Phoenix, Ariz. – Congratulations to Tyler Rico, Alexandria Provine and Joey Kendrick who have not only raised the bar in Arizona’s organized shooting programs, but have also been extraordinary ambassadors for the nation’s Junior shooting sports. “We are proud to honor these young teammates and are fortunate to have supported their growth and success in our junior rifle divisions that include high power, smallbore and air rifle,” said Tom Kirby, a veteran shooting coach and a Junior Division director for the non-profit, Arizona State Rifle and Pistol Association (ASRPA).
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Kirby announced that the junior rifle trio were offered appointments to the three US military academies for scholastic achievement and rifle shooting accomplishments, and will join their academy’s collegiate NCAA rifle teams. This includes the Air Force Academy, West Point Military Academy, and Annapolis Naval Academy. The teammates just entered their individual basic cadet fitness training and will start their four-year officer-in-training classes in mid-August. They will graduate from the academies as second lieutenants or ensign and then will transfer into active duty military assignments. The rifle teammates are supported by Rio Salado Sportsman’s Club in Mesa, Arizona and the Tucson Rifle Cub, in Tucson, both members of the Arizona’s ASRPA.
“According to available information, there have never been three junior teammates on the same high power, smallbore and air rifle teams, who have earned appointments to the three military academies at the same time,” says Kirby. “This is most likely an Arizona and national first,” he added. “I don’t think that’s ever happened, ever,” said retired Maj. Bob DeWitt, coach of Tucson’s Flowing Wells JROTC rifle team since 1995.
A US military academy college scholarship is now worth near $425,000, thus the total amount of the three scholarships is over $1.25 million in tuition and support for these young achievers. Kirby said the academies search for high school graduates who are competitive young men and women, which makes organized rifle shooting an excellent athletic activity for kids to be involved in, he said. There are at about twenty NCAA division-one colleges in the country that offer scholarships to participate in rifle shooting, so there’s a lot of education opportunities attached to organized rifle shooting, he added.
Tyler Rico, age 17, who just graduated from Flowing Wells High School in Tucson, Arizona, received an automatic appointment to the Air Force Academy for his record-setting rifle accolades, as well as academics. Tyler will be joining the AFA Fighting Falcons Rifle Team and will compete in .22-cal. smallbore rifle and air rifle, which are NCAA collegiate sports. Tyler began competitive rifle with ASRPA’s Junior High Power Rifle Team at age ten and set several national records with the AR-15 match rifle before age 14. He then began shooting smallbore rifle and air rifle with the support of Rio Salado’s junior shooting program, and quickly became the top-ranked junior rifle competitor in the country at age 16, and one of the best high power rifle shooters in the country. Tyler stated that competing in all three rifle disciplines helped advance his competitiveness a lot faster than if he would have just stayed with smallbore and air rifle.
Tyler is now a four-time national junior champion of the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP), and the National Rifle Association (NRA). He owns the highest junior across-the-course record of 794 out of 800 points shooting at bullseye targets at 200, 300 and 600 yards. At age 13, he became the youngest person to earn the Distinguished Rifleman badge, and the youngest competitor to place second in the President’s-Hundred Match held at the CMP’s National Rifle Matches, out-scoring all of the US Army Marksmanship Unit’s team members, and other Junior competitors in the process. Tyler owns a national record in sporter air rifle, as well.
Tyler is a member of Tucson’s Flowing Wells HS Army JROTC unit that earned, “Team National Champion,” at the 2012 national championships held this past March in Anniston, Alabama. Tyler also took second place in the Individual championship division. He recently won the men’s gold medal at the National Junior Olympic Shooting Championships, held at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado in April. This first place finish earned him a position on the coveted, USA Shooting’s, “National Junior Team.”
Tyler is a member of Tucson’s Flowing Wells HS Army JROTC unit that earned, “Team National Champion,” at the 2012 national championships held this past March in Anniston, Alabama. Tyler also took second place in the Individual championship division. He recently won the men’s gold medal at the National Junior Olympic Shooting Championships, held at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado in April. This first place finish earned him a position on the coveted, USA Shooting’s, “National Junior Team.”
Tyler is also an Eagle Scout and holds the Black Belt in Karate. He is an AP Honor’s Student with a GPA of 4.0 and graduated at the top of his class. Tyler wants to fly the Air Force’s close air support A-10 Thunderbolt. “Shooting rifle at the national level taught me to not shy away from competitive challenges, and this experience open the door to my education and future career,” Tyler stated.
Alexandria Provine, 18, a graduating senior at Canyon del Oro High School in Tucson, Arizona, and teammate of Tyler’s in Flowing Well’s High School JROTC program, received an appointment to the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York, an institution that’s an integral part of the history of the United States. West Point is home of the Black Knight’s Rifle Team, a collegiate rifle program that Alex will join. Alex and Tyler will continue competing against each other, now at the NCAA level, and will probably be groomed by their individual programs to compete for positions on the 2016 Olympic Team. It’s quite possible that they could be competing as teammates in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
Alex began shooting rifle in Arizona at age 16 as a Sophmore in high school and has been competing with the AR-15 service rifle, .22-cal. smallbore and air rifle for only three years. To make up for a late start in the rifle shooting sports, Alex practiced sporter air rifle four days a week in the mornings before school, and two days a week after school. During the summer months, she spent four to six hours a day shooting at least four days a week. Alex is an Arizona state champion in the Junior Olympic qualifier matches and is classified as a Master in conventional position smallbore. Alex also added high power rifle to her shooting disciplines for add depth and experience.
In May of 2010, when shooting her first match with the Arizona Junior Rifle Team, and using a borrowed AR-15 rifle, she proceeded to “clean” the 200-yard target (shoot a perfect score), in rapid fire sitting, at the Arizona Junior High Power Championships. She accomplished this with absolutely no prior experience with the AR-15, Kirby stated. Three months later, she attended the National Rifle Matches as a firing team member and earned points towards becoming a Distinguished Rifleman, and returned home with an Expert classification, jumping past two lower rankings.
Rifle marksmen who have competed against Alex say she is very tenacious and has an unusual competitive advantage, which Tyler describes as a, “death glare,” that she uses to get inside competitors’ heads. Coach Kirby said that Alex has no fear of shooting against the very best shooters in the country. “You better bring your best game, because you will have to go through her to stand on the stage,” Kirby stressed.
Alex is also a fine artist and says that the unerring focus and quick thinking are the same in painting and drawing as in competitive shooting. “They are very similar in terms of the mental approach,” she said. “Fine art has taught me how to use these skills to improve my focus when competing,” she added. As a friendly gesture, Alex hand-painted Tyler’s sporter air rifle with the Air Force Academy colors and added a few tiger stripes, for good measure.
Alex is an AP Honor’s student and a member of the National Honor’s Society. She graduated in the top of her class with a 4.0 GPA, and said she is interested in a career in chemical engineering with the U.S. Army.
Joey Kendrick, age 18, just graduated from Gilbert High school in Gilbert, Arizona. Joey received an appointment to the US Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland. He began shooting organized rifle during his Junior year in high school, and with only a few days of training with the AR-15, he was invited to join the Arizona Junior Rifle Team. “He’s been shooting smallbore and vintage military rifles at targets since he was five years old, so he knows about sight picture and shooting positions,” said Pat Kendrick, his father. “His rifle coaches taught him the finesse that’s required to become a true competitive rifle shooter,” he added.
Shortly after joining the program, Joey was selected as a firing member of the six-person Arizona team that won the Minuteman Trophy as the National Champion Junior Team, at the 2011 National Rifle Matches, held at Camp Perry, Ohio. Joey was also a firing member of the six-person National Infantry Trophy Team that won the Silver medal at the National Rifle Matches last year. He also earned points towards the Distinguished Rifleman’s badge.
While at Gilbert High School Joey was active in USAF JROTC. He was a Corps Commander in 2011, the Distinguished Cadet for 2011-2012 school year, and the varsity team drill commander of his unit’s national championship team. He amassed three national championships along with forty-three trophies in this Arizona Interscholastic Activity. Joey is also an AP Honor’s student, a member of the National Honor’s Society, and graduated with a 4.0 GPA in the top of his class. His JROTC commander, Major Loucel, said, “Joey is an exceptional cadet, who has always been among the top in the corps since he joined.”
Originally, Joey didn’t seek a position on the Naval Academy’s rifle team, but he learned that the academy’s athletic department wants to add him to the Midshipman’s roster because of his experience with a high-profile national champion junior rifle team. With hands-on training and a rigorous shooting schedule with smallbore and air rifle at the NCAA level, he’ll quickly become a permanent fixture with the Mid’s, Kirby projects. Instead of waiting for classes to begin, Joey borrowed a smallbore rifle and an air rifle from Rio Salado’s junior division and began practicing immediately.
“There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about the opportunity we were provided in Arizona’s junior rifle programs,” Joey said. “All three of us…me, Tyler and Alex, the ‘Three Amigos’…, are fortunate to have been at the right place at the right time, with the right people supporting us to achieve our dreams,” Joey stated. “You can absolutely earn a college degree shooting rifle,” he added.
Kirby remarked that it has been a great pleasure and an honor to have been able to coach these rare athletes and future leaders of our country whom he says, “possess deep reserves of dedication and passion to excel in their education, in rifle competition, and in their upcoming careers in the military and beyond,” Kirby said.
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