Stevens covered the scenic, windswept, three-mile Hawaii Preparatory Academy course in 17 minutes and 9.62 seconds to win his 27th straight race on Hawaiian soil. His only losses since 1993 have come in postseason regional competition in California.
Matt Stevens
The 5-foot-7, 140-pound honors student came in 44 seconds ahead of runner-up Michael Donaldson of Pearl City.Stevens' time fell short of the HPA course record of 16:47.4, set in 1987 by Punahou's Paul Bedish.
There were two hill ascents for the boys, who ran segments of the race through Parker Ranch pasture land. The last quarter mile was downhill.
Stevens, who usually doesn't make his break until the start of the second mile, decided to take command two-thirds of a mile into the race at the foot of the first steep ascent. "I didn't want to have to lead up that hill twice but the pace the leaders were setting was not suitable to me," Stevens said.
He quickly assumed a 15-yard lead on Donaldson as he came down the hill.
He stretched that lead to 50 yards by 21/4 miles and the race was essentially over.
"Some guys like to rest in the second mile but I wanted to get it over with," he said.
In the boys' team competition, Punahou won its 11th title and first since 1991, finishing with 69 points to 81 for runner-up Mililani.
In the girls' two-mile state championship, Punahou sophomore Eri Macdonald captured her second straight win with a time of 13:33.29 seconds. Alicia-Snyder-Carlson of St. Anthony was second in 13:44.17.
Macdonald trailed Hawaii Prep Academy senior Casey McGuire-Turcotte until the one-mile mark. At the start of the hill, Mcdonald, whose forte is downhill running, opened up on McGuire-Turcotte, overtaking her quickly before the bottom of the hill. She left the field far behind within the next half-mile of the race.
In the girls' team competition, Punahou won its second straight title with 32 points. Runner-up Hawaii Prep had 70.
Dr. Jim Barahal, president of the sponsoring Honolulu Marathon Association, said the boy and girl winners will be guests at the marathon's pre-race banquet at the Oahu Country Club the night of Dec. 5. The banquet will feature elite professional runners past and present from around the world, including 1972 Olympic gold medalist and legendary female middle distance star Mary (Decker) Slaney.
The Honolulu Marathon Association recently signed a three-sponsorship deal with the state meet.