Punahou junior Kristen Lee shot the tournament of her life yesterday, scoring 541 out of a possible 600 points to win the Interscholastic League of Honolulu girls varsity individual air riflery championship at St. Louis.

Sacred Hearts' Mai Oseto (536) placed second and Samantha Niver (530) third.

Christopher Lam of St. Louis scored 518 points to win the boys championship. Punahou's Davin Lee placed second with 516, while teammate Nigel Kojimoto and Academy of the Pacific's Chris Sciotto both scored 515. Kojimoto was awarded third place by virtue of placing first overall in the kneeling relay.

"Kristen was improving all year long, but her score today was way higher than anything she had been doing," said Punahou coach Karen Finley. "It was very impressive."

Competitors shot in the prone, standing and kneeling positions. Kristen Lee placed first in standing, second in kneeling and fourth in prone — an impressive feat considering this was just her second year of shooting, Finley said.

"There are naturals (in the sport) and some of it has to do with temperament," Finley said. "If something goes wrong, she handles it calmly and just takes it in stride. She doesn't throw things down; she just focuses on the next shot."

Lam said it seemed as though the rest of the boys competitors were having an off day. And while he rated his effort as simply "OK," it was good enough to earn him an ILH title.

"When you shoot, you're not supposed to focus on what other people are doing," he said. "You're just supposed to focus on what you're doing and how to better yourself. It's mostly a mental game."

Lam said the win will give him confidence going into the Oct. 23 state tournament, but again, he said winning will be a matter of focusing on the task at hand.

"I try not to think if I'm going to win or lose," he said. "I just have to shoot the best I can."

Reach Michael Tsai at mtsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.