Waiakea girls clinch BIIF golf title as championships loom

Waiakea’s girls turned a perfect regular season into a BIIF team title, while St. Joseph freshman Leo Saito and Kealakehe’s Kaylee Palakiko added fresh drama to the individual races at Waikoloa Village Course.

Saito produced the day’s sharpest round in Monday’s final regular-season meet, firing a 6-under-par 66 to win the boys field by five strokes. He carded six birdies and eagled the par-4 seventh, then backed it up with his second straight individual victory in a debut BIIF season that has already put him among the contenders to watch when the postseason starts to sort out state berths.

Palakiko answered on the girls side with a 76, good for her first win of the season. Her finish came as Waiakea’s girls sealed the team title with a 253, or 37 over par, and completed an undefeated run through the regular season. The Warriors’ consistency has made them the standard in BIIF girls golf, and their title push carried the kind of late-season weight that matters when the league begins its championship stretch.

The boys team race had already been decided a week earlier, but Waiakea kept rolling anyway. The Warriors shot 306, 18 over par, to beat Kealakehe by 10 strokes at Waikoloa Village, with Hilo third at 350, or 62 over. Jake Otani, Noah Miyazono and Kysen Taniguchi helped keep the Waiakea boys on top even after the team title was secured.

That sets the stage for the 36-hole BIIF individual championships, which began Saturday morning at Hualalai Resort and conclude Tuesday at Kohanaiki. Those results will determine which golfers move on to the 2026 David Ishii Golf State Championships at Kaneohe Klipper Golf Course on Oahu, where girls play May 5-6 and boys play May 12-13. As of April 7, BIIF was allotted 11 girls berths and 18 boys berths.

Waiakea’s current run also fits a recent pattern. In 2024, the Warriors beat HPA in a two-team playoff at Hualalai, 254 to 267, to settle the girls title, and coach Bobby Perreira said, “I am very proud of these young ladies — HPA is a tough squad.” With Saito surging, Palakiko breaking through and Waiakea still setting the pace, the postseason picture now runs through a familiar group of names.