Feb 29, 2016 3 min read

The sport of rifle continues to grow in the WPIAL to the point where the tournament might be too big for one venue.

The quarters were awfully cramped this year at Dormont-Mt. Lebanon Sportsmen’s Club.

In the past couple of years, we’ve seen a massive increase in the number of shooters at the individual tournament.

In 2004, for example, there were 46 competitors at the WPIAL Individual Tournament. In 2012, that number was 57. Last Thursday at the Frazier-Simplex Rifle Club, there were 81 shooters vying for a WPIAL title.

How did this happened?

More schools added or brought back competitive rifle programs. In recent years, we’ve seen Waynesburg, West Greene, Penn Trafford, Plum and Hempfield added programs.

Rumor has it South Park also is considering a program.

Add in a number of single shooters from various WPIAL schools who competed and you have a lot of kids jammed into one small building.

It’s a problem for the WPIAL, albeit a good problem. The sport is growing despite the misgivings of some individuals who don’t understand it and think it’s a bad idea to teach kids to shoot properly.

• Jessica Baker’s score of 200-20X with three center shots that won her the WPIAL Individual championship was the highest at the event since John Hupp of McGuffey fired a 200-20X with six center shots to win in 2011.

Interestingly enough Hupp won the title on a tiebreaker – more center shots – over Avella’s Sylvia Dreistadt, who also shot a 200-20X but with four center shots.

As is usually the case, it’s not what you shoot, but when you shoot it.

• Seven shooters had perfect scores in section matches this season to win the Dave Cramer Award, which is named after the long-time supporter of youth shooting.

They included Bobby Carr, Jenna Yezovich and Sarah Rodocker of WPIAL champion Woodland Hills, Mason Kemerer of Hempfield, Natalie Myers of Bethel Park, Madison Ryburn of McGuffey and Collin Page of Trinity.

Page, incidentally, shot his perfect section season with a rifle formerly owned by Cramer, who died in 2012.

• The 2015 bear harvest came in officially at 3,748, making it the third-highest total in Pennsylvania history.

More impressively, 68 of the bear taken topped the 500-pound mark, an increase of 17 from last season. Of those 68 bear, 18 topped 600 pounds.

The top two bears both came in at 713 pounds. One was taken in Blair County on opening day. The second was taken Nov. 23 in Mifflin County.

Lycoming County had the largest harvest with 312, and while, once again, Washington and Greene counties were shut out, there were bear taken all around us. Six were taken in Allegheny County, up from two the previous year. There were 87 shot in Fayette County and even one in Beaver County.

Outdoors Editor F. Dale Lolley can be reached at dlolley@observer-reporter.com.