Mainland high schools ran off with the respective titles at the Iolani Cross Country Invitational yesterday, but Kamehameha's Jeremy Kamaka'ala provided a bright spot for Hawai'i runners.

The 19th-ranked girls team of Snohomish (Wash.) won handily, with 50 points. Woodbridge (Calif.) finished second with 105, while Punahou was the top Hawai'i team in fourth place at 119.

Vista High School (Calif.) won the boys title with 55 points, narrowly edging Snohomish (59). Iolani was the top Hawai'i team, finishing ninth with 211 points.

More than 900 runners entered the event, now in its seventh year. Nineteen schools from the Interscholastic League of Honolulu, O'ahu Interscholastic Association and Kaua'i Interscholastic Federation — as well as 17 teams from the Mainland — competed in varsity and junior varsity races.

Kamaka'ala, the 2003 state champion, built on his fifth-place finish last year by coming in third in 16 minutes, 32.01 seconds, to lead all Hawai'i competitors.

The Warrior senior had overall winner Russell Pfaff in his sights down the home stretch along Kamehameha Highway, but knew the Clovis East (Calif.) senior couldn't be overtaken.

"You always think there's a chance (to catch up near the finish)," Kamaka'ala said. "But in the back of your mind you know, because of the level of competition that we run in that if you catch up to them, they always have something left."

Pfaff finished in 16:18.58. He said the transition to running in the hills, heat and humidity at Kualoa coming from Fresno, Calif., wasn't a big deal. His team didn't even do the standard practice run on the 3-mile course the day before the race.

Instead, he jogged it as a warmup yesterday morning.

"I broke away on the first downhill," Pfaff said. "It's similar to Woodward Park's course (near Fresno), where we train on hills."

In the girls race, Woodbridge senior Jessie Babcock cruised with a time of 18:46.01, nearly half a minute ahead of second place Andrea Jacobs of Vista High.

"I tend to slow down on straightaways, especially because I was by myself," Babcock said. "So the coaches just made sure I opened up my stride. But I felt good — it was a great way to start the season."

The top Hawai'i finishers were Kaua'i's Chelsea Smith-Wishard (20:26.72) in ninth place and Maryknoll freshman Julie Besenbruch (20:38.31), who finished 12th.

"It's always hard to tell (how you'll do)," Besenbruch said. "There's always somebody who's quick for their age."

At age 14, she seemed to fit the bill.

In the girls race, 11 of the top 50 finishers were from Hawai'i, and nine of the top 50 in the boys.

"(It's a good way to begin the year) because you see how you do against those guys from the Mainland," Kamaka'ala said.

Defending Hawai'i state girls champ Lauren Ho of Hawai'i Baptist was at the meet, but couldn't run because of a ruptured disc she suffered in July.

"I'm pretty disappointed about not being able to run, but if it had to happen, it happened at an OK time," said Ho, who doesn't plan to compete until October. "But at least I'll be able to run in the more important meets toward the end of the season."