By Leila Wai
Advertiser Staff Writer
The Farrington High girls wrestling team lifted weights yesterday to “continue the legacy “of coach Sanford “Sandy “Obra, who died Tuesday night. He was 56.
Obra collapsed while helping to clean a concession stand after the Farrington-McKinley volleyball game, according to Farrington athletic director Harold Tanaka.
Tanaka said CPR was administered on Obra, who was later taken by ambulance to The Queen’s Medical Center around 9:30 p.m.
“He was cooking burgers, and everything, “Tanaka said. “There was nothing I could see that was out of the ordinary. He was working out with the kids every day in the weight room.”
The wrestling team was working the concession stand, raising funds to pay for a trip to California for a preseason wrestling tournament.
“The kids were looking forward to the California trip; that’s all we could talk about (Tuesday) night, “said team mom Robyn Ader, whose daughter, Tani, is a member of the team.
Ader called Obra the “(backbone) of the wrestling program here. He did all the planning, he did everything.
“The girls are lifting weights just to continue the legacy Sandy started. I always admired him. It’s such a tragedy for us.”
Obra took over the girls wrestling program in 1998.
“The stuff that he did for the kids … tireless fundraising, he set up the gym, he ran club wrestling to get the younger kids interested, “Tanaka said. “Whenever I told him I needed help, he was there, with all his kids setting up. He was unreal.”
Under Obra, a teacher at Pearl City High School, Farrington won its first girls wrestling state championship in 2004.
“He was a class act, “said Iolani athletic director Carl Schroers, a longtime leader in the wrestling community. “(Farrington is) a tough school, and (his team) came out very sportsmanlike and they came out hard and you could tell he was coaching the right way.
“It’s truly sad. It’s a loss for Farrington. It’s a loss for a lot of people.”
Charles Williamson, who coaches the Governors’ boys wrestling team, said Obra “loved the sport and he loved the kids. He was just awesome.”
As a linebacker and center at Saint Louis School, Obra was selected The Advertiser’s Lineman of the Year in 1966, when the Crusaders won the Interscholastic League of Honolulu title.
Obra also coached Pearl City’s junior varsity and varsity football programs in the 1970’s and ’80’s. He was a 1972 graduate of Oregon State University.
Obra is survived by his wife, Dee Dee, and three daughters. Services are pending.
Reach Leila Wai at [email protected].
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