KAILUA-KONA — The course may have been new but the results were the same as Kealakehe hosted its first cross country meet in recent memory on Saturday.
Waiakea’s Saya Yabe continued her dominance with another win in the girls 5K, finishing in a time of 22 minutes and 51.95 seconds. She was followed by Makua Lani’s Tia Lurbiecki (23:20.93) and Waiakea’s Ella Johnson(23:28.95).
With five runners in the top 10, the Warriors of Waiakea easily took the team competition with 21 points. They were followed by Hilo (56), Kamehameha-Hawaii (77). Kealakehe (121), Keaau (126), Konawaena (128) and Kohala (203).
Konawaena’s Cody Ranfranz and Lawrence Barrett went 1-2 once again in the boys 5K. Ranfranz finished the course in 17:12.60, followed by Barrett at 17:15.92 . Kealakehe’s Ziggy Bartholomy (18:08.74) rounded out the top three.
Hilo took the boys team title with 33 points, led by fifth place finisher Sam Gibson (18:48.76). Following were Kealakehe (55), Kamehameha (91), Keaau (101), Waiakea (121), Christian Liberty (152), Parker (193) and Pahoa (222).
Yabe managed to outdistance herself from the field despite dealing with the heat that plagued the girls race.
“It was extremely hot, one of the hottest courses I have ever ran,” Yabe said. “The beginning half was fair, but the second half was just hell.”
The hills did not make the heat any more bearable for the Waiakea speedster.
“They are extremely steep and there is loose dirt,” Yabe said. “I crawled, I won’t lie, but it was fun and a great experience.”
With a rare home course advantage, Zion Frost was the first Kealakehe female runner to cross the finish line. She placed 12th in a time of 24:52.74. Frost was noticeably excited after the race.
“This is the best I have ever done,” Frost said. “Usually I am in the 30-50 range, but this was an easy course because we pretty much run it every day. It was really exciting to have an advantage for once.”
While the course may have been familiar to Frost, it was not so familiar to the rest of the field, which became noticeable to the Kealakehe runner as she approached a hill near the junk yard.
“That hill really stood out because it is steep and really narrow,” Frost said. “A girl fell down in front of me and slid all the way down, so I just had to stand there and wait for her to get back up so I could continue.”
Ranfranz and Lawrence had little issues traversing the steep hills in the boys race. In fact, they enjoyed the challenge on the way to another dominating performance.
“It was a fun course with small, steep hills that really add to the challenge,” Ranfranz said. “You also got the best of both worlds with trail running and road racing.
Ranfranz did not have to deal with the heat like the girls did after clouds moved in during right before the start, cooling the course considerably. However, he did have to deal with the heat his teammate was providing. Barrett was right on his heels throughout the race.
“Lawrence has been gaining on me each meet. I love the competition,” Ranfranz said. “He is always there and helps push me at the end. He can sprint, so I have to make sure I have some distance on him at the end.”
Bartholomy was the top finisher for the host school, but he has struggled to keep up with the two Konawaena runners this year, something even a home advantage could not fix.
“My performance was not bad, but I could have done better,” Bartholomy said. “It is a work in progress trying to catch up with Cody and Lawrence. I just need to run faster.”
Bartholomy added that he felt the home course reminded him a lot of Keaau, being that it was hot with half trail and half pavement. It is a little ironic since Kealakehe was able to host this year thanks to Keaau giving up one of its two hosting duties after the previous date was cancelled due to the recent hurricane threat.
This was the first time Kealakehe has had a chance to host a race in many years, and coach Brad Lachance says the early reviews are very positive.
“Everything seemed to go pretty well, with no issues,” Lachance said. “So far I am hearing that it is challenging but with good, fast times. People really seem to enjoy running the course and I hope to host another meet next year.”