FIRST ARMY JROTC CHAMPIONSHIP

In February, the best Army JROTC rifle shooters in the country converged on the Pool Range at Ft. Benning, Georgia and the U.S. Olympic Shooting Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado to compete in the first-ever Army JROTC Eastern and Western Region Championships. In addition to awarding Region Championship Titles, the competitions also determined which JROTC unit teams and at-large individuals would represent Army JROTC in the National JROTC Championship at Ft. Benning later this month.

Qualifying for the two Region Championships was done through the Army JROTC Postal Competition in December and January. Over 2000 Army JROTC cadets participated in that competition. The top sporter and precision class unit teams and at-large individuals in each of 13 Army JROTC Brigades were then invited to their respective Region Championships. The Eastern Region competition took place at Fort Benning on February 19-21. The Western Region competition took place at Colorado Springs on February 26-28.

The photos below show the team and individual winners in both of these exciting championships.

*Army JROTC Eastern Region Championship Winners*

First Place Precision Individual: Latoya Gilbert of Fitzgerald HS (GA) fired a score of 1249.5.	Second Place Precision Individual: Donovan Eason of Wilcox County HS (GA) fired a 1239.55 two-day aggregate.		Third Place Precision Individual: Katrina Simpson of Wuertzburg American HS (Germany) with her score of 1236.65.

First Place Sporter Individual: Adam Burrows of Pelion HS (SC) who topped all sporter shooters in the two-day aggregate with his score of 1142.	Second Place Sporter Individual: Bo Hendley of Lee County HS (NC) with a score of 1139.7.		Third Place Sporter Individual: Andrew Patterson of Clinton HS (SC) with a score of 1134.7.

Top Three Precision Teams: First Place Team (center): Fitzgerald HS (GA) with a score of 4499. Team members were Latoya Gilbert, Christopher McMillian, Myra Smith and Darren Cox. Second Place Team (left): Wilcox County HS (GA) with a score of 4489. Team members were Donavan Eason, Samuel Martin, William Strickland and Daniel Poss. Third Place Team (right): Spalding County HS (GA) with a score of 4468. Team members were Phillip Huckaby, William Crook, Brad McKneely and Matthew Bun		Top Three Sporter Teams: First Place Team (center): Clinton HS (SC) with a score of 4150. Team members were Andrew Patterson, Travis Kuykendall, Joseph Wymer and Michael Hayes. Second Place Team (left): Henderson County HS (KY) with a score of 4104. Team members were Heather Collins, Whitney Goatee, Kirk Evans and Justin Durbin. Third Place Team (right): Pelion HS (SC) with a score of 4040. Team members were Adam Burrows, Matthew Ripperdan, Nick Smith and Joseph Dana.
*Army JROTC Western Region Championship Winners*

First Place Western Precision Individual: Jessi Richardson of Madras HS (OR) fired a two-day aggregate score of 1268.5	The second place finisher was Michael Dickinson of Carroll HS (AL) with his score of 1251.4.		Third place, and the bronze medal, belonged to Erin Lorenzen of Concordia Lutheran HS (IN) for her score of 1247.45.

Western Region Individual Sporter Class Champion was awarded to Blake Phillips of Bogalusa HS (LA) for his two-day score of 1171.9.	Western Region Individual Sporter Class Silver Medallist was Phillip Threlkeld of Grissom HS (AL) with a two-day score of 1168.65.		Western Region Individual Sporter Class Bronze Medallist was awarded to Charles Henley of Bogalusa HS (LA) with a two-day score of 1158.3.

Top Three Precision Teams: First Place Team (center): Central Catholic HS (TX) with a score of 4557. Team members were Julius Aluyen, Steven Solis, Skeeter Flores and Joseph Zavala. Second Place Team (left): Walla Walla HS (WA) with a score of 4483. Team members were Joe Criss, Amber Criss, Edward Czyhold and Kyle Rutledge. Third Place Team (right): Daleville HS (AL) with a score of 4482. Team members were Sean Spears, Kris Ross, Levi Dahlquist and Jeremy Owens.		Top Three Sporter Teams: First Place Team (center): Bogalusa HS (LA) with a score of 4266. Team members were Blake Phillips, Charles Henley, William Cleland and Tucker Lee. Second Place Team (left): Alhambra HS (AZ) with a score of 4199. Team members were Raquel Villalobos, Armando Arvizu, Bryan Galas and Willie Dorman. Third Place Team (right): Central Catholic HS (TX) with a score of 4169. Team members were Aaron Durand, James Ovalle, Vincent Stock and Stephen Keller.