If, as Punahou coach Karen Finley quips, the most difficult thing for teenagers to do is stay still and pay attention to details, the winners of yesterday's Interscholastic League of Honolulu air riflery individual championships can lay claim to being among the most impressive athletes at their respective schools.

Sacred Hearts shooter Haunani Akana scored an aggregate 541 points to once again edge rival Meilin Jia-Richards (538) of Punahou to win the title. Punahou's Lauren Riford (535) and Sacred Hearts' Caitlin Mori (530) placed third and fourth, respectively.

Punahou's Alex Char dominated the boys competition, registering the highest scores in the prone, standing, and kneeling positions for an aggregate score of 535. Teammates Bert Weeks (508) and Chris Han (507) placed second and third, respectively, followed by Maryknoll's Chad Asato (500).

A mix of outside factors contributed to somewhat modest performances by the assembled shooters. Several of the participants spent the morning taking their PSAT tests. Overcast conditions also led to poor lighting conditions inside the Joseph M Silva Rifle Range at St. Louis.

Akana's win over Jia-Richards was no surprise to anyone who had watched the two battle over the course of the regular season.

Their season averages were nearly identical and, as top guns on their respective squads, they helped to stage one of the most hotly contested team championship showdowns in history as Sacred Hearts took the title over Punahou by a single point last week.

"The difference between us and Punahou has been so close in terms of shooters," said Sacred Hearts and Saint Louis coach Alan Tokumura. "(Akana and Jia-Richards) have been battling all season, and it will be the same at States."

Cecilia Wong of Sacred Hearts took the junior varsity girls title with an aggregate score of 529, followed by Punahou's Criste Arlynne (525) and Courtney Won (499), and Kamehameha's Larissa Ogawa (498).

Punahou's Alexander Kimura scored 490 total points in the boys' junior varsity championship. St. Louis' Trevor Harada (488) took second, followed by Mid-Pacific's Jacob Oleshansky (469) and Kamehameha's Mark Kauanui (461).

In just its second season of competition, Island Pacific Institute managed to place two boys junior varsity shooters in the top 10: Elliot Chen at No. 6 and Christian Nelligan at No. 9.

IPI head coach James Nelligan took yesterday's event as a sign of progress for his young charges. Like many other local riflery programs, Nelligan works with students who have little or no shooting experience before they join the team.

"It's usually better that way because you don't have to undo their bad habits," he said.

"People say that these kids aren't athletes, but unlike baseball or football, there are no breaks in this sport. They have to sit for hours at a time, sweating under layers of clothes that they put on to help remain steady, and focus on their target because this is a sport that is decided by millimeters. They're definitely athletes."