Kamehameha air riflery coach George Van Gieson doesn’t pay attention to scores.
He teaches his shooters the finer aspects of the sport, and then he stresses the important things in life.
“I know it’s boring, but I want them to learn to work together, have respect for each other, their parents, their school, their families and each other,” Van Gieson said.
The Warriors’ Logan Aruga and Taylor Au, he said, have taken to his sports-as-a-metaphor-for-life philosophy. The juniors have given their coach something in return: a compelling reason to start following scores.
Aruga claimed the Big Island Interscholastic Federation air riflery title on Saturday, edging his teammate by the narrowest of margins (514-513) at Waiakea High.
“We expected them to do well,” Van Gieson said, “but we didn’t think they’d finish 1-2.”
The best score of the day belonged to Waiakea senior Maileen Nakashima, who broke a tie with teammate Jamie Ikeda in last of three positions, kneeling, to win the girls title with a 519.
“It was a giant relief,” Nakashima said. “I’ve done this since my freshman year, and it’s a lot of work.”
Nakashima and Aruga are both first-time champions, but neither victory was considered a surprise. Nakashima entered as the top seed, while Aruga was seeded second.
The first victory of Nakashima’s air riflery career came when she was a freshman. She was tabbed as student-manager material until she won a shootoff. She also tried track and field as a freshman, but she realized she didn’t have the talent or passion for the sport that she found in air riflery.
“I really think there is a very strong balance between the mental and physical aspects,” she said. “Physically, it’s just practice, practice, practice at my my house.
“Mentally, it takes a lot of effort to put all that energy into all your shots. It takes a lot of mental stamina. It’s kind off difficult.”
The handiwork of Aruga and Au and a third-place finish by Hilo’s Wyatt Wilson kept perennial power Waiakea out of the top three.
“That might be the first time that’s happened,” Van Gieson said. “But they will be back at states.”
Waiakea’s Guy Yokoe, the top seed, took fourth.
After comparing results from Oahu schools, Van Gieson expects BIIF shooters to make a strong showing Oct. 28 at the Hawaii High School Athletic Association championships in Honolulu. The Waiakea girls and boys have struck gold either individually or team-wise each of the past four years.
“Waiakea always carries the pennant for the Big Island, and now we’re here to help them,” Van Gieson said.
Kamehameha’s Kealapua Bernabe, the defending girls champion, finished third, and Waiakea’s Tiara Pacheco and Hilo’s Liza Saludares rounded out the top five.
Nakashima was looking forward to competing with teammates Ikeda, Amber Nagata and Allena Shimabukuro at states. The quartet already has helped the Warriors add to their collection of BIIF team titles.
“The girls team is really strong, and I have high hopes that we can place,” Nakashima said.
Other girls qualifiers at states (based on the regular season) are: Bernabe, Saludares, Kamehameha’s Jessie Coney and Kaleikaumaka Lee and Christian Liberty’s Janae Pacheco. The alternates are Waiakea’s Taylor Nishimura and Kamehameha’s Hanah Pavao.
Yokoe and teammates Tre Soultz, Dillon Jon Gabriel and Trent Taniguchi reached states by carrying Waiakea to the boys team title. They will be joined by Aruga, Au, Wilson, Kamehameha’s Kahekili Donner, Konawaena’s Mikhail Watkins and Waiakea’s Joshua Ohara. The alternates are Waiakea’s Bryson Nakao and Kamehameha’s Preston Lee Ching.