PUHI, Kaua'i — Punahou's recurring theme brought in a fifth straight girls state championship.

Sticking with its group mentality as in years past, the Buffanblu won yesterday's Honolulu Marathon/HHSAA Cross Country Championships at Island School.

Punahou, which finished with a meet-low 62 points, always has a strong group of runners who have grabbed high finishes for the team. The difference with this year's win was the Buffanblu finally had the individual champion in freshman Elli Brady, who stuck with her plan and made a move midway through the 3-mile race to win in 18 minutes, 53.85 seconds.

"(The plan) was to not go out too fast and start reeling people in in the middle of the second mile and until the end," Brady said. "I didn't want to surge or do anything to kill my energy, but to keep my pace up."

The plan worked perfectly.

Brady stayed behind the lead duo of Seabury Hall's Hailey Grossman and Honoka'a's Tialana Greenwell through the first mile on the flat and grassy course that had several sharp turns.

Brady gradually made a move, opened a lead in the second mile and looked strong down the stretch.

"She's a great runner," Brady said of Grossman, who finished second in 19:07.95. "I'd been following her all season. I really look up to her. She's a senior, she's experienced, she's a really good runner and I'm honored to run with her today."

The Mililani trio of Gabriella Jenkins (19:21.05), Kristin Ali Keith (19:25.05) and Kimberly Pugliese (19:25.85) finished third through fifth, giving the Trojans an early edge in the team standings.

The Buffanblu's pack then beat out the Trojans' remaining runners to pull ahead. Punahou's Kyleigh Mann was 12th in 20:01.75, Julia Brand was 13th in 20:08.00 and Jaime Durso, another freshman, was 23rd in 20:37.10. Also finishing for the Buffanblu were sophomores Kacie Won (30th, 21:00.40), Monica Woolley (46th, 21:26.45), who fell at the beginning of the race, and Kara Tsuzaki (52nd, 21:31.00).

"Mililani has a fantastic team," said Punahou senior tri-captain Brooke LaPorte, one of the team's alternates. "I think this season we just really pulled together. We have this pack of really strong sophomores and they really stepped it up."

Added senior tri-captain and alternate Megan Steele: "(Coach) Duncan (Macdonald) always tells us to stick together and practice leading for the pack."

Punahou, which captured its 23rd state title, has won every year since 2005 when the state race expanded from two to three miles.

"Some of these girls weren't feeling their best," Macdonald said. "They got very gutsy in the last quarter-, half-mile, and passed people to make a difference."

Mililani finished second with 70 points, followed by Kamehameha (105), Hawai'i Prep (141) and 'Iolani (142).

"We did great as a team," said Mililani's Jenkins, a military dependent who's moving in December. "I couldn't ask for anything more. We worked hard together. ... You can't be too disappointed."

Moanalua's Sophie Curtailo finished sixth in 19:34.30, followed by Greenwell (19:39.05), Maryknoll's Claire Hann (19:51.75), Kamehameha's Jessica Johnson (19:55.05) and 'Iolani's Kelli Morrissey (19:56.15).