Butler’s co-ed rifle team won its second straight state title last month. Submitted Photo

Butler’s rifle team played the waiting game ... and won.

A week after placing second in the WPIAL in February, the Golden Tornado tallied a score of 1,019.3 at the state competition Feb. 17 at Dormont-Mt. Lebanon Sportsmen's Club.

That effort was the best of the four teams present that day, a field that included Hempfield, West Greene and Armstrong. But two other competitions, one in the central part of the state and another in the east, still needed to be held before the final standings could be determined.

“We had to wait a week before we found out the results,” Butler coach Eric Beveridge said.

When they finally came in, Butler was still on top, with Hempfield placing second at 1,013. The Spartans had topped Butler at the earlier district championship. In fact, this is the second straight year Butler won a state title after falling short at WPIALs.

“I was happy with the turnaround,” Beveridge said. “Obviously, we want to win everything, but we didn’t let (placing second at WPIALs) bother us.

“We scored 1,019.9 to win states last year, so we thought a similar score this year would put us in good shape.”

Leading the way for the Tornado was sophomore Andrew Wolfe, who scored 205.1.

“He had missed just two bullseyes the entire season,” Beveridge said. “We expected him to shoot well.”

Also scoring over 200 for Butler were Jackson Jungling (204.7), Lucy Doutt (204.4), Alyssa Miller (203.2), Addie McConnell (201.9), Mikayla Crouch (200.8) and Colton Beveridge (200.7).

In the individual state competition Feb. 18, Jungling, fresh off his second straight district crown, earned a medal by placing eighth.