Kirby, Gross Lead Precision Class at 2013 Marine Corps & Navy JROTC Service Championship

ANNISTON, AL, SALT LAKE CITY, UT – Heather Kirby of Shelby County High School in Shelbyville, KY brought home the gold in Marine Corps precision for the Marine Corps (USMC) JROTC, while Anna Craig of Gulfport High School in Gulfport, MS took home the title of overall sporter champion during the Marine Corps & Navy JROTC Service Championship, held Feb. 21-23, 2013.

Jackson Thompson of Sapulpa High School, OK set a new Marine Corps national sporter record while firing at the Alabama location.

Craig finished the match with an aggregate score of 1106, beating out the second placeholder by only 4 points, while Kirby fired a 1281.8 combined score. Placing second in USMC overall precision was Brandon Muske of Brenham High School in Brenham, TX, with an aggregate score of 1271.2. Third place precision was earned by Miquel Batz of Shelby County High School in Shelbyville, KY.

Leading the Navy overall sporter class was Matthew Miller of East Aurora High School in Aurora, IL, with an aggregate score of 1193.8. Colt Gross of North Augusta High School in North Augusta, SC topped the Navy overall precision shooters with his 1276.5 aggregate score he fired over the course of the championship.

Sheridan Beene broke the Navy sporter national prone record with her score of 198-14.

Second for the Navy overall sporter class was Hunter Cushman of King George High School in King George County, VA, with an aggregate score of 1193.1, followed by Makayla Ragnone of Carson High School in Carson City, NV. Ragnone finished with a combined score of 1184.5 to secure her place.

“I’m happy I won, but I’m just really proud of my team,” said Ragnone, who competed at the Salt Lake City location. “They’ve done really great this year.”

Makayla Ragnone of Carson High School in Carson City, NV finished 3rd overall in the Navy sporter class.

Rosemary Kramer of Upson Lee High School in Thomaston, GA claimed the second place spot in the overall Navy precision class competition, with an aggregate score of 1264.3, followed by Samuel Harris of New Albany High School in New Albany, IN, who fired a 1264.2 for third place.

All of the first place overall individual shooters fired at CMP’s world-class air gun range in Anniston, AL. Although no individuals competing in Salt Lake City took home the overall gold, cadets and coaches did get a look at CMP’s new portable air gun range – out on its first trek across the country.

Alexander Nez placed 1st in the USMC sporter competition at the Utah location, as well as 4th overall. His team, Tuba City High School in Tuba City, AZ took home the overall USMC sporter team competition trophy.

“This range is great,” said Major Walter Finney, team coach of Rio Rancho High School of Rio Rancho, NM. “I told my shooters in five years, you’ll be seeing something like this in schools. The technology is just amazing.”

Major Finney’s Marine Corps sporter team seemed to be fans of the range as well, finishing in third place at the Salt Lake location and seventh overall.

Major Walter Finney watches his two teams of Rio Rancho High School shooters during record shooting.

Also competing in the USMC sporter team competition at the Salk Lake City mobile location was Tuba City High School in Tuba City, AZ, who took the overall first place award with an aggregate score of 4255-112. Team members include Alexander Nez, Jade Yazzie, Thomasina Dinehdeal and Bethany Haley.

For their overall win, along with gold medals to hang around their necks and a transparent, engraved team trophy, first place teams also received a $100 merchandise certificate, donated by Daisy, a Crosman Challenger air rifle, donated by Crosman, and a $1000 check from the Civilian Marksmanship Program.

Cassandra Suter of La Cueva High School in Albuquerque, NM fired a 200 in prone on Day 1 of shooting. She came in 1st place at the Utah competition and 6th place overall in USMC precision shooting.

“We had a lot of fun,” said Tuba City shooter Alexander Nez, who also placed four overall in the USMC sporter division with a combined score of 1187.7. “I’m happy.”

Second place overall in the individual USMC sporter competition was Murphy Michael of R-S Central High School in Rutherfordton, NC, with an aggregate score of 1188.9. Jackson Thompson of Sapulpa HS, OK (1185.8)

Spectators enjoyed the advantage of the 60-inch LED televisions used in the new mobile range to keep track of firing scores during the match.

Placing second in USMC overall sporter team results was Des Moines – North High School of Des Moines, Iowa, with an aggregate score of 4253-98. Members are Courtney Wright, Sara Crampton, Griselda Sandoval and Jackie Navarro. North High School fired at the Salt Lake location.

Picking up the third place USMC sporter overall team competition seat was Fort Mill High School in Fort Mill, SC with a combined score of 4241-107. Contributing to their team score were cadets Brian Hampton, Dan Sheppard, Lucas Stalnaker and Sean Moughan, at the Anniston, AL facility.

North High School in Des Moines, IA received a check for $500 from CMP for placing 2nd overall in the USMC sporter team competition.

Winning the first place spot in the USMC precision overall team competition was Shelby County High School in Shelbyville, KY with an aggregate score of 4663-294. The champion cadets are Heather Kirby, Miquel Batz, Frank Hargadon and Cristina Sanchez. Second place was secured by North Forsyth High School in Cumming, Georgia, firing a 4574-208. Contributing team members were Rebecca Godwin, Alyson Godwin, Cameron Houston and Oscar Zavala. La Cueva High School in Albuquerque, NM claimed the third place seat with a combined score of 4562-216. Team members of the La Cueva team are Cassanda Suter, Richard Abeyta, Joseph Phillips and Diego Vigil.

Topping out the Navy sporter overall team results was Oviedo High School Team 1 of Oviedo, FL, taking the first place position with an aggregate score of 4308-121. Team members are Danielle Baroody, Natalie Hudson, Shelbi Sessions and Mackenzie Campbell. Second and third places were held by Zion Benton High School of Zion, IL, Teams 1 and 2, respectively. Team 1 fired a 4308-110 score by members Ragel Ibarra, Mitchell Csorba, Iran Rodriguez and Jacob Cress, while Team 2 finished with a combined score of 4261-97. Shooting for Team 2 was Kayla Savage, Tyler Kerbs, Justine Hamilton and Zachary Dumyahn.

Tuba City High School in Tuba City, AZ received a check for $1,000 from CMP for placing 1st overall in the USMC sporter team competition.

Receiving gold medals for first place in the Navy precision overall team results was New Albany High School in New Albany, IN, with a combined score of 4589-245. New Albany shooting cadets are Samuel Harris, Kathryn Davis, Caleb Hardin and Brandon Longacre. The team that obtained silver was Union Grove High School in McDonough, GA, with an aggregate score of 4585-236. Team members are Mitchell Miller, Austin Garvey, Abigail Rigsby and Annie Lunsford. Finishing out the top three was La Plata High School in La Plata, MD. Members Tyler Thorne, Cody Thorne, Christopher Boyle and John Hancock fired a combined 4553-221 to capture the third place bronze medals.

Earlier this year, 1,521 Marine Corps and 3,062 Navy JROTC cadets participated in the CMP’s JROTC Postal Matches. For the nationwide-match, participants fired upon paper targets sent by CMP at their home ranges and returned them to CMP Programs HQ through mail. The results were then tabulated using the Orion scanning system. Individual and team service championships were comprised from the preliminary postal results. A total of 189 Marine Corps cadets and 196 Navy cadets competed at the service championships in Alabama and Utah during the two-day event.

La Cueva High School in Albuquerque, NM received $300 from CMP for placing 3rd overall in the USMC precision team competition.

The final phase of the tournament, the National JROTC Championship, will be fired in Anniston March 21-23, where JROTC cadets from Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force cadet commands will compete for national honors.

For complete results of the Army JROTC Service Championship, log onto http://ct.thecmp.org/app/v1/index.php?do=match&task=edit&match=9430. See photos of the event online at http://cmp1.zenfolio.com.

Top Five Individuals – Anniston

USMC Sporter
1. Anna Craig, Gulfort HS, MS – 1192.7
2. Michael Murphy, R-S Central HS, NC – 1188.9
3. Jackson Thompson, Sapulpa HS, OK – 1185.8
4. Melonie Jordan, Stranahan HS, FL – 1184.6

USMC Precision
1. Heather Kirby, Shelby County HS, KY – 1281.8
2. Brandon Muske, Brenham HS, TX – 1271.2
3. Miquel Batz, Shelby County HS, KY – 1264.6
4. Rebecca Godwin, North Forsyth HS, GA – 1263.1
5. Frank Hargadon, Shelby County HS, KY – 1259.3
5. Brian Hampton, Fort Mill HS, SC – 1181.8

Navy Sporter
1. Matthew Miller, East Aurora HS, IL 1 – 1193.8
2. Hunter Cushman, King George HS, VA – 1193.1
3. Natalie Hudson, Oviedo HS, FL 1 – 1174.1
4. Sheridan Beene, Joshua HS, TX – 1172.3
5. Hailey Malles, Oviedo HS, FL 1 – 1172.1

Navy Precision
1. Colt Gross, North Augusta HS, SC – 1276.5
2. Samuel Harris, New Albany HS, IN – 1264.2
3. Rosemary Kramer, Upson Lee HS, GA – 1264.3
4. William Davidson, Joshua HS, TX – 1260.7
5. Michael Morrow, Luella HS, GA – 1260.2

Top Five Individuals – Salt Lake City

USMC Sporter
1. Alexander Nez, Tuba City, AZ – 1187.7
2. Dakota Lupkes-Heim, Des Moines – North HS, IA – 1163.5
3. Matthew Warren, Rio Rancho HS, NM – 1162.6
4. Courtney Wright, Des Moines – North HS, IA – 1161.8
5. Jade Yazzie, Tuba City, AZ – 1152.7

USMC Precision
1. Cassandra Suter, La Cueva HS, NM – 1259.2
2. Corey Hanley, Eldorado HS, NM – 1238.2
3. Johnathan Moya, Eldorado HS, NM – 1232.2
4. Joseph Phillips, La Cueva HS, NM – 1231.2
5. Richard Abeyta, La Cueva HS, NM – 1230.1

Navy Sporter
1. Makayla Ragnone, Carson HS, NV – 1184.5
2. Matias Opizzo, Thunderbird HS, AZ – 1172.3
3. Britteny Garst, Thunderbird HS, AZ – 1142.5
4. Nikita Belooussov, Los Alamos HS, NM – 1138.1
5. Renee Horton, Westview HS, CA – 1137.6

Navy Precision
1. Ben Spotts, Manzano HS, NM – 1231.2
2. Joshua Thurn, West Mesa HS, NM – 1229.8
3. Tessa Snyder, Los Alamos HS, NM – 1228.1
4. Anna Greene, Robert Service HS, AK – 1216.7
5. Brandon Frank, Los Alamos HS, NM -- 1215

Top Five Teams – Anniston

USMC Sporter
1. Fort Mill HS, SC – 4241-107
2. R-S Central HS, NC – 4230-114
3. Gulfport HS, MS – 4229-129
4. Stranahan HS, FL – 4205-117
5. Sapulpa HS, OK – 4187-85

USMC Precision
1. Shelby County HS, KY – 4663-294
2. North Forsyth HS, GA – 4574-208
3. East Coweta HS, GA – 4553-215
4. Fern Creek HS, KY – 4528-198
5. Colquitt County, GA – 4499-179

Navy Sporter
1. Oviedo HS, FL 1 – 4308-121
2. Zion Benton HS, IL 1 – 4308-110
3. Zion Benton HS, IL 2 – 4261-97
4. King Geroge HS, VA – 4254-124
5. East Aurora HS IL 1 – 4241-105

Navy Precision
1. New Albany HS, IN – 4589-245
2. Union Grove HS, GA – 4585-236
3. La Plata HS, MD – 4553-221
4. Upson Lee HS, GA – 4544-224
5. Joshua HS, TX – 4534-221

Top Five Teams – Salt Lake City

USMC Sporter
1. Tuba City HS, AZ – 4255-112
2. Des Moines – North HS, IA – 4253-98
3. Rio Rancho HS, NM 1 – 4144-90
4. El Dorado HS, NM – 4144-90
5. Rio Rancho HS, NM 2 – 4107-88

USMC Precision
1. La Cueva HS, NM – 4562-216
2. El Dorado HS, NM – 4516-221
3. Cibola HS, NM – 4322-136

Navy Sporter
1. Carson HS, NV – 4143-99
2. Westview HS, CA – 4121-87
3. Thunderbird HS, AZ – 4112-82

Navy Precision
1. Los Alamos HS, NM – 4487-199
2. Socorro HS, TX – 4487-199

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