WaHi Hosts Cascade Mountain League Drill & Rifle Competition

Dec 6

Walla Walla High School’s Rifle Teams swept the top two places at their second league competition this season. Over 100 high school JROTC marksmen representing 18 rifle teams from Washington and Oregon in the gymnasium at Walla Walla High School for the second Cascade Mountain League JROTC rifle match. Sporter and Precision Class shooters filled 5 relays on Friday night and Saturday to test their marksmanship skills in the second of 5 contests that the Cascade Mountain League JROTC conference held this season. Shooters competed in 3-position rifle matches consisting of 20 record shots in the kneeling, prone and standing positions for a total possible match score of 600 points.

In the sporter class, the Blue Devils were led by senior Cadet Command Sergeant Major Noah Kaheaku, who turned a 529 for the highest score on the team, claiming a silver medal in the Master Class, just 4 points behind Chris Slingluff from Lebanon High School in Oregon.

Kaheaku’s score was followed closely by teammates Cadet Captain Jaycee Cox and sophomore Cadet Sergeant Noah Hein, both clocking 527s, with Hein taking a gold medal in the Expert Class. Cadet Lieutenant Wyatt Postlewait’s score of 518 rounded out the sporter team for a total of 2101, taking home the first-place trophy for the second time this year over Lebanon’s sporter team, who turned in a 2093.

Other notable scores were turned in by Cadet PFC Delaynee Cox, who shot a 509 to take gold in the Open Class and Cadet Staff Sergeant Peytin Munns with a 503 to take bronze, both sophomores claiming new personal bests. Cadet Sergeant Major Troy Beckmann finished on a 510 for bronze in the Expert Class, while Cadet Captain Melissa Villegas turned a 524 in the Master Class.

“These are the highest sporter scores we have ever started the season with," said Rifle Team Coach Mark Mebes. “We had 8 shooters break 500 today. Normally, we are lucky at this point in the year to have 4 that can do that. This could really turn out to be a spectacular season for our sporter squad.”

In the precision class, the competition was much tighter, with the Blue Devils’ top shooter, Cadet Major Claire Calvert, finishing the day on a 572 to take the silver medal behind Redmond High School’s Blake Foster, who also shot a 572, winning the match with a tie-breaking center X ten count of 30 over Calvert’s 28.

“That’s about as close as a match gets, said Mebes “Two of his tens were just a little deeper than two of hers.”

WaHi’s cadet Battalion Commander, Cadet Lieutenant Colonel Sofie Edwards, turned in the Blue Devils’ second-highest precision score at 570, followed by rifle team captain Evelyn Wolf with a 558 and the precision team’s newest member, sophomore Cadet First Sergeant Marcus Goin, with a 544. The Blue Devils’ end-of-the-day total was 2244, narrowly edging the team from Redmond into second place by only 6 points.

Matches in Spokane, Bend, and Salt Lake City followed, with WaHi’s rifle teams having a busy winter schedule.