Four trailblazers inducted into Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame at 2026 banquet
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Four of Hawaii’s greats were honored on Thursday as they officially entered the Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame.
The Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame hosted its 2026 Annual Banquet at the Honolulu Country Club.
The event honored four outstanding members of Hawaii’s sports community:
- Darren Ho – Dubbed as a skateboarding trailblazer. Ho was one of Town & Country’s first nationally sponsored riders and was part of the 1970s skateboarding revolution.
- Kelia Moniz – A World Champion surfer who captured back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013. She’s known for helping elevate women’s longboarding.
- Beth McLachlin – Played volleyball at the University of Hawaii and for the U.S Olympic team from 1969 to 1976. She was also the first Rainbow Wahine to receive an athletic scholarship.
- Anthony “Tony” Sellitto - The only basketball coach in Hawaii history to win both a high school state championship and a college national title. He won with Maryknoll in 1984 and HPU in 1993.
Darren Ho, skateboarding pioneer, said, “1970, I went through like a 10-year duration as a pro. Don’t get me wrong. I had something. But Hawaii was a little behind. It’s not like today, right? The young athlete going for the Olympics, they get full support, family, this that. So I kinda wrote it off. As I said, I hid out for a little while. But when I came back, it was weird because the reception was so good this time.”
The evening brought together the 2026 inductees, their families, coaches, athletes, and members of Hawaii’s sports community to celebrate their accomplishments and contributions to Hawaii’s rich sports history.
The Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame was founded by the late Larry Price, who died this past March.
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