Hawaii CMP Boy & Girls Championships, mainstream coverag

[Barry Markowitz]

Sacred Hearts shooter has been on target

By Stacy Kaneshiro
Advertiser Staff Writer

Now Deana Sin knows what her targets feel like.


Deana Sin closes her eyes and slips into the "zone" before pulling the trigger. Tomorrow, she hopes to be the first repeat winner at the state air riflery tournament.
Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser



What: Civilian Marksmanship Program Boys & Girls Air Riflery Championships.
When: Tomorrow. Girls at 9 a.m., boys at noon. Awards ceremony about 3:30 p.m.

Where: Blaisdell Center Exhibition Hall

Admission: Free

Parking: $4.

The Sacred Hearts Academy senior will try to be the first to repeat as state air riflery champion of either gender at tomorrow's sixth annual tournament. Competition begins at 9 a.m. at the Blaisdell Arena Exhibition Hall.

"I started feeling the pressure at the ILH meet," Sin said. "I feel like all the eyes are on me. Last year was a lot easier because all I wanted to do was just keep up with my team."

The Lancers are the defending team champion and winners of three of the previous five meets.

The sport, she said, is mentally taxing. It's hard on the eyes, as she has 20 shots in each the prone, kneeling and standing positions. It's about two hours of focusing on a target 33 feet away. To prepare, besides practice, she tries to relax the night before.

"I do a lot of resting and try to relax," she said.

Saint Louis/Sacred Hearts coach Nathan Wharton said Sin has a strong mind that enables her to concentrate on her tasks.

"She's picky with what she does," he said. "She's not lazy."

Sin said she was introduced to air riflery in high school. She was on the JV her freshman year and made the varsity by her sophomore year. She showed promise, finishing fourth in the state. Last year, her 543 score was the second highest in the tournament's brief history.


DAENA SIN
Sin said she took up the sport at the urging of friends. Her success comes as a surprise.

"I never imagined this," she said. "It was just something I wanted to try and just stuck with it."

Despite her success, Sin said she will probably be pulling the trigger for the last time tomorrow. She said unless there is a substantial scholarship offer, she will just concentrate on getting a degree in either business or science.

"I'm keeping an open mind," she said.

Just to change the pace, she is on the school's sailing team in the spring. And somewhere in her schedule, she works at Starbucks in Manoa, where she gets the typical question.

"'You shoot?'" she said her co-workers ask. "They're kind of shocked."

Sin is one of 11 qualifiers for the girls' competition from the ILH. There are 60 girls entries in all with the O'ahu Interscholastic Association taking 25 slots. Sacred Hearts is one of 10 schools qualified to compete for the team championship.

Meanwhile, Saint Louis is looking for its sixth consecutive team title. The Crusaders have won every team title since the tournament's inception in 1999, all under coach Zig Look, who coached both Saint Louis and Sacred Hearts. Look, however, has turned the reins to Wharton. Look moved to Reno, Nev., but is visiting and will be at the tournament.



NOTES

The ILH shoots 10 shots per position, so the league's best score is 300. Sin said she averaged about 260. In the state tournament, shooters get 20 shots per position for a maximum score of 600. A bull's eye is worth 10 points with points decreasing each ring away from the eye. Most meets during the leagues' seasons are held in outdoor ranges, where shooters have to adjust for the elements. At the indoor Blaisdell Exhibition Hall, the shooters biggest adjustment is lighting.