Not much separates Heather Horn and Simone Riford, seniors on the Punahou School girls' air riflery team.

Over the summer, they traveled together to the Junior Olympics in Kentucky and to an advanced shooters camp in Minnesota. They also are spearheading a campaign to raise funds for the local chapter of the Friends of the National Rifle Association.

Their closeness also carries over to the shooting range. During the Interscholastic League of Honolulu season, Horn, the defending state individual champion, averaged 267.2, while Riford, who was 10th in the state last year, averaged 267.0 (of a possible 300). They were the top two in the league.

Today, the duo will try to help the Buffanblu win the Civilian Marksmanship Program Air Riflery high school championships at the Blaisdell Exhibition Hall. Sacred Hearts Academy, which won the past two team titles, has won four of the six tournaments. Punahou won the other two titles in 2001 and 2002.

"A lot of it is the individual has to do well for the team to succeed," said Horn, who turns 17 on Nov. 14.

The two have done all they can to improve their game. Both went to the National Junior Advanced Shooters Camp in Grand Rapids, Minn. They practiced shooting all day. After dinner, they attended classes teaching the mental aspects of the sport.

"Basically, it's riflery boot camp," Horn said.

They also gained valuable experience at the Junior Olympics National Championships in Bowling Green, Ky. They actually were two of five from Hawai'i who qualified. The two had asked the NRA for funding to help defray travel costs, but were denied because they learned Hawai'i never established a Friends of NRA committee or raised funds to contribute to the national body. While Horn and Riford were able to come up with money on their own, the others weren't as fortunate. So the two have planned a Friends of NRA fundraising dinner Nov. 13. Horn and Hoku-award winning recording artist Audy Kimura co-chair the Friends of NRA committee in Hawai'i, a charitable arm for the NRA Foundation that supports youth and adult shooting programs, teaches firearms safety and funds improvements for ranges.

"We want other shooters from Hawai'i to experience what we did," Riford said.

Obviously, the two take their sport seriously. They also like to break down some myths about their sport. Because marksmen are inactive in that they shoot from the prone, kneeling and standing positions, they aren't viewed as athletic.

"There is a physical component," Horn said. "(After a while), the rifle gets heavy."

Although Riford says the sports is "98 percent mental," they do incorporate weight training to strengthen their backs and abdominals.

"Balance is a super big factor," Riford said. "Working on your back and abs are the key to balance."

Riford even uses daily routines to work on strength. She said she brushes her teeth while standing on one leg.

As for the mental part of the game, each has her own way of getting focused for matches. Riford likes to listen to music, preferably Queen's "We Are the Champions" and "We Will Rock You." Horn likes to recite the "bus chant," or the chant the team uses on the bus taking it to the matches.

"It's a stressful sport, but it also relieves a lot of stress," Horn said of air riflery.

The sport has been especially beneficial to Horn, who has Attention Deficit Disorder and dyslexia.

"It's good for emotional discipline," Horn said.

Meanwhile, Horn has her sights on repeating. No one, boy or girl, has ever defended the individual title. Last year, Horn and 2003 champion Deana Sin of Sacred Hearts had aggregate scores of 535. But Horn was declared champion by a tiebreaking procedure. The previous year, she finished fifth. All she wanted to do was improve.

"I wasn't expecting to win last year at all," Horn said. "I hope to win again. I'll try to do my best."

Notes: Big Island Interscholastic Federation champion Waiakea is the state boys' defending champion. The Warriors dethroned Saint Louis, which won the first five state crowns.

Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at skaneshiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.