KAPALUA, Maui — Leilehua High School yesterday captured its first state high school championship in boys cross country, breaking a 24-year private-school stranglehold on the title.

Even without the dominant performance of junior Bryce Jenkins, who repeated as the boys winner, Leilehua would have easily run away with the 3-mile event, based on a surprising second-place showing by senior Paul Williams Jr. and other high finishers.

On the girls side, Punahou won its third straight team title, and sophomore Kristin Ali Keith of Mililani High was the individual winner.

The Honolulu Marathon /Hawai'i High School Athletic Association state championship was held in hot, muggy conditions at the Village Golf Course at the Kapalua Resort.

Jenkins led from start to finish, crossing the line in 16 minutes, 7.95 seconds, nearly 30 seconds ahead of Williams, who clocked 16:37.00. Hawai'i Baptist junior Matthew Nakamoto was third in 16:45.25.

"I just wanted to kick it," Jenkins said of his relentless pace throughout the challenging, hilly course that consisted of a series of loops. The easy victory came even though Jenkins nearly lost his way after the first mile, when he mistook the final loop for the middle section of the course.

Leilehua, the three-time O'ahu Interscholastic Association champion, fell short of the state title last year, finishing behind Kamehameha. Jenkins said that disappointment motivated the squad this season.

"That killed us," he said.

The last public school to win the boys cross-country state championships was Radford in 1982.

"That's going to bring a lot of pride to our school," Jenkins said.

Williams said he found inspiration from Jenkins, who brought intensity to the team's workouts. "It was a lot slower without him at practice," he said.

Watching his teammate lead the pack yesterday further spurred the senior to maintain his position in the top five during the race before he made a final move for second place. "It felt like I wasn't running alone," Williams said. "There was somebody on the team to help me."

Williams said he joined the cross-country team only this year to keep in condition for the spring track season, when he runs the distance events.

Leilehua coach Shawn Nakata said he knew his team had depth but said Williams' second-place finish was still "shocking." Although Jenkins won the individual title last year, Nakata said there was more pressure on the runner this season as he matured.

"Last year he was a sophomore and he ran well, but he sort of tagged along with the other runners," Nakata said. "This year we expected him to take on more of a leadership role."

The other runners contributing to Leilehua's scoring were Juan Miguel Silva (sixth), Margarito Martinez (12th) and Alan Akagi (16th). Other Leilehua team members are Jon Chun and Jayson Duomaol.

Leilehua's team score of 37 was the third-best in the boys cross-country state championship since 1977.

Defending champion Kamehameha, which had won eight titles in the previous 10 years, was a distant second with 99 points. 'Iolani placed third with 116.

Punahou relied on five top-20 finishes to three-peat as the girls champion with 64 points. Kristi Torkildson led the way with a sixth-place showing, followed by Chelsea Oda (10th), Farrah Madanay (15th), Courtney Choy (16th) and Breehn Sasaki (17th). Other team members are Brooke Laporte and Jasmine Daniel.

Mililani's Keith, who finished second at last year's state championship, was content to cruise just behind the leaders through the first mile yesterday. She moved up to second in the middle section of the course before taking charge with a half-mile to go. Keith finished in 19:31.55. La Pietra junior Haley Abing was second in 19:41.80, and King Kekaulike junior Bailey Massenburg third in 19:55.20.

"I was tired but I knew everyone else was feeling the same way so I just had to go for it," Keith said. "I knew it was going to be tough but I really wanted it."

Seabury Hall finished second with 72 and 'Iolani was third with 107.

Reach Christie Wilson at cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com.