After countless hours and days of shooting at targets from far away, the Air Riflery season comes to an end, and from the girls team coach, it paid off for the boys and girls team, despite the ups and downs that they encountered throughout the season. The Oahu Interscholastic Association (OIA) air rifle season ended on October 14, with the boys team winning first and the girls team placing second.
“It started off big, we ended up keeping the 27 student athletes,” Moanalua Girls Air Rifle coach Barbara Lane said. “It was the biggest team ever in the Moanalua program. The boys team was about the same [size] since the 2021 season, but last year the girls team had a drastic drop in members.” Lane said, as having a big team meant more people to handle during the season.
Even with a larger team than usual, there was still enough lanes for the student-athletes to practice their shooting, “Practices ran efficiently and smoothly with a high level of focus, but when it’s match day, people can notice that some of the [shooters] get anxious with fear of the competition or the teams that they face against,” Lane said.
She explained that the other teams improved across the board this year, and the level of competition was higher.
“I’m just proud of the team members,” Lane said. “It takes a lot of contribution and effort from every member to create a situation for succeeding and being on the same page. That’s something that I really appreciate this season, is the team effort.”
States will be held on October 31, at Blaisdell Center.
OIA boys air riflery champions
Top row left to right: Ian Solman, Ryan Cochling
Bottom row, left to right: Bronson Sandys, Evanson Shimoda (Michael Voss)
