Karel Tresnak Jr. of Kailua and Zsolt Szadoszki of Hungary turned in excellent performances to take top honors in the Xcel O'ahu Championships yesterday.

Tresnak won the one-person canoe division; Szadoszki won the surfski division.

More than 180 paddlers participated in the race, which was put on by the Kanaka Ikaika organization.

"Conditions weren't that good," Tresnak said. "The winds were a little too northerly. But it went pretty good for me at the end, so I'm happy with it."

Tresnak completed the 18-mile course from Makai Pier to Magic Island in 2 hours, 3 minutes, 15 seconds. The men's one-person canoe division featured the most entries.

Manny Kulukulualani had the lead for the first half of the race, but Tresnak passed him in the surf off Hawai'i Kai.

"Manny was on a mission," Tresnak said. "He just took off at the beginning ... then I went outside and he went inside. I slowly managed to creep up on him in that stretch from Hawai'i Kai to Diamond Head, and then I held him off at the end."

Kulukulualani finished second with a time of 2:05:13 — nearly two minutes behind Tresnak.

"It was closer than that," Tresnak said. "I really had to work."

Danny Ching was third in 2:06:45, and Kea Pa'iaina was fourth in 2:09:38.

"Everybody is just getting faster and faster," Tresnak said. "I remember just a couple years ago, if (the ocean) was rough, I knew I would do pretty well. Now, so many guys are good in the surf, it's like anybody can win."

Most of the paddlers in yesterday's race are preparing for bigger races in the coming weeks. The Hinano State Championships is scheduled for Sunday; the Moloka'i-to-O'ahu world championships for one-person canoes is scheduled for April 27.

"This race is a little bit of a gauge to see where you are," Tresnak said. "But a lot of the top (Neighbor Island) guys weren't here, so you never know. I know I'm always looking at the (Moloka'i) race, but this is a nice way to get ready."

Arlene Holzman of Kailua won the women's one-person canoe division — much to her own surprise. She finished with a time of 2:27:30.

"For two hours, I was by myself; I didn't see anybody around me, not a soul," she said. "I was worried. I thought maybe I was way in the back."

Instead, she was way in front. Jessie Eames finished second in 2:31:10, almost four minutes behind Holzman.

"I was having a good run through Hawai'i Kai," Holzman said. "It got a little sticky and junk after that, but overall, it was a pretty fun race."

It was the second consecutive year that Tresnak and Holzman won their respective divisions at the O'ahu Championships.

Szadoszki won the surfski division for the first time, because this is his first year residing on O'ahu.

He flew from Hungary to Honolulu around six weeks ago to prepare for the Epic Kayaks Moloka'i World Championships for surfskis on May 18.

"I used to do flat-water kayak in Hungary," he said. "But now I really like the surfski and I'm trying to get better. I wanted to come here for three months to practice and learn in the surf."

Szadoszki said he has been training with several other Hawai'i surfski paddlers, and he beat them all yesterday. His winning time was 1:57:54.

"There wasn't the big surf today, so it was more of a technical race," he said.

Szadoszki said he has been having so much fun in Hawai'i, he is thinking of extending his stay.

"I was supposed to stay for three months, but I think I will move here," he said.

Sean Monahan placed second with a time of 2:01:07, and Stu Gaessner was third in 2:02:02.

Maggie Twigg-Smith was the only female entry on a surfski. Her winning time was 2:20:39.

FINAL RESULTS

LONG COURSE (18 MILES)

MALE OC-1

Open: 1, Karel Tresnak Jr., 2:03:15. 2, Manny Kulukulualani, 2:05:13. 3, Danny Ching, 2:06:45. 18-younger: 1, Jack Roney, 2:12:22. 19-29: 1, Carlton Helm, 2:10:11. 2, Alfred Van Gieson, 2:11:18. 3, Peter Olson, 2:14:09. 30-39: 1, Kea Pa'iaina, 2:09:38. 2, Tapa Worthington, 2:12:27. 3, Kekoa Bruhn, 2:14:13. 40-49: 1, John Foti, 2:13:05. 2, Michael Pedersen, 2:17:58. 3, Timothy Twigg-Smith, 2:21:46. 50-59: 1, Walter Guild, 2:17:11. 2, Fred Delos Santos, 2:30:29. 3, Cliff Tillotson, 2:31:07.

FEMALE OC-1

Open: 1, Arlene Holzman, 2:27:30. 2, Jessica Eames, 2:31:10. 3, Kelsa Teeters, 2:34:08. 19-29: 1, Jaimie Kinard, 2:34:40. 2, Kehau Lau, 2:30:09. 40-49: 1, Mary Smolenski, 2:36:20. 2, Denise Darval-Chang, 2:38:22. 50-59: 1, Paula Crabb, 2:34:58.

MALE SURFSKI

Open: 1, Zsolt Szadoszki, 1:57:54. 2, Sean Monahan, 2:01:07. 3, Stu Gaessner, 2:02:02. 30-39: 1, Chris Ball, 2:06:00. 40-49: 1, Courtney Seto, 2:03:47. 2, Kala Judd, 2:06:55. 3, Geoff Graf, 2:08:03. 50-59: 1, James Kincaid, 2:16:49. 2, Bill Meheula, 2:25:18.

FEMALE SURFSKI

Open: 1, Maggie Twigg-Smith, 2:20:39.

OC-2

Mixed: 1, Creps/Bustos, 2:20:47.

SHORT COURSE (10 MILES)

MALE OC-1

Open: 1, Jace Faufata, 1:56:07. 2, Kalei Kahookele, 1:57:51. 3, John Wacker, 1:58:07. 18-younger: 1, Kekoa Kau, 2:02:57. 2, Rusty Goings, 2:11:38. 3, James Whaley, 2:17:21. 19-39: 1, Kyle Morioka, 1:58:25. 2, Gavin Hanoa, 1:58:45. 3, Joel Munar, 1:59:03. 40-49: 1, Charles Benfield, 1:59:40. 2, D.J. Oga, 2:01:03. 3, Mike Sur, 2:01:18. 50-59: 1, Edmund Pestana, 1:58:08. 2, Gary Samura, 1:58:18. 3, Paul Amoy, 2:01:13. 60-older: 1, Jeff Metzger, 1:58:38. 2, Tom Conner, 1:58:57. 3, Gaylord Wilcox, 2:01:20. Rudderless canoe: 1, Mael Carey, 1:41:08. 2, Aaron Napoleon, 1:42:10. 3, Luke Evslin, 1:42:16.

FEMALE OC-1

Open: 1, Jane McKee, 2:07:27. 2, Kris Krengel, 2:09:06. 3, Ann Dewey, 2:09:21. 18-younger: 1, Julia Anderson, 2:10:54. 19-39: 1, Heather Jeppesen, 2:11:16. 2, Nohealani Hirahara, 2:12:11. 3, Rosalyn Dias, 2:20:58. 40-49: 1, Laura Lapa, 2:19:25. 2, Kelly Smith, 2:29:54. 50-59: 1, Jane Duncan, 2:11:31. 2, Cindi Chess, 2:22:34. 3, Kathleen McGovern, 2:29:26.

MALE SURFSKI

Open: 1, Mark Buck, 1:54:12. 2, Patrick Shea, 1:56:53. 3, Will Gachtam, 1:58:10. 40-49: 1, Ray Connelly, 2:01:08. 2, John Kahalewale, 2:12:59. 3, Douglas Smith, 3:09:13. 60-older: 1, David Blane, 2:10:57.

FEMALE SURFSKI

Open: 1, Mary Jo Gumbert, 2:08:53.