Water Polo

The inner fire of Punahou cannot be quenched in this water-based sport. Just look at Buffanblu coach Ken Smith, the 72-year-old who was a relatively young man (61) when this run of state water polo championships began in 2008. Smith nimbly leaped into the Kamehameha pool Saturday night with a push-assist from his players after they made it 12 straight for the program —— and 14 out of 16 since the Stanford Carr Development/HHSAA competition began — with an 11-3 win […]

Punahou-Kamehameha for all the marbles, one more time? Believe it. Embrace it. Cherish it. (Or at least the first of the three.) The Buffanblu and the Warriors are meeting up in the final of the Stanford Carr Development/HHSAA water polo championships for the fifth straight year. They are like Golden State and Cleveland meeting up in the NBA Finals year after year, except it’s been even more lopsided than it was for Golden State in favor of Punahou. The Buffanblu […]

The Stanford Carr Development/HHSAA Girls Water Polo State Championships is objectively a great event. The action is entertaining, it’s easy to tell what’s happening (even for non-water polo aficionados) and the matches move pretty quickly. If there’s one drawback to it, it’s that the outcomes tend to be fairly predictable. Historically, it goes something like this: Punahou wins; the runner-up ILH team gives the Buffanblu a sometimes-competitive battle in the championship game; there’s a neighbor island team that proves itself […]

The last time the Kamehameha girls water polo team saw official action, it was a 12-6 loss to Punahou for the Interscholastic League of Honolulu championship. If the Warriors are to make it five straight finals appearances in this week’s Stanford Carr Development/HHSAA Girls Water Polo State Championships, and threaten their first state title since 2006, they’ll have to shake off whatever disappointment remains from that game — and every other loss to the dynastic Buffanblu over the last decade-plus. […]

After winning their first OIA girls water polo championship in school history, the Kaiser Cougars earned the No. 2 seed in the Stanford Carr Development/HHSAA Girls Water Polo State Championships that begin Monday. The Cougars will play the winner of Monday’s first-round game between Moanalua and Hawaii Prep taking place at 3 p.m. at Kamehameha-Hawaii. Na Menehune is one of two OIA teams that will travel off-island for the opening round. Roosevelt will open the tournament Monday against King Kekaulike […]

Kaiser made like Dory from “Finding Nemo” and just kept swimming … just kept swimming. And before long Saturday afternoon, the Cougars swam right into their first OIA water polo championship. The OIA’s top seed turned to its experience and superior swimming ability to defeat nine-time defending champion Kahuku, completing a dominant run through its league schedule (17-0). Kaiser’s girls became the first school to sweep OIA titles in swimming and diving and water polo in the same school year. […]

It’s 12 titles in a row now for the Punahou girls water polo team, but not the 12 the Buffanblu want. The coveted dozen could come early next month in the Stanford Carr Development/HHSAA tournament. Punahou, the gold standard in Hawaii high school water polo, showed few signs of bronzing anytime soon with its 12-6 win over Kamehameha for the school’s 12th straight ILH title on Thursday at ‘Iolani. No one has beaten Punahou in years — it’s basically gone […]

Ken Smith got his pool toss up on the hill this time. Punahou stormed hostile territory and defeated Kamehameha at the Kalani‘opu‘u Aquatic Center, 8-5, on Saturday night for the Buffanblu’s 11th straight title in the Stanford Carr Development/HHSAA Water Polo Championships. It was their 13th crown in 15 years, all under Smith, the legendary 71-year-old coach who got chucked into the pool by his players just as the resolute Warriors belted out their alma mater. As has been the […]