WAIMEA, HAWAII >> Everything went according to plan, and Connor Lehl’s racing strategy led to a state title.
The Punahou senior stuck with the lead pack and pulled away late to win the boys 5-kilometer race at Saturday morning’s Honolulu Marathon/HHSAA Cross Country State Championships. Lehl’s winning time on the hilly Hawaii Preparatory Academy course was 17 minutes, 42.34 seconds.
Lehl is one of just five state champions to have placed in the top 10 in four state meets. He placed eighth as a freshman, fifth as a sophomore and third as a junior.
“It’s amazing, it really is,” said Lehl, who did not lose to a Hawaii runner in any race this season. “I’ve trained so hard, and for it to finally come true … I’ve dreamed of this since the very beginning, since I was in intermediate. For this to come true, it’s just surreal.”
Lehl ran in the front pack of five through the first mile. The pack thinned to Lehl and Kalaheo’s Avery Torres and Colby Otero midway through the race. Otero fell back on a hill on the second mile. Down to just two, Lehl felt confident in making his move on a downhill in the latter part of the course.
“I just decided to play it cool, save my energy and I felt confident enough to kick it to the end,” Lehl said.
Torres finished second in 17:49.3 and Otero was third in 18:02.55.
“I knew it was going to be a battle,” Torres said. “Anybody could’ve won it, anybody could’ve done anything. The best man came today and it was Connor. I really look up to him and I thank him for pushing me ever since sophomore year.”
‘Iolani defended its team title with a meet-low 35 points. Six Raiders finished in the top 20, including three in the top 10, to secure back-to-back championships. Nicholas Arima was fifth in 18:21.93 and Royce Garcia was sixth in 18:30.81. Jason Wang finished ninth in 18:43.33.
“We knew we had to work hard this season,” Garcia said. “Just because we won last year doesn’t mean it’s a guarantee this year. There’s always schools out there like Punahou coming after us. We put in the work this season. We stayed focused and ran our best today.”
Much like last weekend’s ILH championship, the Raiders relied on their tight-knit pack to run together and score points for the team.
“Everyone had a role to play and contributed to this win,” Garcia said.
Punahou was second with 67 points and Waiakea was third with 114. Konawaena had three runners in the top 20 and won the D-II title with 38 points. Hawaii Prep was second with 47.
