Second in league, first in state.

That pattern happens often enough for talent in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu. It held true yesterday in the Civilian Marksmanship Program/HHSAA Air Riflery State Championships at Blaisdell Center.

Kristie Thornburg of Sacred Hearts finished with a score of 540 (185 prone, 171 standing, 184 kneeling) to win the girls crown, edging past ILH champion and teammate Cecilia Wong (538).

"I feel very happy. I didn’t think I shot that good today. But then I found out my score and I was like, ‘Ah! I shot awesome," said Thornburg, who noted that the prone position (on the ground) was a tough challenge indoors.

Shooting indoors was a change for shooters after being outdoors all season. The concrete floor in the exhibition hall requires some warm clothing, like the hoodie Thornburg wore.

"It’s really slippery and cold, so prone, you’re slipping everywhere," said Thornburg, who was 10th last year.

Sacred Hearts won the girls team title handily with a score of 2,106. In addition to Thornburg and Wong, Michelle Uchida (527) and Laurie Tam (501) boosted the Lancers to their fourth title in the past five seasons.

"We worked so hard and we earned it," said Thornburg, who balances her class schedule with air riflery and cheerleading.

Her advice to aspiring champions?

"Just have a little patience and don’t rush the shot. Really work toward what you want because that’s what I did," Thornburg said. "From shooting since freshman year, I’ve really just mentally changed."

Uchida finished third with 527 to give the Lancers a dominant 1-2-3 finish atop the leaderboard.

Uy-Di Nancy Le of Kalani, a runner-up in the Oahu Interscholastic Association championships last week, placed fourth in the state with a score of 525. Leigh Williams of Waiakea placed fifth (525), outpointed by Le in the tiebreaker formula.

Arden Harada (523) of Kalani placed sixth, followed by Courtney Won (523) of Punahou, Deidre Monroy (521) of Leilehua and Shaynee Shirai (519) of Konawaena. Angela Anzai (519) of Pearl City rounded out the top 10.

Punahou (2,054) placed second and Waiakea (2,004) was third.

The boys winner was Keanu Paikai, a Kamehameha junior who was on the junior varsity team just one year ago. Paikai shot a 552 (194, 177, 181), setting a personal record and surprising himself as he came within five points of the state-tournament record of 557 set by Punahou’s Vicci Yau in 2002. The boys’ mark of 553 was set in 1999 by Kenneth Tong of Saint Louis.

"I’ve had more time to practice and figured out what I need to do to get better," said Paikai, who scored 550 in a national tournament in New Mexico. "I’m very happy. I did my best. My team did a good job."

Even with the high score, Paikai didn’t feel comfortable at the start in the air-conditioned, windless setting, and he gathered himself as the standing portion of the shooting ended. It’s his weakest stance, but experience has brought poise to his game.

"I learned to be more patient. I learned not to stress out. It’s mostly mental, not physical. If you don’t have that mental concept," the ILH champion said. "People will stress out if they shoot a bad shot. The whole thing is I try to forget about it. I had some iffy shots. It’s states, so it’s kind of stressful."

Eric Kawahara (535) of Waiakea was second and Paul Berce (533) of St. Anthony placed third. Noah Staggs (532) of Saint Louis was fourth and Brandon Arakaki (532) of Kalani finished fifth. Sean Lamorena (519), Tyler Hamada (516), Luke Camarillo (514), Cody Sugai (513) and Matthew Inn (512) rounded out the top 10.

Waiakea, led by Kawahara and Camarillo, won the boys team championship with 2,053 points. Pearl City (2,047) was runner-up and Kalani (1,990) was third.

Waiakea’s victory ended a string of five titles in a row by Punahou.