Kayla Fry couldn't concern herself with the number of participants at Thursday's WPIAL Individual Rifle Championships at the Dormont-Mt. Lebanon Sportsmen's Club.

So, she simply took matters into her own hands.

Fry, a junior at Butler High School, was the first of three shooters to record a perfect 200-20x score to share a piece of the WPIAL title.

Fry, who will turn 17 Wednesday, was joined by Avella's Robbie Gagliani and Indiana's Andrea Moreau with perfect scores.

In all, 12 shooters will advance to Wednesday's state championship, which will be held at the Frazier-Simplex Club in Washington, Pa.

Fry's teammate J.T Kerr grabbed the 12th and final state berth fith a score of 200-18x.

"I was confident, but really nervous," said Fry. "Of all the other schools, you don't know how you'll do. I just went out and tried to do my best."

"Kayla doesn't let nerves bother her like the others. She has a good ability to concentrate," said Golden Tornado coach Eric Beveridge.

Fry had witnessed the recent Senior Shoot-Off, an event that gives all varsity seniors one final individual meet to compete, and had seen five perfect scores recorded there.

It seemed likely the same would happen on Thursday, plus a few more when you throw the freshmen, sophomores and juniors into the mix.

Fry was part of the second group and hit all 10 of her targets perfectly. Then, after a break, she shot another 10 targets to achieve her final score.

Gagliani and Moreau followed suit shortly thereafter, and the trio shared the championship.

"She figured there would be others, but not just three," said Beveridge.

"You've got to be confident. You can't be nervous," said Fry, who also hunts but enjoys the competitiveness that comes from the varsity rifle season.

"When you're lying down on that mat, it all goes away. I just shoot because it's so much fun," Fry added.

Now, Fry's attention will turn to the state competition, something she'll approach with the same demeanor as she did for the WPIAL match.

"You want to keep things on an even keel," said Fry. "We'll practice a lot more. Instead of two targets, we'll shoot four, and they're harder. You shoot two, then take a break, then shoot two more."

Butler finishers1t-Kayla Fry 200-20x, 10-JT Kerr 200-18x, 24-Colt Filges 200-15x, 28t-Fontaine Graham 199-18x, 48-Erica Leslie 198-18x, 60-Nikki Brunner 197-16x