WaHi JROTC hosts Air Nationals Rifle Sectional Match
On November 1, Walla Walla High School JROTC Rifle Team started its season by hosting the Air Nationals Rifle Sectional Match at Walla Walla High School. 36 high school age marksmanship athletes from eastern Washington converged on WaHi’s rifle range to compete for honors and an invite to the national championship match, held in Camp Perry, Ohio, in January.
Precision-Class rifle shooters fired a 60-shot match from the unsupported standing position. Shots were scored on a decimal system, with a perfect dead-center shot scoring a 10.9 and lower scores radiating out from the target’s center. WaHi’s highest score was shot by senior Cadet Major Claire Calvert, who shot a 597.9 and placed second in the match, behind Spokane Rifle Club’s Breeden Ensley, who fired a 608.6.
“Claire has done a lot of work in preparation for this match,” said Rifle Coach Mark Mebes. “It was great to see that work pay off here today.”
The Spokane Rifle Club’s Gold Team won the precision team match, with a score of 2353.9 beating out the Blue Devils by only 3 points. The Blue Devil scoring team for this match included Calvert, Cadet Captain Lieutenant Kate Hutson with a 591.1, Cadet Captain Evelyn Wolf with a 588.0, and Cadet Lieutenant Colonel Sofie Edwards at 573.3.
“We are pretty pleased with scores this consistent this early in the year,” commented Rifle Team Captain Evelyn Wolf after Saturday’s match. “We graduated a lot of seniors off the team last year and we shot better today than we expected.”
In the Sporter-Class, the match consisted of 20 shots fired prone, 20 shots standing and 20 shots from the kneeling position for a possible score of 600. The top sporter score went to Cadet Sergeant Noah Hein from Walla Walla with a career high score of 534. WaHi’s Cadet Lieutenant Wyatt Postlewait came in 2nd place with a 532. 3rd place went to WaHi Cadet Captain Jaycee Cox with a 524 and WaHi rounded out its sporter team with a 503 from Cadet Captain Melissa Villegas for a total score of 2093, winning the sporter match with a score that currently leads the nation.
“These Sporter scores are only a few points off breaking the school record,” said Mebes. “We have an extremely strong team right now. It will be interesting to see how far they can go this year.”
Whether or not any teams from this match will receive an invite to the national match in Ohio will remain to be seen. Locations throughout the US are holding similar regional qualifiers until December.
