The keys to the Mid-Pacific girls canoe paddling team this season have been timing, heart and biathlons.

The Owls won their first Interscholastic League of Honolulu title and are looking to cap their season by winning the First Hawaiian Bank Canoe Paddling State Championship tomorrow at Hilo Bay.

The Mid-Pacific paddlers have gone through a lot of "pain" this season and it has nothing to do with the ILH's 3- to 5-mile races courses. It's the training they do at Ala Moana Beach Park.

"Oh, man, biathlons and running. Pain, nothing but pain, but overall it benefits us," said senior Mallory Kurosumi.

Added senior Ashlyn Young: "Biathlons are a pain. You feel like you're going to drown because you have to run, too. It works, but it's not the greatest thing in the world."

Gregg Kaneko has been on the Mid-Pacific girls coaching staff for 11 years — six as an assistant and five as head coach.

He said the Owls have used biathlons as a form of training for six years, and it's become a trend among paddling teams. The girls participate in biathlons twice a week and the course gets longer as the season progresses, Kaneko added.

"We run the length of the beach and then they jump in the water. It's a pretty good workout for the girls," said Kaneko, a 1996 Mid-Pacific graduate.

"This is something we came up with. We figured we should be using the upper body in our land training, so it worked out good."

All paddlers have to pass a swimming test, but that doesn't mean it's easy for all of them. The fastest Mid-Pacific team members complete the biathlons in 10 to 15 minutes, while the slowest come in between 20 and 25 minutes, according to Kaneko.

"For those of us who can't swim (well), it's a challenge, but we've managed to get through," Kurosumi said.

The other team members are junior Rhonda Aoki, twin seniors Leigh and Jean Cullinan, and junior Katharine Levins. The alternate is junior Kylie Miyashiro.

All have been on the varsity team for two years except for Young, who is a four-year member.

"Our team has a really good bond," Kurosumi said. "We're about having fun and I think that's our focus. What we have that benefits us the most is a lot of heart."

The Owls won four ILH races this season with one second and one third.

"The ILH title came down to the last race, between us and Punahou, and we won by a small margin," Kaneko said.

Mid-Pacific's boys also had success this year, winning their seventh overall league title.

ILH paddlers spend about 50 minutes in the canoe to complete a 5-mile course.

The state meet at Hilo Bay will have a half-mile course so the Owls and other ILH schools will have to use shorter, quicker strokes.

"Our stroke will have to be different," Young said. "We just have to get everything down within 4 minutes, 4 1/2 minutes."

History says it shouldn't be much of a problem. ILH schools have won all five girls and boys state titles.

Three Maui Interscholastic League schools and two O'ahu Interscholastic Association teams have won the mixed (3 boys, 3 girls) division state titles.

Reach Kyle Sakamoto at ksakamoto@honoluluadvertiser.com.