Late surges led to a pair of wins by California runners in the 'Iolani Invitational at Wheeler Army Airfield.

Senior Thien-Nam To of Cerritos High and sophomore Kristin Parry of Dana Hills won the boys and girls varsity cross country races yesterday morning. To finished the boys 3-mile race in 16 minutes, 4.51 seconds and Parry led the girls over the 3-mile course in 17:59.81. More than 1,000 runners competed in six races that featured intermediate and high school teams from Hawai'i and California. The event, now in its 10th year, is one of the biggest races in the state.

"My coach said to take a 10-second surge," Parry said. "It was the longest 10 seconds of my life."

Parry pulled away from Meghan Marvin of Clovis (Calif.) with about a half-mile remaining on the flat, grassy and hot course that crossed through several fields at Wheeler. Parry and Marvin led through two miles, followed closely by three Dana Hills runners and Clovis' Saylah Barserian. Following the second group was Kaiser's Sarah Clapp and 'Iolani's Jenna Wong.

"The first two miles, I was following (teammate) Heather (Balbier) because she paces me," Parry said. "After two miles, I said, 'God if you're willing, I'll go with this girl and hang on to her.' "

Barserian finished third, followed by Dana Hills' Balbier, Alaina Alvarez and Laura Beresford. Clapp was the top Hawai'i finisher in seventh, followed by Wong and Pac-Five's Haley Abing and Julie Besenbruch.

Dana Hills took the team title with a low-best score of 27 points, followed by Clovis (64) and Mililani (99).

Dana Hills coach Rex Hall said the team relies on Balbier. "We had four sophomores in our top five and they look up to our senior," he said.

In the boys race, To distanced himself from a pack of Laguna Beach (Calif.) runners after the second-mile mark and pulled away in the last mile.

"I felt good and got my second wind," To said. "I heard Laguna Beach make a move and I had to make one, too."

Laguna Beach runners grabbed the second through fifth spots to win with 34 points. 'Iolani finished second with 59 points, courtesy of high finishes by Borys Pleskacz (sixth), Tyler Mulloy (eighth), Justin Higa (10th) and Troy Esaki (11th). Kamehameha was third with 98.

"Everybody had personal bests," Pleskacz, who finished in 16:41.78, said of his team. "It's a great result. In the past, the Mainland teams were far ahead. We're closing the gap and getting more competitive."

The Laguna Beach boys and Dana Hills girls won the open division races. Dakota Grossman of Maui's Kalama Intermediate won the girls intermediate race. Her sister, Hailey, is the two-time Maui Interscholastic League champion at Seabury Hall. Clovis' Ryan Phillips won the boys intermediate race.

KEKAULIKE RUNNERS WIN

King Kekaulike's Bailey Massenburg and Reid Hunter won yesterday's Hawai'i Prep Invitational on the Big Island. Massenburg won the girls 3-mile race with a time of 20:37, 18 seconds ahead of Seabury Hall's Hailey Grossman. Kamehameha placed five girls in the top 11 to win with 32 points.

Hunter won the boys 3-mile race in 17:19. Hilo's Mark Turner was second. The meet was a big draw for O'ahu and Maui teams since the state meet will be held at Hawai'i Prep's hilly course. Full results weren't available due to computer error at the meet.

BIG WAVE

Before yesterday's meet, Dana Hills coach Rex Hall watched his daughter, Darien Buc, finish 11th for San Diego State at the University of Hawai'i's Big Wave Invitational at Kane'ohe Klipper Golf Course. Chelsea Wishard, a Kaua'i graduate, finished third overall for Pepperdine. Wishard has been the Waves' top finisher in all three races this season, including a first-place finish in a dual meet against Loyola Marymount.