PAC-5's Jones, Punahou's Lehl excel at Punahou Invitational

PAC-5's Jordan Jones runs at the Punahou Invitational. Leighland Tagawa | Special to SL

PAC-5's Jordan Jones and Punahou's Connor Lehl took home top honors in the 5000-meter varsity run in the Punahou Invitational last Saturday.

Jones, a junior distance-runner from St. Andrew's Priory, finished first in the girls' race with a time of 19 minutes and 41 seconds.

She said that the conditions at the race were tough, but it also provided a good opportunity run against some of the runners from Seabury Hall.

"It was very hot, but it was a very competitive race because we had girls from the outer island here," she said. "It was a very similar to the race in states last year. I knew the OIA were at their divisional, but it was a pretty tough race to run at, and I was very glad to have this opportunity to run with them (Seabury Hall girls) because most of them are my friends and I love their encouragement and they always pushed me during the race."

Jones, who took 21st place at the state tournament last year, bested several girls in the Punahou Invitational that had a higher finish than her in the 2015 state championships. Punahou's Mia Schiel, who placed 10th in states, took second place last Saturday with a time of 20 minutes and 12 seconds.

Seabury Hall's Veronica Winham and Ava Shipman had third and fourth place finishes at the Punahou Invitational. Winham had a 14th place finish at states last year while Shipman had the highest finish on a non-senior at fourth place.

"All of the hard work comes during practice," PAC-5 coach Malia Nanbara said of Jones. "She is always leading the way in practice by being a great captain and pushing herself in the workouts. Having that competitive drive helps her too. She always wants to be the best she can. I think that, combined with the hard work is what helps her."

Lehl, a senior harrier, won the boys' race with a time of 16 minutes and 44 seconds. He beat teammate and second place finisher Aaron Shiinoki by over 30 seconds (17 minutes and 15 seconds.).

With multiple state champion Kaeo Kruse, of Kamehameha, gone to graduation, Lehl is hungry for a state title.

"I've kind of been overshadowed by him for the last 3 years, but now it's a chance to show everyone how good I am. I would say I'm one of the top runners this year, but I'm not overconfident about it. I still have to work hard definitely and can't let up now. It's almost time for states so I got to keep training."

Although the Buffanblu had the top two finishers at the event, Iolani placed six runners in the top 11 and won the boys' team award over Punahou with a score of 33. The Buffanblu finished with 38 points for second place.

"For the boys side, Iolani is the team to beat so we've got to try and narrow the gap," said Punahou coach Duncan Mcdonald. "Our front two runners are doing very well. Now we just have to get our three to seven runners competitive as well, but we are working on that."

TOP 10 Finishers in the girls' run
1. Jordan Jones, PAC-5 — 19 minutes, 41.05 seconds
2. Mia Schiel, Punahou — 20 minutes, 12.68 seconds
3. Veronica Winham, Seabury Hall — 20 minutes, 26.27 seconds
4. Ava Shipman, Seabury Hall — 20 minutes, 37.27 seconds
5. Claire Cutler, Punahou — 20 minutes, 37.49 seconds
6. Erica Preseault, Seabury Hall — 20 minutes, 54.02 seconds
7. Gianna Sbarbaro, Le Jardin — 20 minutes, 58.36 seconds
8. Jamie Tanaka, Iolani — 21 minutes, 2.07 seconds
9. Maiya Fujiwara, Punahou — 21 minutes, 10.36 seconds
10. Darby Mulligan, Seabury Hall — 21 minutes, 13.71 seconds

TOP 10 Finishers in the boys' run
1. Connor Lehl, Punahou — 16 minutes, 44.52 seconds
2. Aaron Shiinoki, Punahou — 17 minutes, 15.61 seconds
3. Nick Arima, Iolani — 17 minutes, 29.21 seconds
4. Tucker Chase, Hanalani — 17 minutes, 29.93 seconds
5. Jason Wang, Iolani — 17 minutes, 56.07 seconds
6. Royce Garcia, Iolani — 17 minutes, 59.07 seconds
7. Jesse Wysard, Punahou — 17 minutes, 59.52 seconds
8. Adam Harder, Hanalani — 17 minutes, 59.8 seconds
9. Koen Bailey, Iolani — 18 minutes, 0.96 seconds
10. Wolfgang Sakamaki, Iolani — 18 minutes, 13.21 seconds

Full results from the Punahou Invitational can be found here.