A trial run with little expectations turned into a big victory.

Kevin Sperling won Saturday's overall title at the Hawaiian Islands Bodybuilding & Figure Championships at the Blaisdell Concert Hall.

Sperling, who also won the open heavyweight title on Saturday, won the overall title in 2007, but didn't compete last year. This year's competition was to serve as a trial run for competitions later this summer.

"I'm very pleased with how I looked," said Sperling, a 37-year-old Navy chief petty officer. "Winning this time was better than winning last time. I didn't expect to win this time. There was better competition, I wasn't expecting it. I knew I looked my best but I didn't go in with the expectation of winning."

The biggest change between 2007 and 2009 was a nutrionist, who has been working with Sperling for the past six, seven months. Sperling, who's 5 feet 10 and 220 pounds, considers his nutrionist a "bodybuilding guru" and they work on nutrition, supplements and workout and cardio plans.

"My physique, it's (more) noticeable," said Sperling, who packed on 10 pounds of lean muscle mass since working with his nutritionist. "I'm able to grow, maintain a lot of my muscle mass while dieting, which is important for bodybuilding."

With the win, Sperling qualifies for the USA Championships to be held July 24 and 25 in Las Vegas. In 2007, he placed 10th out of 23 competitors. He's also competing in a Los Angeles show on July 18.

A former lightweight and heavyweight champion in Texas, Sperling said the support he's received here has helped him — from words of encouragement to promoters who have let him be a guest poser at competitions.

"I've been here for five years, it's a very friendly family-type of atmosphere here," Sperling said. "The support comes in various forms. Just little words of encouragement goes a long way."

For more on the Hawaiian Islands Bodybuilding & Figure Championships, visit Lori Okami's blog at http://bestronglivelong.honadvblogs.com

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS BODYBUILDING & FIGURE CHAMPIONSHIPS

AT BLAISDELL CONCERT HALL

SATURDAY

MEN

JUNIOR

Lightweight—1, Gil Guilang. Midweight—1, Adam Kuwasaki. 2, Kelly Valdez. Light heavyweight—1, David Baptista. 2, Christopher Ashley. 3, Tim Gramp. 4, Wade Chandler. 5, John Sena. Heavyweight—1, Shane Lyman. 2, William Sionesiri. Overall winner—David Baptista.

MASTER

Lightweight—1, Joe Yezzi. 2, Jerry Snyder. 3, Frank Clanton. Midweight—1, Kenneth Baum. 2, Jason Roberts. 3, Rob Day. Heavyweight—1, Miguel Diaz. 2, Allan Mahuka. 3, Bobby McShane. Overall winner—Miguel Diaz.

OPEN

Lightweight—1, Marcus Allen. 2, Chauncey Murakami. Midweight—1, Jerry Calvin. 2, Adam Dupart. 3, Joe Lake. Light heavyweight—1, Tryson Shigemoto. 2, Nos Racoma. 3, Maxxxwell Carlisle. 4, Cordell Nixon.

Heavyweight—1, Kevin Sperling. 2, Kamuela Chun. 3, Chad Mahuka. 4, Mathew Cerniglia. Super heavyweight—1, Ernest Chang. Overall winner—Kevin Sperling.

WOMEN

BIKINI DIVISION

Short class—1, Toby Tokunaga. 2, Jacquelyn Geringer. 3, Saquawia Funderberk. Tall class—1, Amelia Delgadillo. 2, Celsa Day. Overall winner—Toby Tokunaga.

FIGURE DIVISION

Short class—1, Lori Brooks. 2, Donnamarie Anderson. 3, Shinobu Anderson. 4, Angela Manzanres. Medium class—1, Sarah Shea. 2, Amanda Magalhaes. Tall class—1, Tanya Castro. 2, Mary Shonly. 3, Tina Iha. 4, Kawehi Namuao. Overall winner—Lori Brooks.