Luke Evslin couldn't afford a trip to Maui over the weekend, so he stayed on O'ahu and won a state championship instead.

Evslin was the surprise winner of the one-person canoe division of the Kanaka Ikaika State Championships yesterday. He completed the 23-mile course from Makai Pier to Sand Island in 3 hours, 13 minutes, 34 seconds.

Many of the state's top paddlers did not enter yesterday's race because there was a conflicting event on Maui on Saturday.

"If all the guys were here, it would be totally different," said Evslin, 21. "I couldn't afford the trip (to Maui), so I'm stoked to win this. I never even placed in a race before, so I'll take it."

Kelly Foster, Evslin's roommate and teammate for the Hui Lanakila Canoe Club, placed second in 3:14:37.

"We train together all the time, so I'm used to Luke being in front of me," said Foster, 20. "I was just glad to get second. I know we wouldn't have got first and second if all the other guys were here, but it gave us a chance, so that was cool."

A lack of wind and ocean swells made for a relatively slow race.

Stuart Gaessner won the surfski division for the second consecutive year. His time was 2:57:03, which was 22 minutes slower than his time last year.

"It was flat and hot; you had to work the whole time," said Gaessner, 44.

In races held earlier this month, he would paddle a "practice run" before participating in the actual race.

"I would paddle eight miles, and then do the race," Gaessner said. "I would be exhausted, but I knew I had to put in that kind of time because my focus was on the longer races."

Steve Kelly placed second in the surfski division at 2:57:50.

Mary Smolenski was the first female to finish on a surfski in 3:24:26. It was also her second consecutive state title.

Kelsa Teeters was the first female to finish on a one-person canoe in 3:39:33.

"It took me a long time to get into a rhythm because (the ocean) was dead flat," she said. "You had to make every stroke count and power through it."

Kai Bartlett won the Maui-to-Moloka'i race Saturday; Karel Tresnak Jr., last year's state champion, placed second.

LONG COURSE (MAKAI PIER TO SAND ISLAND, 23 MILES)

ONE-PERSON CANOE, MALE

Open: 1, Luke Evslin, 3:13:34. 2, Kelly Foster, 3:14:37. 3, Donovan Leandro, 3:15:49. 18-younger: 1, Aaron Abbey, 3:47:05. 19-29: 1, Aaron Creps, 3:21:24. 2, C.J. Day, 3:33:01. 3, Zach Payne, 3:34:36. 30-39: 1, Kekoa Bruhn, 3:22:11. 2, George Leslie, 3:25:19. 3, David Daniels, 3:26:28. 40-49: 1, Raven Aipa, 3:21:43. 2, Mark Cluney, 3:24:56. 3, John Wacker, 3:28:40. 50-59: 1, Sam Alama, 3:26:59. 2, Nyle Warinner, 3:42:08. 3, Fred Delos Santos, 3:45:12.

ONE-PERSON CANOE, FEMALE

Open: 1, Kelsa Teeters, 3:39:33. 2, Arlene Holzman, 3:41:47. 3, Paula Crabb, 3:44:23. 30-39: 1, Spring Clegg 4:11:33. 40-49: 1, Wendy Simmons, 3:55:34.

SURFSKI

Male open: 1, Stuart Gaessner, 2:57:03. 2, Steve Kelly, 2:57:50. 3, Mark Sandvold, 3:00:55. 40-49: 1, Thomas Gallagher, 3:03:21. 2, John Hoogsteden, 3:11:26. 50-59: 1, Wayne German, 3:25:20. 2, Jimmy Kincaid, 3:28:46. Female open: 1, Mary Smolenski, 3:24:26. 2, Maggie Twigg-Smith, 3:28:25.

TWO-PERSON CANOE

Male: 1, Edwards/Von, 3:11:43. 2, Mueller/Roney, 3:28:12.

SHORT COURSE (HAWAI'I KAI TO SAND ISLAND, 15 MILES)

ONE-PERSON CANOE, MALE

Open: 1, Rob Harrison, 1:54:00. 2, Akeo Cuban, 1:54:38. 3, Justin Banfield, 1:56:04. Novice: 1, Glenn Williams, 2:05:40. 2, Michael Hall, 2:08:14. 3, Shawn Tangalin, 2:08:40. 18-younger: 1, Ryan Dolan, 2:06:14. 2, Damien Casken, 2:17:40. 3, Koa Lyu, 2:26:20. 19-39: 1, Tim Ekau, 1:56:25. 2, Nick Ho, 1:57:02. 3, Rooke Keliipuleole, 1:59:33. 40-49: 1, Paul Amoy, 2:04:53. 2, Michael Sur, 2:05:05. 3, David Banks, 2:06:14. 50-59: 1, Harold Akeo, 2:01:38. 2, Jeff Metzger, 2:06:04. 3, Guy Gamurot, 2:09:53. 60-older: 1, George Haberman, 2:15:20. 2, Kaai Fernandez, 2:20:48.

ONE-PERSON CANOE, FEMALE

Open: 1, Jane McKee, 2:10:03. 2, Peggy Rupe, 2:19:19. 3, Christina Hoggatt, 2:22:25. Novice: 1, Lelani Loredo, 2:31:58. 2, Stephanie Pratt, 2:45:27. 19-39: 1, Alohi Aea, 2:23:40. 2, Nicole Radford, 2:30:38. 3, Annette Viernes, 2:32:05. 40-49: 1, Catherine Bender, 2:31:33.

SURFSKI, MALE

Male open: 1, Mark Buck, 1:49:26. 2, Ray Connelly, 2:18:41. 3, Kenneth Moore, 2:20:04. 50-59: 1, Andrew Cole, 2:36:46.

TWO-PERSON CANOE

Female: Garcia/Ventura, 2:18:37. Male: 1, Hanoa/Pocock, 1:45:38. 2, Cracknell/Rees, 1:54:35. 3, Zoller/Naone, 2:02:23. Mixed: 1, Fern/Lau, 1:49:42. 2, McCue/Davidson, 1:55:18. 3, Slocumb/Ignacio, 2:54:10.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.