In late October, McKinley High School was a part of the 56 schools who participated in the annual cross country state championship in Kauai. The race was 3.025 miles long with a total of 200 participants from various schools in Hawaii.

As the starting pistol was fired, the race began and the contestants started to flood out like a tsunami.

“It may not seem important to be ahead early in the race but you don’t want to be caught in the group behind,” cross country coach Kengo Yoshimoto said.

The race is long, but runners looking to place high will separate from the pack early.

“As soon as I heard the starting pistol, I sprinted to get in front,” sophomore Narayan Schneider said.

Cross country races are long and test the stamina and pace of the racers.

“Cross country is a sport of endurance. Even if you are faster than everyone there, if you don’t have the stamina to maintain pace, you will lose,” Yoshimoto said.

As states is different from Oahu Interscholastic Association, many private schools take part. The first to cross the finish line was Colby Otero from Kalaheo High School, while Iolani took the Division I boys title and Hawaii Baptist Academy garnered the Division II crown.

Although MHS was not able to make the top 10, Schneider placed 16th.

“The race was fun and although I wasn’t able to get top ten, I plan to be able to next year,” Schneider said.