Penn-Trafford rifle team acquits itself well at WPIALs

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, February 12, 2018 | 11:00 PM

Hunter Greyno was on target in his final event with the Penn-Trafford rifle team.

The senior wrapped up his career by shooting a 200-16x to claim 17th out of 81 shooters at the WPIAL individual championships, two spots outside of making it to states.

“I definitely was not surprised,” Penn-Trafford coach Diana Long said. “He has been my leader throughout the entire season.”

It wasn't his first experience competing at the WPIAL event. As a sophomore, he finished in 44th and followed by finishing in 59th as a junior.

“He was obviously familiar with the situation,” Long said. “But that doesn't take away from the nerves. I think that affected him a little bit, but he stuck with it.”

Long described Greyno as cool and collected throughout the season. Once he began shooting 100s, it just became a matter of going out and doing it.

“His overall confidence improved,” Long said. “Even if he had a bad match and dropped a point, he didn't let it get to him. He would come right back and produce a perfect score.”

The Warriors had four other shooters compete at the event. Senior Josh Lewis finished 54th with a 199-8x, and junior Morgan Nedley shot a 198-16x to take 55th. Tyler Shurina finished 56th with a 198-14x.

Sophomore Brieanna Deyarmin finished 59th with a 198-10x.

“Tyler was there the year before and fared a little better,” Long said. “He was coming back from being sick. The other three had never been to WPIALs, so it was a whole new experience.

“I knew they were a little nervous, but they performed perfectly fine.”

Long particularly was pleased with Lewis making it to the individual championships. The senior is a four-year member of the team and reached his potential in his final season.

“I couldn't be any more excited for him,” Long said. “He came out of the gate running this year and was producing scores he never produced before. For him to make it to WPIALs in his final year meant a lot to me as a coach.”

Penn-Trafford finished 3-5 in Section 3 to claim third place. The finish allowed the Warriors to compete in a wild-card match Feb. 2 for a spot at the WPIAL team championships. The third-place finishers from the three sections got to compete at the event.

And while Penn-Trafford was unable to top Trinity or West Greene, Long said she wasn't disappointed. Several top shooters for the Warriors were unable to attend the match as they were battling illnesses.

“That was something the previous two years that we never had a chance to do,” Long said. “It made us a step closer to making it to the WPIAL team championships.”

Penn-Trafford will lose eight seniors to graduation this year. Long said it is the largest graduating class she has had.

“Saying goodbye won't be easy. It is going to be one of my toughest moments to get through at the banquet,” Long said. “Some of them I have gotten to know so well with our talks when we are at the club. It is kind of like losing your own kid.”

Nathan Smith is a freelance writer.

Tags: Penn-Trafford