If the 2016 - 17 Wilbraham & Monson Academy Riflery season seems historic, that's because it is.
With two more wins last week, the Titans improved to 6-0. The last time the WMA Riflery program was this successful was 1988, when the team finished 7-1.
"We won our first match of the season the last two years, but never another either year," first-year coach Bill Passy said. "To start 6-0 this year is unbelievable, but we still have a lot of work to do. We knew we would have a good team but I can't say I expected the contributions from so many different shooters.
"We have a lot of big matches and tournaments upcoming, including two with rival Suffield, which will determine the division champion. The 6-0 start has put us in a position to accomplish the goals we set before the season started. We need to respond to the pressure of these matches and finish what we started. We want to make this year a very, very special one in WMA Riflery history."
And speaking of history, Erika Convery '19 recorded a historic score Jan. 25 in a 954-871 win against Grasso Technical of Groton, Conn., finishing with a 198 (out of 200).
"I've been training like crazy," Erika said. "My goal was to get a 190 this year. That was my goal last year and I scored 189 three times. In my first practice match this year, I got a 190.
"Honestly, I don't know if the 198 was a fluke or if it's because of how hard I've been working. I've been asking a lot of questions, especially to Dan Wesson '18, who is the best shooter on the team. Sometimes there are days I can get focused, which is what happened the day I shot a 198, and other days not so much. Riflery is more of a mental skill than a physical skill. If you can dial in on your targets and really concentrate on the task of scoring a 10, you can do well. You just can't get distracted."
Also against Grasso, Dan fired a 196, followed by Ben Bicknell '18 (188), Zihan "Leo" Liu '18 (187) and Ji Yuan "David" Zhan '17 (185).
In a home match Jan. 28 vs. Montville High School of Connecticut, Dan (193) and Yitian "Janice" Zha '18 (190) led the Titans to a 942-817 victory, with David (189), Meng "Maggie" Hsiao (186) and Michael Carson '18 (184) also finishing in the top five.