Aiming high
BUTLER TWP — The Butler High School rifle team is aiming high these days.
The Golden Tornado have not won the WPIAL championship since 1990. Last year marked the first time the squad even qualified for the WPIAL tourney in 12 years.
This year, the team is off to a 9-0 start — and building momentum with only a handful of matches left before the WPIAL gathering.
“We have a lot of returning people, so the experience is there,” 12th-year coach Eric Beveridge said. “The kids' confidence level is up there.
“We're capable of winning the WPIAL this year. It's a matter of going into that competition and performing.”
The WPIAL consists of 15 rifle teams, divided into three sections.
The top two teams from each section qualify for the WPIAL meet.
Butler placed sixth in the six-team event last year.
“Just the experience of getting there made the kids hungry to improve,” Beveridge said.
Beveridge's assistant coaches, Matthew Hutchinson and Jared Vance, are in their seventh and second years, respectively.
Butler had 56 kids try out for this year's team. The coaches kept 43 — 22 on varsity.
Top shooters this season include seniors Alissa Wulff, Emily Black, Rachel Laughlin, Wes McCurdy, Zane Burnett, Hayden Burd and sophomore Luke Montag.
Tri-captains Carlie Gallagher, Ben Crusan and Rebecca Frazier — all seniors — have a combined 10 years of varsity experience.
“Our scoring has been pretty balanced all year,” Beveridge said. “The attitude has been exceptional. Everybody supports each other.
“This is the only sport where boys and girls compete together and post a composite score. It's a total team.”
The majority of rifle team members compete solely in this sport.
“It's all about focus and concentration,” Gallagher said. “You have to totally zone in, lock in.”“The slightest movement while you're shooting can cause you to miss the target completely,” Crusan said.The rifle team puts in plenty of time. It has two matches each week, along with two practices.Joining Butler in Section 3 are Hempfield, Indiana, Plum and Penn-Trafford.“We usually have to travel an hour or so for every road match,” Crusan said. “Plum is the closest school to us that has a rifle team.”These kids are serious about the sport and the captains are serious about their responsibilities. They were elected as captains by their teammates.“We make sure everything is being run effectively,” Crusan said. “We take care of equipment, help out in assisting scoring and targets, and tally up the scores.”Frazier said they try to provide leadership for the younger members of the team as well.“We give pointers, tips to the new kids on the team,” she said. “We want to make sure they're developing so the program will continue to do well after we leave.”Butler lost 20 total matches over the previous three seasons, including three defeats last year.“We were good last year, just not quite there yet,” Frazier said. “There's a different feel to this year. We're more relaxed and confident when we shoot.”Both teams use 10 shooters in a match.The top eight scores are kept.“Your individual score is important, obviously, but the team concept comes first,” Frazier said. “We have to do well as a team to succeed, so being positive with everybody is critical.”“We're talking to each other a lot more this year,” Gallagher said. “That total support and inclusion, knowing we're doing this together, makes a difference.”
