Big Island clubs were the big story in the smaller divisions of the Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association State Championship Regatta yesterday at Ke'ehi Lagoon.

Puna Canoe Club won the AA Division for medium-sized clubs, and Keauhou won the A Division for small clubs.

"This is our first state title, so it's a big thing for us," Puna head coach Afa Tuaolo said. "We were trailing the whole day, but we scored some points at the end to help us."

Puna won the women's junior race and finished with 162 points. Fellow Big Island club Kai 'Opua was second with 149.

Puna also beat Kai 'Opua for the Big Island championship last month.

"One day, we hope to be up there battling it out with the big clubs," Tuaolo said. "But we don't have that many kids right now. We're mostly adults."

The AA Division was for clubs with nine to 17 crews.

O'ahu's Hui Lanakila placed third in the AA Division with 147 points despite entering just 12 crews (Puna and Kai 'Opua both had the maximum 17).

Hui Lanakila had the top open adult program yesterday — including the big clubs in AAA — with 129 points in 11 races.

Hui Lanakila was especially impressive in the open women's races, placing first in the freshman, sophomore and open-4 races, and second in the junior and senior races.

Na 'Ohana O Na Hui Wa'a champion Kane'ohe got a strong performance from its youth paddlers and placed fourth in the AA Division.

Kane'ohe scored 109 points in the youth races, second only to Hawaiian's 111.

Interestingly, Kane'ohe borrowed Puna's koa canoe for much of the regatta.

"I knew they were doing good because they were using our canoe," Tuaolo said. "They made us catch them at the end of the day."

The Waikiki Beach Boys placed seventh in the AA Division, but won four races (women's novice B, women's novice A, men's novice B and women's senior). Overall champion Hawaiian won five races, and was the only club to win more races than the Waikiki Beach Boys.

Keauhou won the A Division for the second consecutive year.

While five clubs battled for the AAA Division and 14 were in the AA Division, 43 competed in the A Division. The A Division is for clubs with eight crews or fewer.

"We really had to perform to win it this year," Keauhou athletic director Jonathan Grayson said. "But we have a lot of experienced crews and they came through in the crunch."

Keauhou was strong in the oldest division of the regatta, winning the women's 55-older race, and placing second in the men's 55-older and mixed 55-older races.

Keauhou's koa canoe, named Makani Kai, also was victorious for several other clubs yesterday. Most significant, the Waikiki Beach Boys women and Tui Tonga men borrowed it for victories in the prestigious senior races.

"She had a beautiful day, and not just for us," Grayson said.

Keauhou finished with 96 points to beat O'ahu's Keahiakahoe by 10 points. Another Big Island club, Keaukaha, was third with 78.

Waikiki Surf Club won the boys 13 race and placed fourth with 76 points.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.