Kaeo Kruse trailed the race leader through 2 miles at the state cross country championships. It wasn’t an unfamiliar feeling of running from behind, but Kruse knew if he passed the lead runner, he could win the race.
The Kamehameha junior passed Kalaheo’s Makai Clemons on a downhill with a mile left, and held on to win Saturday morning’s Honolulu Marathon/HHSAA State Championships at Central Oahu Regional Park.
Kruse finished the boys 3-mile race in 15 minutes, 38.2 seconds. Clemons was second in 15:55.0.
"I made my move down the downhill like my coach said," Kruse said. "I knew if I could get past him and go as fast as I can down that hill, I could handle it."
Kruse finished 24th at the state meet as a freshman and was runner-up last season.
"Being here since freshman year, I’ve run on different spots on the team," Kruse said. "I’ve run from behind and in the front. I was pretty good at both positions."
Clemons had been leading the entire way and had about a five-second lead on Kruse going into the second mile. Waiakea’s Louie Ondo, who stuck with the leaders through the first mile, finished third in 16:19.7.
"I had a plan to make a hard surge about halfway and I did and it ended up being 10 to 15 meters on him," Clemons said. "But Kaeo is such a talented runner. I just couldn’t hold it. He was able to come back and take me."
Added Kruse: "Makai is an awesome guy, awesome runner. He was pushing it the first 2 miles. I knew it was going to be a battle between us."
The Kamehameha boys won their third straight team title after four boys placed in the top 20. Kruse and Kainalu Asam (fourth, 16:20.6) have led the Warriors the entire season with their experience and leadership, but the rest of the team is relatively young. Kamehameha got the production it needed from Race Oshiro and Grant Kam, who finished 14th and 15th in 17:09.7 and 17:10.8. Kawika Jacang (29th, 17:45.4), Kanoa Tsujiguchi (92nd, 18:48.0) and Kekoa Ulansey (109th, 19:06.4) also ran for Kamehameha.
Kamehameha finished with a meet-low 48 points to claim its 13th state title. Punahou was second (80) and Mid-Pacific finished third (159). Hawaii Prep, which finished 10th (268), was awarded the Division II trophy.
"We just knew we had to trust our training," said Asam, a senior who’s been on the past three championship teams. "Our coaches tell us we train the hardest out of everyone and we just got to believe in our training. Thanks to Coach (Steve) Jenness and the rest of our coaches."
Kaiser junior Lisa Tashiro, in her first year running cross country, broke away from ‘Iolani’s Amanda Beaman with about a half-mile remaining to win the girls 3-mile race in 18:59.9.
The two held the lead with Hilo’s Mehana Sabado-Halpern through the first mile. After that, Tashiro ran with Beaman until making her move on a slight decline on the course’s final loop.
"At a certain point, I knew I had to get away from her, just to get some distance," Tashiro said. "It was a tough race. I had a good time and it was a great experience."
Beaman placed second in 19:11.8 and Sabado-Halpern was third in 19:18.2.
The Punahou girls won their third straight team title, with three girls finishing in the top 10. The Buffanblu totaled 45 points for their 11th team title. The Buffanblu have won all but one state title since 2005.
"We really push each other to do our best," said junior Teri Brady, who finished fifth in 19:19.2 and has been on all three title teams. "One of my teammates today, I was falling off the pace today and she said, ‘It’s time to go; you have to stay with us.’ We really work on group running and it really helps us do better, to know they’re there to support us."
Punahou’s Kailey Totherow finished sixth (19:24.9) and teammate Noe Obermeyer was seventh (19:25.7). Mia Schiel placed 18th (19:58.1), Mikayla Fujiwara finished 21st (20:19.9), Alia Wallenstrom was 23rd (20:40.2) and Sara Buck finished 53rd (21:50.1).
Kaiser finished second (73) and ‘Iolani was third (78). Seabury Hall, which finished seventh with 179 points, took home its second straight D-II trophy.
