Iolani boys and girls
facing stiff competition
tomorrow

Teams from four states compete in the Iolani Cross Country Invitational tomorrow at 9 a.m. at Kualoa Ranch.

Five different races will be held -- boys and girls varsity and junior varsity events, as well as an open run for coaches, parents and other runners.

Defending Hawaii boys and girls state champion and host Iolani will face some stiff competition from mainland visitors in the varsity and junior varsity races. The Snohomish (Wash.) and Saugus (Calif.) girls teams and the Auburn Riverside (Wash.) and Midlothian (Va.) boys teams are just some of the top visiting squads.

Twenty-one other Oahu teams from both the Interscholastic League of Honolulu and Oahu Interscholastic Association are also competing.

Individually, Hawaii's two state champions -- Nicole Anderson of Iolani and Kamehameha's Jeremy Kamakaala -- are among the favorites.

Lauren Ho of Hawaii Baptist, Joleen Oshiro of Iolani, Amanda Peterson of Midlothian and Alyssa Modrell of Snohomish are some of the other top girls runners.

Mililani's Anthony Barreras, Auburn Riverside's Jordan McNamara and Brad Clark of Lake Braddock Secondary (Va.) are expected to compete for boys individual honors.

Overall, more than 1,000 runners from 42 schools are participating.