California runners win
at Kualoa Ranch

The incessant heat and humidity at Kualoa Ranch didn't seem to bother Russell Pfaff yesterday at the seventh annual Iolani Invitational cross country meet.

The Clovis East (Calif.) High senior finished the hilly route through the ranch at 16 minutes, 18.58 seconds. That was nearly 5 seconds ahead of runner-up Andrew Glebe of Snohomish (Wash.) and Kamehameha senior Jeremy Kamakaala (16:32.01).

The boys race was tight until midway through, when Pfaff burst ahead.

"My coaches told me they were 15 meters behind," he said of the advice doled out at strategic points along the course. He took off on the first downhill and never looked back at a course filled with turns.

"It's similar to Woodward Park, where we train," Pfaff noted.

It was good work considering Clovis East didn't get a look at the terrain until yesterday morning. The team was scheduled to do a run on Friday, but chose to gorge at a "pasta feed" instead.

Pfaff started with a multitude of sports at 8, and after one soccer season, decided to keep running without the ball just for fun. He's good enough that a collegiate running career is in his future and his other passion, basketball, is a now history.

Kamakaala, possibly the favorite to win the Hawaii state crown, is especially tough on hills. One of the slopes this year, though, was fenced off. He placed fifth last year and had some keen insights from coach Steve Jenness.

"The strategy was to pace myself. I just wanted to stay close," the senior said.

"Last year, he was leading at the mile mark," Jenness said. "So we told him not to push the pace."

By the mile mark, Pfaff was stretching his lead with a time of 5:10, while Kamakaala was at 5:17.

"He hung in there. He had a shot. All three of them looked tired," Jenness noted.

Jessica Babcock dominated the girls race with a time of 18:46.01. The senior helped Woodbridge (Calif.) to a second-place finish in the team standings.

"It's hot here, but a lot of fun. It's different from any course I've seen before," Babcock said. "The views are really nice. I would definitely have liked to stop and enjoy them all."

Andrea Jacobs of Vista (Calif.) placed second at 19:14.01, while Babcock's younger sister, Christine, was third at 19:26.14.

There were no packs in the girls race, but that didn't prevent Babcock from worrying.

"For me, the long straightaway (on the pasture) when I'm by myself, it's so hard," she said. "My coach said to open-stride. I was worried that they'd catch me."

The top local runner in the girls race was Chelsea Smith-Wishard of Kauai, who placed ninth (20:26.72).

In the team competition, Snohomish won its second Iolani title in a row. With its five harriers finishing among the top 17, the Washington school tallied 50 points.

"We have three freshmen in their first race at 3 miles," coach Dan Parker said. "They did well, considering."

Vista, with three boys among the top nine, also won a team championship.