The Tri-City Three-Position Air Rifle Invitational hosted by the Pharr – San Juan – Alamo High School JROTC Program on 30-31 March 2007 in San Juan, Texas was a first in many ways. For starters, it was the first sanctioned Air Rifle Tournament to be held in the Rio Grande Valley in recorded memory. Second, the event was a huge draw for a variety of competitors from the surrounding area and San Antonio, a total of 38 competitors to be exact. Third, matches are not often conducted to the pulsating rhythms of a rock concert being held in a nearby gymnasium which became the case for the part of the Tri-City Invitational. The concert was scheduled after the match was already on the books. It was held in a different area of the campus; however it was close enough to be heard (and felt) by the members of what became the championship relay.

Most noteworthy of the Tri-City Invitational was the number of records set by the host team as well as by one of its members. The Bear Rifle Team of PSJA HS fired a match winning score of 1072 on the 3x10 four-man sporter air rifle team event. This score set a new National Open Record. The National Open record encompasses all the record categories for Three-Position Air Rifle. PSJA’s scoring team members were senior Luis Raya, junior Joe Montanez, and sophomores Marco Aguayo and Rene Felix.

In the individual 3x10 sporter event, 16-year old Joe Montanez started his record-setting quest with a 95 in prone. He followed up with a lower than normal 87 in standing and closed out with a strong 95 in kneeling. His aggregate score of 277 tied the Open National Record and set new National Records in the Army JROTC, American Legion, and Age Group 15-16 categories. His one man assault on the record books wasn’t over yet. With the throbbing rhythms of a Christian rock band playing downstairs in the school gym Montanez fired a 10-shot Final, adding an 86 to his score for a total of 363 and a new National Open Record for a 3x10 plus final. This turned out to be an outstanding day for this cadet and his teammates.

The Bears Rifle Team from PSJA HS is not finished yet. The Tri-City Invitational was a tune-up match for the JROTC National Championships at Ft Benning, GA to be held 12-14 April. This will be the Bears’ first appearance at the National Championships. To follow PSJA and other teams at the JROTC National Championship and track live scores from the event make sure to log-on to the CMP website at http://clubs.odcmp.com/cgi-bin/report_matchResult.cgi?matchID=1950.

Complete results fro the Tri-City Invitational can be found at http://clubs.odcmp.com/cgi-bin/report_matchResult.cgi?matchID=2020. To view PSJA’s National Records and all the other Three-Position National Records go to, http://www.odcmp.com/3P/CurrentNatlRcds.pdf.