KEAAU — It was surprises all around at the BIIF cross-country championships, where unlikely faces claimed the crowns.
Hawaii Prep freshman Kanoa Blake captured the 5K race in 16:25.45, his first win, on Saturday at Kamehameha’s campus, ahead of defending champion and Kealakehe junior Alec Ankrum’s 17:11.53.
Ankrum had dominated during the season and won all the races, except when he was disqualified in the “wrong way” race, where the officials were late to the course in Keaau and the top three runners took a wrong turn.
Even Blake surprised himself.
“I was shocked,” he said. “I’m really surprised. I didn’t know I could do it. I gave it all I got.
“At the second loop (about 2 miles), I thought I could do this. That motivated me and I kept pushing. It’s my first win at BIIFs and I made it a memory. I feel great. I was kind of shocked when I came in. It was like ,‘Wow’ but I felt strong.”
Waiakea’s Elijah Carigon was third in 17:18.27 and Kederang Cornforth fourth in 17:20.00 and Kamehameha’s Carlos Masuko fifth in 17:37.27.
Waiakea won its fifth straight BIIF title. Kamehameha was second and Kealakehe third.
For the girls, Hilo senior Teijah Rosas won four meets, and with the graduation of four-time champion Honokaa’s Sophia Cash, it was wide open.
Konawaena sophomore Shaian Garana also won her first race and pocketed the girls title in 20:33.54, ahead of Kealakehe sophomore Xitlalitl “Stacie” Reyes’ 20:41.59.
Garana’s previous best finish was fourth. Her gold medal was no accident. She worked to earn her first-place finish.
“I’m proud of myself,” she said. “My teammates are the ones who pushed me. I remembered what my coach told me, that I’m a front-pack runner. I took that mindset in this race.
“It’s surreal. The first time I ran this course I was 29th. Every week I improved my score. I didn’t know it would lead to this.”
Kealakehe’s Cozette Wood was third in 20:52.76 and Leann Hamilton fourth in 21:09.09, and Hilo’s Rosas fifth in 21:22.76.
Reyes’ first name is Aztec for goddess of stars. Her brightest star is her father, Arturo.
“My dad is calling me to be No. 1. He wants me to be No. 1,” she said. “He’s definitely my No. 1.”
She started running when he was 7 years old. She runs casually every day and one goal is to break the 20-minute barrier.
Hilo three-peated for the BIIF title. Kealakehe was second and Waiakea third.
Blake has lived the life of a competitive runner. He’s from Oregon and started running in the seventh grade. He moved to the Big Island in fourth grade but attends running camps in Oregon during the summer.
One influence for him is his farther Dion Blake, who was a runner in high school and college.
“He’s a big motivation for me,” Blake said. “He pushes me a lot to be a better runner.”
Ankrum was gracious in defeat and nodded to his freshman counterpart.
“It was a good race,” he said. “I shot out at the start and never slowed down. At the halfway point, we were heading to go under 16 minutes. Kanoa was great on the downhill. He got the lead. I couldn’t keep up, and he took it.”
Ankrum’s strategy was to push the pace, get separation from the pack and then throttle back. Little did he know that Blake would run like the win and not slow down.
Dr. Mark Ravaglia, the mathematics department head at HPA, is a first-year coach and thinks Blake is just tapping into his potential.
“He’s still finding himself. He’s got more inside of him than he knows,” Ravaglia said. “He’s got a really positive attitude and he jokes with the team in a good way. He’s happy to be running with anyone. His strength right now is he’s hungry.”
It’s Garana’s first year in cross-country. She plays soccer and runs track; her specialty is the 800 meters. She figured one sport could help the other and followed the motto of a champion: self-belief.
“Believe in yourself and never give up. I know everybody says that but it’s true,” she said. “People hear that all the time. But it really is true.”