PUHI, Kaua'i — The favorites left nothing to chance in the HHSAA/Honolulu Marathon State Cross Country Championships yesterday.

Kamehameha senior Jeremy Kamaka'ala and Hawai'i Baptist senior Lauren Ho each surged early to take insurmountable leads midway through the 3-mile races at Kaua'i Community College. Kamaka'ala, the 2003 state champion, won in 15 minutes, 22.40 seconds. Ho won her second straight state title by finishing the same course in 18:11.45.

Iolani edged defending state champion Kamehameha in the boys competition by a scant three points — 66 to 69 — while Interscholastic League of Ho-nolulu champion Punahou ran away with the girls title, scoring a low-best 40 points to defending state champion Kamehameha's 94.

Ho led from the opening sprint, while Kamaka'ala stayed with the lead pack for a few hundred yards before opening an advantage that kept building throughout the race.

"I've never had an edge like that. This course was a little faster than I anticipated," said Kamaka'ala, who won the state title as a sophomore but was edged at the finish line last year.

He settled back in seventh or eighth place during the starting sprint, and then began reeling in the opposition over the rolling course.

"My coach told me I wasn't going to win it in the first mile," Kamaka'ala said. "I just stayed relaxed and tried to stay with those guys."

Kamaka'ala, a two-time ILH champion, beat Konawaena's Patrick Stover by 31 seconds and Punahou's Peter Deptula by 39 seconds. Stover is this year's Big Island Interscholastic Federation winner and Deptula the ILH runner-up.

The conditions were warm and humid, and occasionally windy, but Ho, too, liked the campus course —which had lots of sharp turns but never went out on asphalt.

"It's unlike any other course I've run. I like that it's all grass and the rolling hills," said Ho, after winning the first state championship for girls at the 3-mile distance.

She said that a supportive and vocal crowd gave her the push that fellow runners could not match.

Ho, a three-time ILH champion, finished 28 seconds ahead of Hawai'i Prep's Lucy Pollard and 34 seconds ahead of Kaua'i High's Chelsea Smith-Wishard. Pollard is this year's BIIF champ and Smith-Wishard the top runner in the Kaua'i Interscholastic Federation.

In the boys team competition, Iolani placed three among the top 10 scorers — Morgan Stephenson, Kon Weber and Jonathan Goto — to hold off Kamehameha, which placed only Kamaka'ala among the leaders. ILH champion Punahou was third with 83 points.

In the girls team competition, the same Honolulu private schools took the top three spots, although in different order. Punahou placed all five-scoring runners among the top 15 to easily win. The Buffanblu were led by Kristi Torkildson, Chelsea Oda, Marisa Schoen, Christina Wong and Pua Chang. Kamehameha followed, with Iolani third with 119 points. (Despite Ho's first-place finish, Hawai'i Baptist did not have enough qualifying runners to count for a team score).

Kamehameha boys coach Steve Jenness said that the success of the three private schools comes in part from a strong competition among them.

"We battle each other every week," he said. "You never get an easy week."

BOYS

INDIVIDUAL

1, Jeremy Kamaka'ala (Kamehameha-O'ahu) 15:22.40

2, Patrick Stover (Konawaena) 15:53.05

3, Peter Deptula (Punahou) 16:01.20

4, Kalen Darling (Moanalua) 16:08.55

5, Morgan Stephenson (Iolani) 16:13.45

6, Keoni Ucker (Christian Liberty) 16:17.65

7, Scott Martin (Waimea) 16:17.85

8, Stefano Barbis (Hilo) 16:21.65

9, Carl Adolpho (Moloka'i) 16:25.00

10, Kon Weber (Iolani) 16:28.90

11, Jonathan Goto (Iolani) 16:33.65

12, Shane Vannatta-Kam (Honoka'a) 16:41.70

13, Nathan Martin (Waimea) 16:43.10

14, Kensuke Taylor (Kailua) 16:44.20

15, David King (Nanakuli) 16:44.50

16, Devin Fredericksen (Seabury) 16:46.05

17, Casey Nishimura (Mid-Pacific)16:47.35

18, Bryce Jenkins (Leilehua) 16:47.65

19, Kamalu Beamer (Kamehameha-O'ahu) 16:51.10

20, Joseph Naholowaa (Campbell) 16:55.70

21, Matthew Roberts (Leilehua) 16:58.50

22, Roy Hawkins ('Aiea) 17:01.45

23, Chris Burniske (Punahou) 17:02.50

24, Nathan Nakatsuka (Kamehameha-O'ahu) 17:02.75

25, Alan Akagi (Leilehua) 17:03.65

TEAM

1, Iolani 66

(Morgan Stephenson 4, Kon Weber 6, Jonathan Goto 7, Austin Barnes 21, Ryan Chun 28, Jeremy Grekin 40, Rylan Morihara 48).

2, Kamehameha-O'ahu 69

(Jeremy Kamaka'ala 1, Kamalu Beamer 12, Nathan Nakatsuka 15, Kainoa Ho 19, Aaron Domingo 22, Jesse Moniz 44).

3, Punahou 83

(Peter Deptula 2, Chris Burniske 14, Everett Jellinek 20, Bryant Shao 23, Mike Wong 24, Jared Furuta 46, Troy Yasuda 55).

4, Leilehua 119

5, Moanalua 169

6, Seabury Hall 181

7, Honoka'a 242

8, Pearl City 256

9, Hilo 274

10, Baldwin 275

11, Hawai'i Prep 307

12, Mililani 308

13, Kaiser 332

14, Mid-Pacific 354

15, Waiakea 364

16, RADFORD 368

17, King Kekaulike 411

18, Kapa'a 419

19, Island School 459

GIRLS

INDIVIDUAL

1, Lauren Ho (Hawai'i Baptist Academy) 18:11.45

2, Lucy Pollard (Hawai'i Prep Academy) 18:39.25

3, Chelsea Smith-Wish (Kaua'i) 18:45.35

4, Haley Abing (La Pietra) 18:50.20

5, Julie Besenbruch (Maryknoll) 18:51.75

6, Kristi Torkildson (Punahou) 19:29.15

7, Keri Ogden (Hawai'i Prep Academy) 19:35.45

8, Lei-Aloha Bratton (Kaiser) 19:36.60

9, Chelsea Oda (Punahou) 19:41.05

10, Shelby Yoakum (Radford) 19:43.15

11, Nina Hagemann (Kea'au ) 19:43.65

12, Marisa Schoen (Punahou )19:44.40

13, Christina Wong (Punahou) 19:46.35

14, KIA ATKINS (RADFORD) 19:53.50

15, Kira Chong-Tim (Kamehameha-O'ahu) 19:56.05

16, Alicia Greenwell (Honoka'a) 20:01.80

17, Jessica Norman (Kealakehe) 20:03.15

18, Becky Mangrobang (St. Francis) 20:03.85

19, Bailey Massenburg (King Kekaulike) 20:06.95

20, Pua Chang (Punahou) 20:08.25

21, Megan Chock (Iolani) 20:10.95

22, Alyssa Chun (Kamehameha-O'ahu) 20:12.45

23, Malia Williams (Hilo) 20:13.60

24, Gillian Pickett (Kula) 20:20.75

25, Dara Pagaduan (Kamehameha-O'ahu) 20:21.80

TEAM

1, Punahou 40

(Kristi Torkildson 3, Chelsea Oda 6, Marisa Schoen 8, Christina Wong 9, Pua Chang 14, Carolyn Hayashi 22, Farrah Madanay 24).

2, Kamehameha-O'ahu 94

(Kira Chong-Tim 1, Alyssa Chun 16, Dara Pagaduan 18, Danna Friedemann 23, Emma Broderick 26, Maya Coelho 29).

3, Iolani 119

(Megan Chock 15, Meliame Uyema 19, Amy Ishioka 25, Susan Mukai 27, Patricia Carlile 33, Kelsi Hirai 53).

4, Radford 159

5, 'Aiea 195

6, Baldwin 195

7, Seabury Hall 200

8, King Kekaulike 215

9, Kaua'i 242

10, Hawai'i Prep 242

11, KamehamehaBig Island 257

12, Kaiser 278

13, Mililani 281

14, Kealakehe 301

15, Hilo 350

Reach Jan TenBruggencate at jant@honoluluadvertiser.com.