Keane Escaba is on a roll.
The Moanalua junior wrestler is 2-0 in the 113-pound division at the Texaco/HHSAA Wrestling State Championships on Friday, and the second victory was a big one — a pin over second-seeded ILH champion Kaistin Vasquez of Punahou.
Escaba was down 2-1 at one point and took a 3-2 lead before getting a cradle and the pin on Vasquez.
Earlier, Escaba pinned Mililani’s Jason Tashiro in the qualilfying round.
In the quarterfinals later today, Escaba meets Kamehameha-Hawaii’s Raizen Aina.
“It feels great to be able to perform well, especially since wrestling isn’t my first sport,” Escaba said, “I usually do judo. Wrestling is a sport I’m not really used to.”
Escaba is just one of many the Moanalua boys pushing for a possible team title.
“I’m not worried about our team that much,” he said. “We have a really good team. Every day at practice, we’re working hard, working on our technique. Getting the (team) title is pretty important. It would really mean a lot.”
Another league champion, Max Higa of Roosevelt, lost as the No. 3 seed at 138 pounds. One No. 3 seed was knocked off in the preliminary round on the girls side.
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