Raiders finish 4th in WPIAL team rifle finals
Waynesburg Central was one of the smaller schools in the WPIAL Rifle Championships, but the Raiders showed themselves well by finishing fourth in the district final.
Waynesburg, who co-opts with Jefferson-Morgan, placed fourth out of seven schools with a score of 797-65x. The Raiders tied with Bethel Park, but edged the Black Hawks on the second tiebreaker, 896-72x-896-70x, with the ninth score added to the final total.
Waynesburg advances to the state team playoffs next Tuesday and Wednesday at Frazier-Simplex Rifle Club. The individual championships will be held Thursday with the top 15 advancing to the state tournament.
Colby Simkovic and Hunter Wasson were perfect for Waynesburg with a score of 100-10x.聽
Grace Kalsey (100-9x), Cameron Cernuska (100-5x), and Taylor Burnfield (100-5x) also shot 100.
Selena Phillips (99-9x), Abby Ozohonish (99-8x), and Bryce Bedelion (99-8x) rounded out the scoring for the Raiders.
Nick Guess (99-7x) and Shelby Burkett (99-6x) did not count in the final tally, though Guess’ final tally broke the tie for fourth place.
“The kids shot well,” said Waynesburg coach Rich Rush. “There’s very little room for error.
“I told our kids I want them to shoot their best. If we shoot our average, that’s a good thing. If we get beat, we get beat.
“Our season average was 798-60x. We had a lower score, but more ‘x’ scores.”
Rush also reminded his kids to remain focused because every score counted.
“We had nothing below 99-6x. We had solid scores one through 10. I told them don’t ever give up on a score. Our ninth score was the first tie-breaker. Both our ninth and 10th score beat (Bethel Park’s) ninth score,” praised Rush. “Today, they didn’t (give up) and it paid off.”
Hempfield won the team title with a score of 800-62x.
“Hempfield is a powerhouse,” said Rush.
Kayla Brownfield (100-9x), Charidan Updyke (100-9x), Levi Dunn (100-9x), Emily Thomas (100-8x), Meredith Martz (100-8x), Lydia Dunn (100-7x), Amanda Hardiman (100-6x), and Grace Dunn (100-x) counted for the Spartans.