Sports

Skills, Drills and Giving Back 

Wednesday, July 8th, 2026

By Dayanti Karunaratne | Editor

We can’t all be Uso Seumalo, the Molokai native who showed up to a football camp having never played football before and is now playing for the NFL. But according to Ry Akana, that’s not the point of his annual development camps.
“If we change one kid’s life for the better, we consider it a success,” Akana told The Dispatch. His group, Foundation of Island Impact Athletics, aims to support athletes in Hawaii through camps and other mentorship opportunities.

Now based in Seattle, Akana was born and raised on Molokai. He’s had a successful career as a football coach, working with USA Football and coaching at Nike football camps — despite the fact that football wasn’t played much on Molokai when he was growing up. …

Seumalo, from Maunaloa to the NFL

Wednesday, May 6th, 2026

By The Molokai Dispatch Staff

A Maunaloa Elementary and Molokai High schools graduate has made it into the National Football League for the next season. As if it weren’t good enough, he will play for the current Super Bowl champions.

“We want to give a big shout out to Vaai Jericho Uso Seumalo,” Rick Schonely said at his Molokai Sports Report at Akaku TV last week. “After the four rounds of the NFL Draft, he was signed as a free agent with the Seattle Seahawks.”

Schonely said Seumalo was recently at home on Molokai, and visited his former school in Maunaloa. …

Dudoit Wins Wrestling State Title

Monday, March 16th, 2026

By Léo Azambuja

It had been 10 years since a Molokai High School wrestler had won a Hawaii state wrestling title. The last year a Farmer took the top stop on the podium was 2016, when senior Cendall Manley, the coach’s daughter, won the 168-pound division. She went on to win multiple national titles during her college years.

The drought is finally over. Jona Dudoit won a nail-biting championship match in the 126-pound division at the 2026 Texaco Wrestling State Championships held at Blaisdell Arena on Oahu Feb. 28. It was the seventh-ever state title for the Friendly Isle.

Dudoit said he has “a lot of emotions” about his win.…

Junior Paddlers Make History at States

Thursday, February 26th, 2026

By Léo Azambuja

The high-school boys from Molokai made a statement at the state paddling championships in early February, smoking the competition in the first time they qualified for the coveted high-school tournament. Not even a questionable disqualification due to a potential technical violation — still being contested — has diminished their merits. 

“They spend a lot of time together in and out of the canoe, and it really shows in their paddling,” head coach Kekama Helm said, adding they are a special group of kids. “They’ve grown exponentially in their values and how they act in their community.”

It has been an exceptional season for Molokai’s high-school paddlers, both boys and girls, whether it was in the state championships or in the iconic Molokai Hoe and Na Wahine o Ke Kai long-distance canoe races. …