Punahou girls, 'Iolani boys take home state cross country titles

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser
·2 min read

Oct. 30—A quick interisland trip couldn't stop the Interscholastic League of Honolulu from sweeping the team titles at the Honolulu Marathon / HHSAA Cross Country State Championships on Saturday at Island School on Kauai.

A quick interisland trip couldn't stop the Interscholastic League of Honolulu from sweeping the team titles at the Honolulu Marathon / HHSAA Cross Country State Championships on Saturday at Island School on Kauai.

The Punahou girls team won for the 10th consecutive time, while 'Iolani won the boys championship for the first time since 2017, ending Punahou's two-year run.

'Iolani junior Keane Palmer won the boys individual title, edging Kalani junior Yuta Cole by less than a second. Palmer finished the race in 16 minutes, 29.09 seconds, while Cole was clocked at 16 :30.06.

Palmer and the Raiders also swept the individual and team titles at the ILH Championships.

Cole's second-place finish is the highest ever by a Falcon.

The girls race wasn't nearly as close, as Mililani senior Zola O'Donnell finished in 19 :07.02, topping the field by more than 13 seconds.

Punahou senior Isabella Ford, the defending champion, finished in second place in 19 :21.02.

"Izzy was the defending champion and ended up second, but she handled it well, " Punahou coach Duncan Macdonald said. "She was very nervous beforehand. I thought she was possibly going to have a case of nerves, but she ran really, really well. I was quite pleased."

The Buffanblu girls lost to Hawaii Baptist in the ILH championships but rebounded to extend their state streak.

"We ran slightly different personnel (in the state tournament ) and we also worked them pretty hard, so I wasn't too surprised, " Macdonald said. "Today they really performed superbly."

Hawaii Baptist swept the boys and girls team titles in Division II.

Eagles sophomore Dylan Djou was HBA's top finisher in the boys race, placing 18th overall with a time of 17 :23.92. Senior Ashley Kodama was HBA's fastest runner on the girls side, placing fifth in a time of 19 :39.35.