Distinguished Shooters and Air Rifle Service Teams Recognized at National JROTC Championship Banquet

ANNISTON, ALABAMA – Three JROTC competitors received their Junior Distinguished badges on behalf of the National Three-Position Air Rifle Council and another six shooters earned badges during competition at the 2011 National Junior ROTC Air Rifle Championship on 25-26 March.

Nine JROTC competitors received their Junior Distinguished shooting badges at the 2011 National JROTC Championship Awards Banquet on 26 March. From the left, Tyler Dayton, Charles Leonard and Sara Crampton received badges earned prior to the nationals. The six new badge winners, who went Distinguished during the championships are, continuing from left, Gary Johnson, Martina Carson, Charles Hollis, Stephen Nicholas, Heather Kirby and Kelsey Moral.

Tyler Dayton, 18, of East Coweta High School, Georgia, received badge number 393; Charles Leonard, 18, of Marmion Academy, Illinois, badge number 394 and Sara Crampton, 15, of Des Moines North High School, Iowa, badge number 395. Badges were presented by CMP’s James Hall, who earned badge number 2 in 2002.

CMP Board Member Bill Willoughby served as the awards program Master of Ceremonies.

The six new badge winners were also announced during the awards ceremony. They were Gary Johnson, 17, of Rayville High School, Louisiana; Martina Carson, 18, of R-S Central High School, North Carolina; Charles Hollis, 17, also of Rayville High School; Stephen Nicholas, 17, of Calvert High School, Maryland; Heather Kirby, 15, of Shelby County High School, Kentucky; and Kelsey Moral, 16, of East Coweta High School, Georgia. They have earned badges numbered 396-401, respectively.

The evening’s guest speaker was Col. Barrye L. Price, commanding officer of the U.S. Army Cadet Command. Col. Price is a 1985 distinguished military graduate of the University of Houston. He earned his Master’s degree in history in 1994 from Texas A&M University and in 1997 became the first African-American to obtain a doctorate from the Department of History at Texas A&M.

The Distinguished Badge award presentation opened the ninth annual JROTC Championship banquet and awards ceremony at the CMP Marksmanship Center. The evening’s guest speaker was Col. Barrye L. Price, commanding officer of the U.S. Army Cadet Command – a geographically dispersed command comprised of junior and senior ROTC detachments throughout the U.S. and its territories.

Col. Price is a 1985 distinguished military graduate of the University of Houston. He earned his Master’s degree in history in 1994 from Texas A&M University. He also earned a Master’s degree in national security strategy from the National Defense University in 2004.

The CMP and service cadet commands honored the 131 participants in the 2011 National JROTC Air Rifle Championships at the CMP Marksmanship Center in Anniston. Following the Day II final, half of the firing range was converted to a banquet facility.

In addition to winning individual and team awards, several air rifle teams were recognized for their performances by service branch in both precision and sporter classifications.

Members of the champion Shelby County High School USMC JROTC precision rifle team file into the facility at the opening of the awards ceremony.

In precision air rifle overall, the Marine Corps took the top two places in team competition (Shelby Co., Kentucky – 4662-277, and East Coweta, Georgia – 4620-256), followed by Army (Del Valle, Texas – 4613-267 and Patch HS, Stuttgart, Germany – 4582-228), with the Navy in fifth (Union Grove, Georgia – 4579-214).

Led by Tessa Howald, the winning sporter division air rifle team from Ozark High School Army JROTC, Missouri, kicked off the awards ceremony with their entrance.

In sporter, Army took the top four positions (Ozark, Missouri – 4357-130, Daleville, Alabama – 4343-130, Rayville, Louisiana – 4311-127, and Flowing Wells, Arizona – 4292-119). The Marine Corps placed fifth in sporter team competition (R-S Central, North Carolina – 4283-119).

Members of the Battleground High School Air Force JROTC rifle team were recognized as the first Air Force cadet precision rifle team to compete in the National Championship. From left are Sarah Barnes, Cordelia Schadler, Coach Col. Brian Brown, USAF (Ret.), Cody Johnson and Christian Harris.

Battle Ground High School Air Force JROTC, Washington, was the first Air Force junior cadet team to participate in precision air rifle in the national championship and as a result, established all new individual and team records for Air Force cadet competition. Air Force is a relative newcomer to JROTC air rifle competition and has been making continuous improvement in the sporter class and has now established a benchmark in precision air rifle. Their team aggregate score was 4358-129.

The top 10 individual sporter air rifle place finishers were recognized as a group at the 2011 National JROTC Air Rifle Championship awards banquet. Gold, silver and bronze winners remain assembled on the podium.

Battle Ground’s precision team was comprised of Cordelia Schadler, Cody Johnson, Christian Harris and Sarah Barnes. They were coached by Col. Brian Brown, USAF (Ret.) and Gregory Johnson.

The top 10 individual precision air rifle place finishers were recognized as a group at the 2011 National JROTC Air Rifle Championship awards banquet.  Gold, silver and bronze winners remain assembled on the podium.

Compared to last year’s championship where three Air Force sporter teams competed, this year’s contingent included five squads. Volcano Vista High School AFJROTC, New Mexico, was the top Air Force team with an aggregate score of 4185-87, followed by The Woodlands AFJROTC, Texas (4148-116) and Northgate AFJROTC, Georgia (4109-99). Each team’s aggregate score was higher than last year’s top Air Force team by nearly 100 points. The two other Air Force entrants were Western Hills High School, Texas and McMichael High School, North Carolina.

Top Precision Teams by Service:

Army JROTC
• Del Valle High School, Texas
• Patch High School, Stuttgart, Germany
• Marmion Academy, Illinois
• Sarasota Military Academy, Florida
• Blackman High School, Tennessee Marine Corps JROTC
• Shelby County High School, Kentucky
• East Coweta High School, Georgia
• Eldorado High School, New Mexico
• La Cueva High School, New Mexico

Navy JROTC
• Union Grove High School, Georgia
• Los Alamos High School, New Mexico
• New Albany High School, Indiana
• Manzano High School, New Mexico
• Luella High School, Georgia Air Force JROTC
• Battle Ground High School, Washington

Marine Corp JROTC
• R-S Central High School, North Carolina
• Eldorado High School, New Mexico
• Des Moines North High School, Iowa
• Sapulpa High School, Oklahoma
• La Cueva High School, New Mexico Navy JROTC
• David Crockett High School, Tennessee
• King George High School, Virginia
• Calvert High School, Maryland
• Westside High School, Georgia
• Zion Benton High School, Illinois

To view complete results from the 2011 National Junior ROTC Air Rifle Championships, log onto http://clubs.odcmp.com/cgi-bin/report_matchResult.cgi?matchID=7039.  To see photographs from the event, log onto http://cmp1.zenfolio.com. 

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