Jackson Jungling

Jackson Jungling has a plan for maximizing his performance at the rifle range.

Judging from the results, nobody is about to debunk his approach.

For the second straight year, Butler’s junior captured the WPIAL individual championship Thursday with a score of 200-18x at Dormont-Mt. Lebanon Sportsmen's Club.

An “x” signifies a bullseye.

“I’ve learned to get a good night’s sleep before a competition,” said Jungling, who is also the defending PIAA champion. “I eat a good breakfast, but then don’t eat anything for two hours before shooting, just drink a lot of water.

“For the last 15 to 20 minutes before it’s my turn, I find a quiet spot where I can just sit and remain calm.”

It’s a routine that has benefited not only Jungling himself, but Butler’s team. He scored a perfect 100 in all 10 of Butler’s matches in the regular season, helping the Tornado win the WPIAL Section 4 title with an undefeated record.

In Tuesday’s district team tournament, Jungling shot a team-leading 100-10x to help the Golden Tornado place second behind champion Hempfield and qualify for the state team tournament.

Also shooting 100 that day for Butler were Alyssa Miller (9x), Lucy Doutt (8x), Andrew Wolfe (7x), Colton Beveridge (7x) and Mikayla Crouch (6x).

Butler will attempt to duplicate last year’s performance when the Tornado won the state team crown after not winning WPIAL gold.

The PIAA team competition will be held Tuesday, and the individual event Wednesday, both at Dormont-Mt. Lebanon Sportsmen's Club.

Jungling’s district title is the fourth for Butler.

“I heard some people referring to me at the range, saying ‘There’s the guy who won last year ... Wonder if he can repeat,’” Jungling said. “I felt a little bit of pressure because of that, but it didn’t affect my performance.”