One of Kristin Ali Keith's better races this season was one in which she didn't finish first.

The Mililani sophomore finished third at the Mililani Cross Country Invitational Sept. 8, a bit of a surprise considering she won last year's O'ahu Interscholastic Association varsity title as a freshman and finished second in the state. Not surprising was the fact Keith trained hard the week leading to the Mililani race, but fatigue caught up at the end.

"She gave a good effort," said Shane Akamine, who handles the Trojans' workouts. "She was struggling through the meet. It was probably one of the better races for her. She was tired, fatigued mentally and physically, and battled her way and held her own."

Keith won this past Saturday's Campbell Invitational, leading from start to finish on the 3-mile course. It was the same sort of success she had last season, when she won five races, though nobody is surprised anymore that she's ahead.

"I'm improving," said Keith, who also won the Pearl City meet Sept. 1 and will compete in Saturday's 'Iolani Invitational. "I'm just working hard, just running, putting in mileage — just doing the best I can."

Akamine said Keith is easy to coach and likes to run, two factors that definitely help in her success.

"It's easy to coach her because she does what she's told to do," Akamine said. "Some runners, when you tell them to hold back, it's hard to hold them back. We tell her to not run and she'll take the day off. She has good grades, she's a good student."

Duplicating her success from last season won't be easy, and Keith is well aware of it.

"There's a whole bunch of young runners out there," Akamine said. "It's going to be tough. She knows it. That's why she putting in the extra work to get it done."

Keith, who runs with the boys team at practices, will also play a key role in how her team will fare this season. Mililani's second and third finisher at the Campbell race were freshmen, and the Trojans edged Leilehua, 47-55, for the team title.

"We have a big junior varsity squad this year," Akamine said. "Three or four of them will help us out on the varsity. Leilehua, they're right there with us and Pearl City, they're young but a veteran team. They're right on our heels.

"It's not going to be easy. We're going to train and do enough to win the varsity championship."

Keith also feels her team has a chance. Mililani last won the OIA title in 2003.

"I think we're doing pretty good," Keith said. "We have a lot of talented runners. We have a chance if we keep working hard like how we are now."

Reach Stanley Lee at sktlee@honoluluadvertiser.com.