The 23rd annual National Guard Bureau Junior Air Rifle Tournament took place at Western Kentucky University, in Bowling Green, Kentucky, 28-30 June 2005. A total of 136 teams (1013 individuals) participated in the State Championship Postal Competition of the tournament which took place in the months of December through March. The 10 highest qualifying sporter and 10 highest qualifying precision state champion teams in the State Championship Postal Competition, along with the Palmyra Junior Rifle Team and Homestead 4-H Shooting Club, winners in the 2004 Tournament, were invited to compete in the National Guard Bureau Junior Air Rifle Tournament.
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| Top Sporter
Individual: Jace Bures, Homestead 4-H Shooting Club |
At the end of Day 1 events, Blake Phillips of Bogalusa HS, LA led the sporter class by three points over Jace Bures of Homestead 4-H Shooting Club, 641 to 638. In last year’s tournament, Phillips tied Bures in the final on day 2. In the sudden death shoot-off that followed, Phillips shot a 10 while Bures had an 8 to give Phillips the victory. This year, it was Bures who came back on the second day. He tied Phillips going into the second final where he shot an 88 to Phillips’ 87 to give Bures the individual NGB championship with an aggregate score of 1192.5 over Blake’s score of 1192.0. In third place was Micaela Jochum of the Homestead 4-H Shooting Club, NE with a score of 1189.0.
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| Top Three Sporter Teams: Homestead 4-H Shooting Club, 1st; North Mesquite HS, TX, 2nd; and Bogalusa HS, LA, 3rd |
In the Sporter Team Competition, Bures and Jochum led their team, Homestead 4-H Club, NE, to the title for the second year in a row! Coached by Mike Jochum, the team of Jace Bures (1107),
Micaela Jochum (1105), Cole Bures (1039) and Alyssa Wolken (1011) took a 55 point lead over the North Mesquite HS, TX team. Coach LTC Frederick Martin, Carmen Gomez (1070), Justin Mitchell (1059), Michael Prater (1048) and Cassandra Nix (1030) finished with a team total of 4207. The third place team with a score of 4204 was Bogalusa HS, LA coached by Ricky Fredieu. Team members were Phillips (1106), Charles Henley (1077), James Bell (1025) and Tanner Pritchard (996).
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| With a score of 874.5, Ashley Jackson of the South Cuyahoga Ashland Eagles, OH won the precision individual championship. |
Ashley Jackson of the South Cuyahoga Ashland Eagles, OH was the top Precision Individual in the State Championship Postal Competition. She went on to win the precision individual championship at the national competition in Bowling Green. Jackson won by firing strong finals on each day of the two days of competition. She did not have the top 40-shot standing score either day, but with a final round 98 on day 1 and a final of 97 on day 2, she had the highest total scores for each day. She won the overall Precision Individual title with a score of 874.5. Just behind Jackson in second was Phillip Huckaby of Spalding Co Shooting Sports, GA with a score of 871.5. Abigail Fong of Schenectady County JRT, NY was third with 868.5.
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| Top Three Precision Teams: Spokane Jr Rifle Club, WA, 1st; DuBois Rifle & Pistol Storm, PA, 2nd; and Somerset Gold, NJ, 3rd |
Spokane Jr Rifle Club, WA won the Precision Team Championship with a score of 3025. Coached by Michael Furrer, team members were Eric McNett (765), Amanda Furrer (764), Elisha LaFond (760) and Keith McBeth (736). Trailing them by three points was the DuBois Rifle & Pistol Storm, PA team with a score of 3022. Team members were Michael Kulbacki (763), Kyle Smith (756), Christina Dutra (752) and Justin Pentz (751) and coach Joel Dutra. The third place team was Somerset Gold, NJ coached by Richard Allaire. Team members were Jennifer Pason (769), Casey Gabriel (769), Jillian Szymonifka (751) and Sean Skeuse (723).
The winning precision class team, Spokane Jr Rifle Club, WA, will travel to Bisley, England to participate in the British National Rifle Championship on 3-10 August. The winning sporter class team, Homestead 4-H Club, NE, will receive four paid slots in the 2006 CMP Junior Rifle Camps. They also received a Walther LG300 Junior precision air rifle donated by the CMP.
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| LtCol Michael Clites, Deputy Commander, presents CPT David Woodard a plaque for his years of service with the National Guard Marksmanship Training Unit. |
The 2005 National Guard Bureau Junior Air Rifle Tournament was a special event for Captain David Woodard, NGMTU staff member and Match Director. This tournament was his last competition with the NGMTU as he is retiring from the National Guard. He was awarded a plaque for his years of devotion, dedication, commitment to duty and love of the NGB Junior Air Rifle Program. CPT Woodard has been the match director for the past five years.
The Civilian Marksmanship Program supports the National Guard competition by administering the postal and supporting the NGMTU in conducting the national competition. Results from this event are posted on the web site at http://clubs.odcmp.com/cgi-bin/report_matchResult.cgi?matchID=922. Pictures of this event are also posted on the CMP web site at http://www.odcmp.com/Photos/05/NGB/index.htm. |
