Karel Tresnak Jr. showed that the finish is more important than the start yesterday in winning his division of the Hinano State Championships for solo paddling.

Tresnak overcame a wipeout at the beginning of the course to win the popular men's one-person canoe (OC-1) division.

"Right at the start, I thought it was going to be a long day for me," said Tresnak, who is from Kailua. "I went straight up into a wave that was breaking top to bottom, and I ended up going back head over heels. I had to scramble to get my (canoe) and all my stuff together."

Zsolt Szadoszki of Hungary had a strong start and a strong finish to win the men's surfski division.

Jessie Eames won the female OC-1 division, and Maggie Twigg-Smith was first in the female surfski division.

The 16-mile course started at Waimanalo Beach and finished at Kaimana Beach, Waikiki.

Szadoszki had the fastest overall time, completing the course in 1 hour, 58 minutes, 46 seconds.

"It was a very technical race, with a lot of surfing," said Szadoszki, 33. "I could make some (wave) connections, so maybe I am learning something."

Szadoszki has been in Hawai'i for the past two months, training in various wave conditions.

Sean Monahan, one of Szadoszki's wave mentors, placed second yesterday with a time of 1:59:51.

"Zsolt had a good lead from the start — it took a lot of work for me to catch up and get second," Monahan said. "He's improved a lot in the surf, and he's phenomenal in the flat."

Ian Gray was third in 2:00:04, and Stu Gaessner was fourth in 2:00:14.

Twigg-Smith was one of two females to complete the course on a surfski. Her winning time was 2:25:27.

Yesterday's race was a warm-up for the Epic Kayaks Moloka'i World Championships for surfski paddlers on May 18.

"I still have a lot to learn," Szadoszki said. "I have one more month to train, but I think it will take me one year to learn more."

The men's OC-1 division featured the most entries with 51, and Tresnak had to catch the other 50 after his wipeout at the start.

"Once I got myself together after that bad start, it was a great race," said Tresnak, 27. "Perfect conditions. It was so much fun."

Tresnak caught the leaders by Makapu'u, then surfed to the finish line well ahead of the other OC-1 paddlers. His winning time was 2:03:57.

Manny Kulukulualani placed second in 2:08:38. He, too, had to overcome an early wipeout.

"I saw Karel get pushed back, and then I took the brunt of the next set," Kulukulualani said. "My seat, my paddle, it went all over the place — yard sale. It took me a while to get everything back together."

Kulukulualani managed to catch every other OC-1 paddler except Tresnak.

"I was a couple hundred yards back, and you can't lose that much ground to a guy like (Tresnak)," he said. "But I caught some of the other guys, so I was happy with that."

Tresnak and Kulukulualani are considered O'ahu's top contenders for the OC-1 world championships, which is scheduled for April 27.

"That's still two weeks away," Tresnak said. "And some of the (Neighbor Island) guys weren't here, so we'll have to see what happens."

Kea Pa'iaina was third in 2:09:20, and Luke Evslin was fourth in 2:09:36.

Eames was the first female to finish on an OC-1 with a time of 2:32:13. Kelsa Teeters was second in 2:36:11.

"I feel like (paddling) upwind is one of my strengths, so I liked the start," Eames said. "I kept looking for Kelsa because I knew she was right there. I was happy to hold (the lead) all the way."

Yesterday's race was called the state championships, but most of the entries were from O'ahu. There was also a 9-mile short-course race yesterday.

TOP FINISHERS

LONG COURSE (16 MILES)

OC-1 MALE

Open: 1, Karel Tresnak Jr., 2:03:57. 2, Manny Kulukulualani, 2:08:38. 3, Kea Pa'iaina, 2:09:20. 18-younger: 1, Jack Roney, 2:15:32. 2, Puni Freitas, 2:25:55. 19-29: 1, Luke Evslin, 2:09:36. 2, Carlton Helm, 2:10:15. 3, Aaron Creps, 2:11:54. 30-39: 1, Tapa Worthington, 2:09:57. 2, Mael Carey, 2:14:09. 3, Mike Hangai, 2:15:42. 40-49: 1, John Foti, 2:09:55. 2, Jim Foti, 2:13:32. 3, Mike Pedersen, 2:16:13. 50-59: 1, Harold Akeo, 2:33:58. 2, Fred Delos Santos, 2:34:32. 3, Cliff Tillotson, 2:42:03. 60-older: 1, Kawika Yahiro, 3:06:25.

OC-1 FEMALE

Open: 1, Jessie Eames, 2:32:13. 2, Kelsa Teeters, 2:36:11. 3, Arlene Holzman, 2:37:00. 19-29: 1, Jaimie Kinard, 2:42:59. 30-39: 1, Nicole Pedersen, 2:53:58. 2, Andrea Messer, 2:57:26. 40-49: 1, Megan Jones, 2:38:54.

SURFSKI MALE

Open: 1, Zsolt Szadoszki, 1:58:46. 2, Sean Monahan, 1:59:51. 3, Ian Gray, 2:00:04. 30-39: 1, Wyatt Jones, 2:04:44. 2, Chris Ball, 2:07:00. 3, Steve Kelly, 2:09:10. 40-49: 1, Stu Gaessner, 2:00:14. 2, Kala Judd, 2:06:10. 3, Courtney Seto, 2:06:23. 50-59: 1, Jimmy Kincaid, 2:15:37.

SURFSKI FEMALE

Open: 1, Maggie Twigg-Smith, 2:25:27. 2, Deanne Hemmens, 2:38:38.

OC-2

Mixed: 1, Creps/Bustos, 2:28:31. Male: 1, Viloria/Williams, 2:20:57.

SHORT COURSE (9 MILES)

OC-1 MALE

Open: 1, Jason Ignacio, 1:00:24. 2, William Anderson, 1:00:38. 3, Jace Faufata, 1:01:30. 18-younger: 1, Kalei Kahookele, 1:03:52. 2, Kekoa Kau, 1:06:16. 3, Rudy Goings, 1:08:54. 19-39: 1, Gavin Hanoa, 1:01:38. 2, Scott Erwin, 1:02:35. 3, Kyle Morioka, 1:02:46. 40-49: 1, John Wacker, 1:02:44. 2, Patrick Aweau, 1:04:19. 3, Charles Meyer, 1:04:45. 50-59: 1, Eric Soo, 1:05:43. 2, Paul Amoy, 1:07:55. 3, Neumann Shim, 1:10:22. 60-older: 1, Tom Conner, 1:02:32. 2, Jeff Metzger, 1:05:27. 3, Marshall Watson, 1:33:42.

OC-1 FEMALE

Open: 1, Jane McKee, 1:08:11. 2, Sarah Lar, 1:08:49. 3, Kehau Lau, 1:09:17. 18-younger: 1, Jerika Moniz, 1:12:48. 2, Julia Anderson, 1:12:59. 19-39: 1, Shien-Lu Stokesbarry, 1:10:42. 2, Heather Jeppesen, 1:12:55. 3, Leilani Loredo, 1:13:41. 40-49: 1, Kris Krengel, 1:12:51. 2, Laura Lapa, 1:13:00. 3, Kelly Smith, 1:21:56. 50-59: 1, Ann Dewey, 1:13:58. 2, Jane Duncan, 1:18:57. 3, Cindi Chess, 1:19:53.

SURFSKI MALE

Open: 1, Marshall Rosa, 56:47. 2, Kaihe Chong, 57:12. 3, Bob Rocheleau, 1:00:56. 18-younger: 1, Chris Fong, 1:04:46. 2, Trenton Dos, 1:04:59. 3, Justin Watts, 1:06:45. 19-39: 1, Patrick Shea, 1:03:38. 2, Will Gacutan, 1:14:52. 40-49: 1, Ray Connelly, 1:06:54. 2, John Kahalewale, 1:22:30. 3, Doug Smith, 1:23:14. 50-59: 1, Bill Meheula, 1:01:42. 2, Blane Chong, 1:06:41. 3, Phillip Gumbert, 1:17:13. 60-older: 1, Mark Buck, 1:01:18. 2, Dean Hayward, 1:08:47. 3, Pete Wylie, 1:16:36.

SURFSKI FEMALE

Open: 1, Robyn Singh, 1:10:35. 2, Mary Jo Gumbert, 1:16:27. 3, Linda Banfield, 1:16:56.

OC-2

Female: 1, Bradley/Slocumb, 1:12:28. 2, McNicoll/Fong, 1:16:57. 3, Lee/Bourdeau, 1:22:12. Male: 1, Lii/Von, 58:11. 2, Vain Gieson/Ekau, 58:40. 3, Wise/Meyer, 59:19. Mixed: 1, Bailey/Crabb, 1:00:02. 2, Aea/Aea, 1:03:40. 3, Ah Sam/Ah Sam, 1:06:51.

STAND-UP PADDLE

Female: 1, Morgan Hoesterey, 1:38:57. 2, Kim Vossman, 1:58:36. Male: 1, Edmund Pestana, 1:15:26. 2, Jeff Chang, 1:23:53.