Meilin Jia-Richards shared her win with her Punahou teammates.

The senior won yesterday's Interscholastic League of Honolulu precision riflery championships, finishing a windy morning with a 473 aggregate at Saint Louis' Joseph M Silva Rifle Range. Haunani Akana of Sacred Hearts, Jia-Richards' top competitor during the ILH season, was second at 466 and Sacred Hearts' Caitlin Mori third at 451.

"My spotter (Bertram Weeks) was very good today," Jia-Richards said. "The team, we all help each other on every shot."

The top 20 competitors from the ILH regular season advanced to the individual championship. Competitors shoot shoulder-to-shoulder for two rounds of 20 shots each. The top eight advance to the finals, with their scores carrying over. In the final round, competitors shoot in sequential order with each shooter having just 75 seconds to complete their shot before the next one shoots. All shooting is done from the standing position. The ILH is the only league in the state that sponsors precision riflery.

"She has a very stable position, even temperament, doesn't get mad," Punahou coach Karen Finley said of Jia-Richards. "If she doesn't like a shot, she works on fixing it."

Jia-Richards led with a 379 aggregate entering the final round, bolstered by three rounds of 96 (out of a possible 100) that she shot earlier. She finished with a final-round best of 94. Akana was second at 374 entering the final round, where she shot a 92.

"She's a very good shooter," Jia-Richards said of Akana. "Most of the season, she shot better than me."

The sport is coed, and Jayson Lum of Saint Louis was the only male competitor to reach the finals. He finished fourth with a 448 aggregate. Saint Louis and Sacred Hearts compete as a coed team under coach Alan Tokumura. Academy of the Pacific's Korie Higa also shot a 94 in the final round to move from eighth to fifth.

"Our team did good," said Akana, a junior. "We had a second, third and eighth. We all did well, including Jayson."

Aside from the competition from Akana, who had the best average from the regular season, Jia-Richards gets competition from her teammates.

"Kristen Lee, during practice, they compete with each other," Finley said. "She (Jia-Richards) always helps her team."

Compared to air riflery, which is sponsored in the fall by the state's five leagues, precision riflery uses more expensive rifles and requires more specialized equipment such as jackets and shoes.

NOTES

Texas Christian University, Air Force and Nevada's rifle teams competed Friday at Saint Louis. TCU defeated Air Force in a smallbore riflery match, 2,260-2,232. Simone Riford (Punahou '06) shot a 569 for TCU. TCU also defeated Nevada and Air Force in air riflery with Riford shooting a 569, placing her third. Nevada's Heather Horn (Punahou '06) shot a 556 in air rifle to place 13th. Nevada and host TCU qualified for the NCAA Championships on March 13 and 14.