Massapequa has been a dominant force in high school rifling and has not always been given the attention it deserves. In both 2013 and 2014, Massapequa advanced to the State competitions for smallbore rifles, which includes .22 caliber rifles, and for air rifles in 2014 as well. This year, Massapequa was unable to advance as a team to the State competition, but was able to earn the highest average score in Nassau County.

“We had a very young, but capable team [but] unfortunately didn’t qualify for states,” senior Matt Lazina said.

However, the rifle team still sent two of its players to the state competition this year, senior Julie Kapuvari and junior Michael Seith.

Kapuvari is not unfamiliar to these state competitions; last year, she placed fourth in the air rifle competition with a score of 285 out of 300 and sixth in the smallbore event with a score of 276 out of 300.

This year, she was able to score second highest in all of Nassau County as well as score a 279 at the state level competition at West Point Military Academy. Michael Seith also made his presence known at West Point, scoring the highest among alternate shooters with a score of 281.