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| The Timber Wolves team from Oregon won the tiebreaker in a three-way team tie in the precision rifle event. The first place precision team in the National Guard tournament won a trip to Bisley, England to participate in an international air rifle competition there in August. Team members were Krissey Bahnsen, Robert Dow, Nick Bittler and Wes Dow. The team coach (right) is Lloyd Dow. The award presenter (far left) is BG Shelby Bryant, Chief of Staff of the Arkansas Air National Guard. |
The National Guard Bureau Junior Position Air Rifle Championship at Ashley High School in Wilmington, North Carolina was the last of the 2003 “Triad” championships. It was held on June 24-28. National Guard competition began with postal matches in the first three months of the year. The top ten “state champion” teams in sporter three-position and the top ten state champion teams in precision standing qualified for the nationals in Wilmington.
The National Guard Championship featured some of the closest competition ever witnessed in national-level three-position air rifle championships. Only nine points separated the top three sporter class teams. Only one point separated the top four individuals and only 13 points separated all eight individual sporter finalists. There was only a four point difference between the top three individuals at the beginning of the precision final.
And the precision team championship, where a trip to Bisley, England was at stake, was the closest of all. Three teams, the Timber Wolves from Oregon, the Burlington Rifle & Pistol Club from Vermont and the Palmyra Wrecking Crew II from Pennsylvania had identical scores of 1520 x 1600. Shelby County High School from Kentucky and Chilton County Shooting Sports from Alabama were just two and four points behind at 1518 and 1516 respectively. Since firing was done on paper targets, that led to a very dramatic challenge period. As soon as scores were posted, all targets were laid out and teams had an opportunity to challenge any shots not previously gauged.
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| Leah Wilcox won the precision individual championship with a 98 in the final and an 879 total score. She represented Shelby County, Kentucky, High School USMC JROTC. The award presenter is CPT David Woodard, National Guard Marksmanship Training Center. CPT Woodard was the tournament’s Match Director. |
After teams closely examined every target, the Pennsylvania team identified a shot that gave them a chance to pick up a point and break the tie. A three-person jury inserted the gauge and each jury member examined the lie of the gauge carefully. When the vote was called, “3-2-1-show,” one thumb went up (the shot was in) and two went down (the shot was out). If the shot had gone in, Pennsylvania would have picked up a point, the victory and a trip to England. With the challenge voted down, the tie-breaking rule that totals the last 10-shot series for each team member was applied. The Oregon Timber Wolves Team won the tiebreaker and the National Guard Bureau Championship team title.
The precision individual championship included two 40-shot standing courses plus a 10-shot final scored in whole numbers. Leah Wilcox of Shelby County High School started the final just one point ahead of Krissey Bahnsen of the Timber Wolves. Wilcox shot a great final, scoring 98 to Bahnsen’s 97, to give her a two-point victory. This combined with her win in the Junior Olympic Precision Championship four days earlier, gave her an impressive double win in the two major 2003 youth air rifle championships.
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| The champion sporter team in the National Guard Bureau Championship was Bogalusa, Louisiana, High School Army JROTC. Team members were Blake Phillips, William Cleland, Charles Henley and Jordan Pritchard. Team Coach Major Rick Fredieu (second from left) promised his team he would dye his hair yellow if they won; he fulfilled that promise. The award presenter (far left) is Lt. Col. Mike Clites, National Guard Marksmanship Training Center. |
National sporter class team record holder Bogalusa High School from Louisiana had not won a major team title in 2003 until the National Guard Championship. Coach Rick Fredieu divided his team that had previously shot sporter only so that some shot precision air rifles and others shot sporter air rifles. His two top shooters from 2002, Brandon Green and Brian Phillips, were seniors, but they competed in Wilmington in the precision events. Coach Fredieu has had to build a new sporter team that peaked at the last match in Wilmington. To give them added incentive, he promised the team he would dye his hair yellow if they won that team match.
With the scores totaled, Bogalusa finished with a 2150, seven points ahead of Clinton High School from South Carolina. Clinton won the scholastic team title in the Junior Olympic Championship the previous week, but this time Bogalusa had the extra incentive. Coach Fredieu happily appeared at the award ceremony with his hair dyed bright yellow.
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| Keeley Stankey, Post 435 CMP, from Minnesota, fired the highest total kneeling score with a 377 and the second best final with an 84 to place first overall in the National Guard Bureau sporter individual championship. |
The individual sporter championship was not decided until the final. Going into the final, Blake Phillips and William Cleland of Bogalusa were first and second with identical 1091 scores. Andrew Hahn of the Humboldt Sharpshooters from South Dakota and Keely Stankey of the Post 435 CMP (BSA Venturing Crew) from Minnesota were just one point behind, tied at 1090. Michaela Jochum of the Homestead 4-H Team from Nebraska was just four points further back at 1086.
Jochum fired the best final with an 85 to move up to third overall. Stankey fired the second best final with an 84 to vault into first place. Phillips’ 82 final round score kept him in second place.
The excitement created by having team and individual final competitions that were so close was enhanced by the use of a new results system developed by the CMP that projected scores on a screen in the range as final round scores were fired. These results were also posted on the CMP web site so that interested persons all over the country could see them during the match. No one who attended the 2003 National Guard Bureau Junior Nationals went away with any doubts about how exciting shooting really can be.
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