147 Sporter Air Rifle juniors competed last week at the CMP’s Camp Perry Air Gun Range during the National Junior Olympic Three-Position Sporter Rifle Championship.

CAMP PERRY, OHIO - William "Trey" Eades III, 17, of Shreveport, Louisiana overcame a first day eight-point deficit by firing an outstanding 565 total on Day II enroute to winning the individual gold medal in the 2009 Junior Olympic Three-Position Sporter Air Rifle Championship at the CMP North Competition Center on 9 July.

COL Dean Brown, OHNG, Commander, Camp Perry Training Site, awards William Eades III with his gold medal. Eades was also awarded an Air Force Edge Sporter Air Rifle by Air Force Airguns.

Eades, representing C.E. Byrd High School Army JROTC, worked methodically to move ahead of Yvonne Swiontek, 17, of Beach Park, Illinois who held the first day lead with an aggregate score of 559-22.

On Day II, Eades took an 11-point lead over Swiontek, whose Day II score of 554 placed fourth behind Eades, Thomas Wheeless, 15, and Wheeless' teammate Matt Brewer, 15, both of Hampton, Virginia. Wheeless and Brewer both had 558s on Day II.

Coached by Army First Sergeant Charles Thompson, Eades held a three-point net lead over Swiontek overall after two days of 3 x 20 competition, entering the final.

Swiontek, representing Zion Benton High School Navy JROTC, won the final, firing a 92.6 to Eades' 92.1, pulling to within 2.5 points overall, clinching the silver medal. Wheeless captured bronze, finishing third in the final with a score of 91.2, and third overall with an aggregate score of 1199.2. Eades prevailed overall with a record total score of 1208.1 with Swiontek finishing at 1205.6.

Eades and Swiontek made the final interesting, firing a nearly dead even match. Eades sailed his fifth shot (7.4) which dropped him two tenths behind Swiontek in the final at that point. He regrouped, firing a 10.0 on the next shot and both shooters averaged 9.2 for the remaining shots, preserving Eades' overall lead.

It was Eades' second big win of the year, surpassing his 1194.75 score in the 2009 National JROTC Individual Sporter Championship in March at Fort Benning, Georgia.

"I was nervous, but feeling a lot better than yesterday," Eades said in reference to his state of mind prior to and during the final.

"I'm feeling pretty happy about it - how many people get a chance to win two national championships in the same year?"

When asked about his fifth shot lapse in the final, Eades said he had to put it out of his mind.

"You've got to put something like that behind you. You noticed that my next shot was a 10", he said. "You just can't let it stop you."

Eades said he enjoyed his trip to Camp Perry and shooting in the new airgun range. "This facility is great - the electronic system allows you to maintain your natural point of aim without scoring delays - you just get back to your next shot and it's done," he said.

Yvonne Swiontek, of Beach Park, Illinois earned the Silver Medal for the Individual category but was also a member of the winning the scholastic team, Zion Benton High School NJROTC, Illinois.

Silver medalist Swiontek was disappointed but the winner of the 2009 Navy JROTC Service individual sporter championship said she was grateful.

"I could have done better, but I'm very happy to win the silver medal - it was a great experience.”

"Coming into the final I was nervous - my heart was pounding," she added.

Swiontek's coach, Dan Hackstein, offered her plenty of support, reminding her that she was in the match all the way and had many reasons to feel happy about her performance.

COL Brown presents Virginia junior Thomas Wheeless with a Bronze Medal. Wheeless was also a member of the top club team, Lafayette Gun Club of Virginia (White).

Wheeless, coached by Jim Crawford and the youngest of the three place finishers, said he was really amazed when he was recognized for setting a new junior club standing record for sporter with a 180-8X.

"Last year I placed fifth and this year I moved up to third," he said. "I hope to move up again next year."

Representing the Lafayette Gun Club of Virginia (White) and Phoebus High School in Hampton, Wheeless also praised the new competitions center.

"The targets are really cool," he said enthusiastically. His dad, Lynn Wheeless agreed. "It really improves the tempo of shooting. You no longer have to wait for targets to be changed or scored."

In team club shooting, Lafayette Gun Club of Virginia (White) won the gold medal with an aggregate score of 4347-129. Team firing members are Thomas Wheeless, Matthew Brewer, Hannah Black and Joshua Black.

The silver medalist was Venture Crew 123 Aloha Council of Hawaii with an overall aggregate score of 4125-105. Team members are Kristy Inouye, Peter Mathre, Jennifer Nose and Keanu Paiki.

The bronze medal winning team was Lafayette Gun Club of Virginia (Red), scoring 4102-85. The team is comprised of Timothy Teller, Zachary Foster, Michael Teller and Sarah Osborn.

Winning the scholastic team sporter championship was Zion Benton High School NJROTC, Illinois. Team members are Yvonne Swiontek, Ariel Morales, Renz Ibarra and Alyssa Siegfried.

Ozark High School AJROTC of Missouri won the silver medal with a total aggregate score of 4281-117. Members of the team are Kyrstin Karr, Tyler Ferguson, Lacie Norris and Samantha Norris.

The bronze medal winning team was Paint Branch High School NJROTC MD, scoring 4263-122. The team is comprised of Lucas Huston, Olutoba Adewusi, Casey McGrath and Hoyoung Kang.

For complete individual and team results, log onto http://clubs.odcmp.com/cgi-bin/report_matchResult.cgi?matchID=4741.

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