Chasing down the lead runners, Kamehameha’s Kaeo Kruse started to close the distance.

He passed one runner with 200 meters left and sprinted toward the race leader in the final stretch of Saturday’s ‘Iolani Invitational. But Andrew Burkhardt of JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) held off Kruse to win the boys varsity race by less than a second at Kualoa Ranch.

Burkhardt’s 3-mile time was 14 minutes, 40.43 seconds. Kruse was excited to compete against mainland runners in one of the state’s biggest cross-country races and satisfied with his time of 14:41.11. The race drew runners from all five of the state’s high school leagues, plus a handful of mainland teams.

"It was a good race; I broke my goal time of 14:45," Kruse said.

Kruse passed Mason Coppi of Dana Hills (Calif.) in the last loop of the race and almost caught up to Burkhardt, who led the majority of the way. Kruse thought if he’d started his rally earlier, the result might’ve been different.

"I knew the mainland people were going to take it out fast and my goal was to not be dead by the first mile," Kruse said. "I was just trying to stay comfortable, move up slowly and in that last mile, I started kicking in. But I felt I should’ve kicked a little earlier."

Burkhardt said he’s used to running in the lead and knew there were runners right behind him. He didn’t realize the distance between them until the end.

"I knew there was a guy right behind, but I didn’t know how far," Burkhardt said. "I was pretty tired, but I pushed through and gave all I had left."

Kalaheo’s Makai Clemons finished fourth in 15:06.40. Glacier Peak (Snohomish, Wash.) placed three boys in the top 10 to win the team title with 48 points. Lynbrook (Calif.) was second with 85. Punahou was the top local school, finishing fifth with 151 points.

In the girls race, Heidi Smith of Glacier Peak caught the lead runners with 200 meters left and sprinted past them to a winning time of 17:40.78. Smith passed Lisa Tashiro of Kaiser (second, 17:42.49) and ‘Iolani’s Amanda Beaman (third, 17:45.52). Going through Smith’s head in the final stretch? Not losing.

"I don’t like losing," Smith said. "I like to give my all, feel dead at the end and give all you have left to do your best."

Smith improved on her third-place finish at last year’s ‘Iolani Invitational.

"It’s really rewarding because every day, every morning, every afternoon, (we are) practicing," Smith said. "It’s hard on top of school, but it’s my passion and I love it. It’s a really great way to end the trip."

JSerra Catholic won the girls team title with 66 points and Glacier Peak was second with 74. Kaiser totaled 99 points to finish third.