With the state title at stake, Punahou's hopes rested in the hands of its 4x400-meter relay team.

The final event of the Island Movers/HHSAA Track and Field Championships decided the boys team title and Punahou ran away with the race and the team trophy.

“;I had all the faith in the world in them,”; Punahou coach Micah Pavich said. “;Going into the meet I said if it can come down to the (4x400) we'll have a great chance.”;

The team of Jeff Pedrina, Tim Kamana, Brian Suite and KT Tuumalo won the event with a time of 3:24.53 and the Buffanblu edged Kamehameha in the team standings with 70 total points. The Warriors needed a win in the 4x400 to jump past Punahou, but came in second in both the race and the standings with 66.33 points.

Three-fourths of the team also set a state meet record in winning the 4x100 meters. Kamana was a last-minute substitute in the 4x400 after Michael Zane injured his hamstring in the 200 meters.

“;I had to bring this home for my brothers,”; Kamana said. “;They were the only ones on my mind the whole race.”;

The Buffanblu took the lead early and Tuumalo, who finished second in the 400 meters, anchored the team, clinching Punahou's third state title in four years when he crossed the line.

“;It gave me incentive to run harder and take home a gold,”; Tuumalo said “;We have two seniors on our team and I didn't want to be the one to lose it for us. It was a big responsibility.”;

Kaiki Crabb got Punahou started with a victory in the discus, and a night after breaking the state meet record in the 4x100 meter relay, Punahou lowered the mark again last night by finishing in 42.20 seconds.

The team of Kamana, Suite, Pedrina and Zane finished first in the preliminaries on Friday with a time of 42.38 seconds to break the record set by Radford two years earlier.

“;Our coach always says to us it's not about breaking the record, it's about crossing the line first. The record is just icing on the cake,”; Kamana said.

“;In the beginning of the season, this opportunity wasn't even in our mind that much. For us to come out and break the record was awesome, and to break it again today was even better.”;

Zane anchored the relay after finishing second in the 100 meters, adding eight points to the Buffanblu team score.

“;That got me amped, I was ready to go,”; Zane said. “;Took the baton and I was yelling the whole race. It felt amazing, it felt l like I was in a dream.”;

But Kamehameha vaulted ahead in the team standings with its showing in the 800 meters.

Senior Isaiah Sato edged teammate Alexander Ortega with a time of 1 minute, 58.97 seconds. Jordan Thibodeau, who finished second in the 1,500, placed fourth.

By claiming three of the top four spots in the race, the group contributed 22 points to the Warriors' total to catch Punahou before the Buffanblu ultimately pulled ahead going into the final race.

“;It was always for the team,”; Sato said. “;It's like that at practice, we push each other and it makes us better. We all hate losing to each other so it keeps us all going.”;

“;(Winning the race) felt beautiful,”; he said. “;I felt terrible for the last 10 meters. I thought my legs were going to die.”;

NOTEBOOK

Landford has the last Word

Richard Landford is officially the last person to compete in a sporting event for Word of Life Academy.

Finishing fourth in the boys shot put, Landford acknowledged that yesterday's state championships were both happy and sad for him.

“;Since my freshman year I've completed for Word of Life,”; Landford said. “;I'm happy to have done well at states today, but it's sad that everyone at the school is going to have to transfer.”;

2 titles for Fierro

Waimea's Moses Fierro doubled up in the sprint events, winning both the 100- and 200-meter dash.

After winning the 100 with a time of 11.07 seconds, defending his title in the 200 took on more meaning after a miscue in the 4x100 relay cost the Menehunes.

“;I told them I'd win this for them,”; Fierro said after claiming the 200. “;I had to redeem myself, I can't flake on these guys.”;

Murphy goes the distance

Pierce Murphy of Island School wasn't credited with a record in the boys 1,500 meters and just missed the mark in the 3,000.

But crossing the line first in both events provided enough gratification after placing second in both events last year.

“;I really wanted it. I've been training all year to win and it paid off,”; Murphy said. “;After winning the 1,500—that really motivated me.”;

Edward Jackson and the Star-Bulletin's Jason Kaneshiro contributed to this report.