Lanikai has proved to be a real juggernaut only two regattas into the Oahu Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association season.

Lanikai won 23 of the 44 scoring races Sunday to run away with the AAA Division of the King Kamehameha Day Regatta at Kailua Beach Park.

Lanikai won 10 of the 14 youth races, including six victories and one second-place finish over a seven-race stretch.

“It starts from the beginning of the day. The kids are the ones who get the ball rolling,” Lanikai coach Scott Freitas said. “Once the juniors start doing good, it inspires the rest of the club to follow suit. You don’t want to be stood up by a youngster, right?”

Lanikai finished with 225 points in AAA, which is for clubs entered in 31-48 events. Kailua (127), Outrigger (116), Hui Nalu (114) and Keahiakahoe (110) finished Nos. 2 through 5 in a tight battle behind Lanikai. Points are awarded on a 7-5-4-3-2-1 basis.

“Super close. That’s the great part about it right now. Between Outrigger, Hui Nalu and us, it can be anybody’s day,” Kailua coach Matt Higgins said of the race for second in AAA. “Lanikai is setting a benchmark, which is unreal. They’re terrific. They have a great group of personnel and their coaching staff is terrific.”

Kailua won the women junior, women masters 65, men masters 55 and men masters 50 races.

“The masters divisions have been a strength of our club for probably the last decade,” Higgins said. “They have a standard in that group, and what that does is attract other people to come and jump in with them as well.”

At last week’s season-opening Clement D. Paiaina Regatta, Lanikai won 25 events and finished with 223 points. Kailua was second with 125.

“I’ve been paddling for just over 10 years and I grew up in Waimanalo,” said Lanikai’s Raven Pokini, who was a member of the winning men junior crew Sunday. “You know how good the program is when you hear the names Freitas, Foti and all these guys. There are so many names, they built on the exposure.”

On Sunday, Lanikai won 17 of the first 28 races and had 153 points. At that point, Outrigger, Hui Nalu and Keahiakahoe were tied for second with 74.

Lanikai nearly swept the six boys races. The club won the 12, 13, 14, 15 and 18 events, and finished second in the 16.

The Lanikai girls claimed the 15, 16 and 18 events, while the mixed 12 and 18 crews also triumphed.

“A lot of them started from like they were 8, 9 years old. They’ve been paddling together as a group so you just try and keep them together,” Freitas said.

Lanikai also swept the prestigious men’s and women’s senior races, which are the longest at 1 1/2 miles.

Leeward Kai claimed the AA Division (16-30 events) with 70 points. Waikiki Surf Club was second with 46 and Healani was third with 41.

Last week, Leeward Kai edged Waikiki Surf Club by one point to claim AA.

Leeward Kai’s only victory Sunday came in the girls 13 race. The club also had five second-place finishes, all in the youth races.

“I attribute it to our coaches and just our community,” Leeward Kai coach Alfred Van Gieson said. “A lot of kids worked really hard. It starts from our coaches planning and understanding what we needed to do and just really getting the kids more together and focused to squeeze every ounce of performance out of them.”

In the A Division (15-fewer events), Waimanalo won with 21 points and was followed by Hui Lanakila with 18. Anuenue, Kai Oni and Koa Kai finished tied for third with 13.

The next OHCRA event will be the Father’s Day Regatta next Sunday at Nanakuli Beach.