NANAKULI — David King is a sole man.

Not because he wears out his shoes running cross country for the Nanakuli Golden Hawks. It's because he is the school's only varsity runner.

Although his school can't win the team championship at Saturday's O'ahu Interscholastic Association championship at Waialua High, King is considered a contender for individual honors.

"My coach keeps saying, 'It's not the quantity, it's the quality,' " King said.

King, a senior, is expected to have competition from East champion Kalen Darling of Moanalua, Matthew Kodama of Castle and John Otaguro of Roosevelt. But King has some momentum, having won his past two meets: the McKinley Invitational and the OIA West.

King is used to running solo. For a number of reasons, long-distance running isn't fashionable at Nanakuli.

"We've had teammates before, but none of them lasted," he said. "They'll run for a season then decide it's just too much (work)."

Nanakuli coach Tony Jones said there might be cultural or demographic issues keeping more students from running. Health might take a backseat to finding a place to live or worrying about where the next meal is coming from, Jones said.

King isn't totally alone. There are two JV girls and a seventh grade boy who sometimes trains with them. Jones said King must train differently because he doesn't have running mates.

"We make situational projections," Jones said. "We get him to respond to hypothetical situations to help him overcome that barrier of fatigue. We change his rhythm."

Besides regular workouts with his "team," King will run on his own. He'll run from school down Farrington Highway to Kapolei (near the library) or to the Makakilo fire station. Then he'll either call for a ride home or catch the bus back.

"Running is my sanctuary," King said. "It takes my mind off stresses of the day. It calms me down when I'm upset."

While most schools have more than one runner, King said he doesn't feel intimidated at meets. In fact, he said the cross country community enjoys a special camaraderie.

"For the (O'ahu) Perimeter Run Relay, I'm trying to put together an OIA team to run it," King said.

Defending team champion 'Aiea and runner-up Kaiser, which returns most of its runners, figure to contend with Leilehua, Moanalua, Campbell, Pearl City and Roosevelt.

In the girls team championship, Radford and Kaiser are anchored by Kia Atkins and Lei Aloha Bratton, respectively. The two runners could contend for individual honors, along with Mililani's Melissa Kawana.

Defending champion Campbell was hurt by graduation, but will be bolstered by its JV championship team.

'Aiea and Mililani also expect to contend for the girls title.

The OIA meet starts at 3 p.m.

ILH ON SATURDAY, TOO

The Interscholastic League of Honolulu will hold its championships at 2 p.m. Saturday at Central O'ahu Regional Park.

Defending individual champions Jeremy Kamaka'ala of Kamehameha and Lauren Ho of Hawai'i Baptist both return. Ho is going for her third consecutive title.

Iolani is defending team champion in both boys and girls.

Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at skaneshiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.