Penn-Trafford’s Emily Valenta looking for big finish at WPIAL rifle championships

By: Paul Schofield
Sunday, February 9, 2025 | 11:01 AM

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Even though the Penn-Trafford rifle team graduated 13 seniors, coach Diana Cholock expected a good season.

But things did not turn out as she hoped.

The Warriors had a tough campaign, which ended Feb. 6. They went 2-9 overall and 1-7 in Section IV.

“It was not a good season,” Cholock said. “I had expected a better season, but things did not go as planned.”

Cholock has 15 shooters on the squad, including six returnees who had match experience.

Back were seniors Emily Valenta and Mathew Stewart, juniors Amanda Wendler and Jillian Hayes and sophomores Nino Sunseri and Collin Dranshart.

Four other possible returnees decided not to compete. One shooter switched sports, and another was fighting an illness.

“It was kind of a shocking season,” Cholock said. “We had a lot of new shooters this season, and it takes a few years for them to develop. Many of them have showed a lot of improvement over the season.”

Penn-Trafford was a state champion in 2023 and with numerous starters returning, Cholock was expecting another big year.

But things went south.

“It was tough watching things destruct around them,” Cholock said. “You go from being state champions to this. I don’t know if it was nerves or senioritis. We just could not figure it out and it was tough to watch.”

The best thing to come out of the 2024 season was Carlee Valenta winning the WPIAL title.

Carlee Valenta, Emily’s older sister, picked a great time to shine in the championship events. Emily Valenta finished fourth and Cholock said she expects Emily will qualify for the state meet.

Carlee Valenta is currently shooting in college at Texas-El Paso. Emily Valenta signed with Ohio State.

“There is no doubt in my mind that Emily will qualify for states,” Cholock said.

And while this season was not as she hopes, she’s looking forward to a better season in 2026 as long as the new shooters return.

“We should be more experienced next year,” she said.

Cholock said that Emily Valenta, Stewart, Hayes, Wendler and senior Ella Malloy will be the five shooters competing in the WPIAL individual championships Thursday (Feb. 13).

Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.

Tags: Penn-Trafford