The hilly course is different from most of those on O'ahu, but Interscholastic League of Honolulu champions Lauren Ho and Jeremy Kamaka'ala still appear to have an advantage. Ho set a course record there Oct. 9 in 12 minutes, 48 seconds at a Big Island Interscholastic Federation meet which included outside competition.

Kamaka'ala, meanwhile, is the defending state champ and trains on a similar layout to HPA's almost daily at Kamehameha's campus on the slopes of Kapalama Heights.

"I like running up hills," Kamaka'ala said after winning the ILH title at Central O'ahu Regional Park. "It helps me a lot."

"It starts out with a loop in the first half-mile, then in the second half-mile there's a really major hill," Char said. "Then you go through a really narrow forest for about 200 meters, and it's hard to pass anybody there. Then there's a downhill and then flats for the last half-mile."

Char said the course "favors strength," meaning runners who can get up and down the steep hills and overcome elements.

"It's a tough course, and the weather is so unpredictable," Char said. "It's kind of tricky, because the wind can kick up pretty bad there."

Char's defending state champion girls team had a rough outing at the BIIF meet in Wai'aka last month, taking fourth overall with a couple of runners coming down with a cold before the race and another having an off day.

"We had been battling injuries and illness all season, and that was the peak of it," Char said. "We weren't totally in focus."

The Raiders rebounded to win the ILH crown on Saturday, with four runners — Nicole Anderson (second), Joleen Oshiro (third), Susan Mukai (fifth) and Megan Chock (10th) — finishing in the top 10.

Anderson was the state champ in 2002 at CORP. Seabury Hall's Brittany Young, who won the Maui Interscholastic League title in 12:45, is another runner to watch.

Aside from ILH rivals Kamehameha and Punahou, Char said his team's biggest challenge could come from Baldwin and Hawai'i Prep.

"Baldwin is for real; they have five solid girls," Char said. "HPA has four very good runners, and they could finish with two in the top seven."

Hawai'i Prep's Keri Ogden won the BIIF title last week, and teammate Lucy Pollard took fourth at the Oct. 9 meet behind Ho, Anderson and Ogden.

Iolani also is the defending champion in the boys competition, but won the ILH by a slim margin over Punahou and Kamehameha, and also could face challenges from Hawai'i Prep and Baldwin.

The Raiders won the ILH meet with 40 points, just two fewer than Punahou and three fewer than Kamehameha.

Iolani got a runner-up finish from Morgan Stephenson, fourth-place from Kon Weber, sixth place from Antonio Baclig and 10th from Ryan Harada.

HPA, led by individual champion Emmett Weatherford, won the BIIF meet last week. Baldwin is led by two-time MIL champ Kainoa Guerin.

Another runner to watch is Mililani's Anthony Kaleikini Barreras, who won the O'ahu Interscholastic Association crown Saturday in 16:29.54 at Waialua High School.