O-R Athlete of the Week: Riley Dunn, McGuffey
Name: Riley Dunn
School: McGuffey
Class: Junior
Sport: Rifle
Dunn’s week: Even with the pressure ratcheted up, the junior maintained her poise to become only the third person to win back-to-back WPIAL rifle championships last Thursday at the Dormont-Mt. Lebanon Sportsmen’s Club.
Dunn, who finished with a score of 200-19x, edged Fredrick Mach of Bethel Park for her second straight title. She shot the same score to win last year.
“I definitely will say that this year was much harder than last,” Dunn admitted. “There was a lot more attention on me. Could I do it again? I went in this year thinking I wasn’t going to perform as well because I was struggling going into WPIALs. I went into it just hoping for the best. After it was done, it was almost a sigh of relief.”
Dunn became McGuffey’s fifth champion in the event last year. In addition to her championships the past two years, John Hupp (2011), Rebekah Ashcroft (2008), Joe Nuzum and Wes Lauff (2005) also won individual titles for the Highlanders’ six total individual titles.
She is only the third shooter in WPIAL history to win back-to-back championships, joining Waynesburg’s Selena Phillips and Avella’s Robbie Gagliani. Gagliani stands alone with three district titles from 2007 to 2009. An achievable goal that Dunn already has her eyes set on for next year.
Learning on the go: Competing in rifle doesn’t stop with her three weekly practices and local matches for McGuffey throughout the winter season.
For Dunn, who dreams to one day to possibly become an Olympic athlete, it’s a constant state of trying to take in information to get better. This is her third straight year she’s earned an invitation to the “Team USA Shooting” Junior Olympics to shoot both precision smallbore and precision air rifle. The past two years the event was held in Michigan. This year, it’s at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.
“Taking it back there is a little more prestigious,” Dunn admitted. “But that training center is a lot smaller than the one in Michigan. The scores are going to be better and it’s going to be competitive.”
Dunn also traveled to 11 states over the past year for weekend events, shooting against better competition in her age group from across the country. Shooting regularly with others out of state, Dunn has taken tips and tricks from as simple as different stances to strategies of better taking care of her equipment.
“The competition is definitely higher because you are with a lot more people from many different places,” Dunn said. “Getting out and experiencing all of that has really benefited me. But it’s definitely a lot more intense.”
[gallery_header ids=”408370″]