junior, 2023 152 state champion, 2022 152 state champion

>> 5. (tie) Logan Lau, 15-0 (Mid-Pacific), junior, 2023 120 state champion, 2022 120 state third place

>> 5. (tie) Mikah Labuanan, 21-1 (Kamehameha-Maui), sophomore, 2023 132 state champion, 2022 126 state champion

>> 7. Hunter Berger, 28-0 (Saint Louis), freshman, 2023 state champion

>> 8. Evan Kusumoto, 29-1 (Kamehameha), junior, 2023 113 state champion, 2022 106 state champion

>> 9. Keawe Kane-Keahi, 24-0 (Lahainaluna), senior, 2023 195 state champion, 2022 182 state runner-up

>> 10. Rodstan Salangdron, 37-1 (Kapolei), senior, 2023 220 state champion

>> 10 (tie) Adrian Lee, 23-1 (Mililani), junior, 2023 160 state champion, 2022 152 fifth place

Others who received votes or honorable mentions: Hakuilua Paaluhi, 138 (Waianae senior); Nai Hasegawa, 160 (Baldwin junior); Keegan Goeas, 152 (Castle sophomore); Kulika Corpuz (Mililani junior); Brendan Sekulich, 126 (Punahou senior); Koen Shigemoto, 126 (Mililani sophomore); Jaren Kimura, 132 (Mililani seni0r); Akoni Kaaialii, 145 (Kamehameha senior).

Voters’ Comments

Here’s what some of the voting members (who will remain anonymous) said about the boys p4p selections:

>> “Dikilato is a savage. I was supremely impressed by his wrestling over the course of the season, not to mention his poise.”

>> “Taam could probably win at multiple weights.”

>> “Pagurayan showed his only loss was a fluke.”

>> “Pagurayan could be No. 1 on this list, if not for his loss to Shields.”

>> “Lau is consistent, stayed the course, and got it done. It’s hard to argue against his consistency.”

>> “Labuanan is perhaps the most talented wrestler on this list.”

>> “Berger was an absolute stud all year. If he continues this next season, he jumps up the list a bunch.”

>> “Berger will be on this list for years to come.”

>> “Kusumoto is freakishly dominant at his weight.”

>> “Kusumoto has dominated everyone not named Hunter Berger, and that one loss is the only thing separating him from the other two-time state champions.”

>> “Kane-Keahi is a physical specimen.”

>> “Kane-Keahi is a very physical wrestler. He dominated all season except for in the state final (a 3-2 win over Kapolei’s Maika Kahele Akeo).”

>> “I can only imagine how good Salangdron could have been (if he wrestled his first three years in high school). He beat Yong, the 220-pound defending champion, three times, avenging his only loss of the year to Yong. He got better each time and won the final by fall.”

>> “Lee lost one match in which he weighed in at 160 and bumped up to wrestle at 170. Basically gave up 10 pounds in one of the best matches of the season.”