Perfection – again.

The Wilbraham & Monson Academy Riflery team won both of its postseason competitions, giving the Titans an undefeated record for the fifth time in six years.

The pre-selected group of Steven Holik ’22 (195 of 200), Leo Heiss ’24 (193), Colin Oh ’22 (189) Askar Bakirdinov ’24 (189) teamed for a score of 766 to lead WMA to the win at the Prep Gallery Match Feb. 16 at Blue Trail Ridge in Connecticut.

In its finale, at the Connecticut High School State Championship Feb. 23 at Blue Trail Ridge, Colin’s second-place finish of 193 led the Titans to the victory. Matt Clark ’24 (189), Askar (189), Leo (188) and Arzum Li ’24 (188) gave WMA the depth to secure the victory.

Quotes from Coach Bill Passy

On winning the Prep Gallery Match: “Any time anyone wins an event, at any level, at any age, in any sport, for six straight years is a tremendous achievement. We had our best shooting day of the season. If we had used the regular league scoring of top five, we would have neared a school record.”

On the team winning the Connecticut State championship: "Colin Oh was tremendous. He shot 193, which was second best for the match among 50 shooters. It was a total team effort. Our depth proved to be the difference as we had five others shoot between 187 and 189. Bunnell High School had three of the top five scores on the day, but did not have the depth that we had."

On the key to the team’s undefeated season: "The key to this season was the immediate impact three of our first-year shooters made. Sophomores Leopold Heiss, Askar Bakirdinov and Matt Clark all made it into the 190s multiple times this season. Each shot a 189 in the championship match. They each have bright futures for WMA Riflery ahead of them.”

On the team’s senior leadership: “Other than Colin Oh, our seniors (Steven Holik, Jake Girhiny, Bella Hwang and Sam Jasmin) had up-and-down seasons on the shooting front. However, they were rock solid on the leadership. Our seniors are always asked to do more sighting and helping the younger shooters. There's no doubt their work this year helped our younger kids become valuable parts of the team."