Navy dominates Intercollegiate Pistol Championships

By Paula J. Randall Pagán
U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit Public Affairs Office

FORT BENNING, Ga. - The U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit hosted approximately 100 students from 16 colleges and universities on March 18 to 22 when they competed in the National Intercollegiate Pistol Championships. The matches took place at USAMU's Pool International Shooting Complex and Phillips Range. The U.S. Naval Academy pistol team dominated the competition winning every team championship except one and it finished second in that event. Navy won the Men's and Women's Air Pistol, Standard Pistol and Sport Pistol team championships and finished second in the Free Pistol team match, which was won by the team from the Citadel.

The U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., took second place in the Sport Pistol and Standard Pistol team matches and finished third in the Women's Air Pistol team match. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology Team came in second in the Women's Air Pistol while the U.S. Coast Guard Academy Team took third in Sport Pistol. The Citadel placed second in the Air Pistol team match, where the University of Utah was third. Ohio State finished third in the Standard Pistol team match and Utah was third in Free Pistol.

In the ROTC Standard Pistol competition, the Ohio State Navy ROTC Team won the title, the Texas A&M Navy ROTC Team was second and Ole Miss Navy ROTC was third.

Overall individual aggregate winners were James Diefenderfer of Navy in first, Geoffrey Newton of The Citadel in second and Jessica Marshall of Ohio in third. Marshall was also the Women's Division winner, followed by Yin Chen of MIT and Jodie Briggs of Truett McConnell College.

Diefenderfer and Daniel Krumbein of Navy took first and second place in the individual Air Pistol match with Quin Smith of Utah taking third. In the Women's Air Pistol individual championships, it was Marshall and Jennifer Trickett of Ohio taking first and third places, with Briggs in second. Marshall also won the Women’s Sport Pistol championship with Chen taking second and Briggs third. In Free Pistol, Newton was the winner, Diefenderfer was second and Smith finished third. Chad Thompson of the Coast Guard won the Standard Pistol championship, while Newton took second place and Justin Salvia of Navy was third.

The top 10 teams and top 30 individuals in each event advanced from the Intercollegiate Pistol Sectionals, which were conducted in 12 locations across the country between January 18 and February 16. Twelve varsity teams and five ROTC teams competed in this national championship at Fort Benning. They included Oregon State, UCLA, USC, Jacksonville, University of Virginia, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and the U.S. Air Force Academy. The Royal Military College of Canada also participated.

Students celebrate victories at 1st JROTC National Air Rifle Championship

FORT BENNING, Ga. - The U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit hosted the first JROTC National Three-Position Air Rifle Championships on March 27-29, at the Pool International Shooting Complex. The Civilian Marksmanship Program of Camp Perry, Ohio, conducted the matches in cooperation with the Army, Navy and Marine Corps JROTC Commands and plans to make this an annual competition.

Eighteen four-person rifle teams that represented the very best of the 1,171 JROTC unit teams that competed in the first qualifying phase of the championships were invited to the national competition. The championship had both Sporter and Precision Classes. The winning sporter rifle team was Winnsboro High School Army JROTC of Louisiana and the winning precision rifle team was Shelby County High School Marine Corps JROTC of Kentucky. The runner-up sporter team was Ozark High School Army JROTC of Missouri and the runner-up precision team was Stockbridge High School Navy JROTC of Georgia.

The High Army Teams were Winnsboro in the Sporter Division and Fitzgerald High School Army JROTC of Georgia in the Precision Class. The High Navy Teams were Reed High School Navy JROTC of Nevada in Sporter and Stockbridge in Precision. The High Marine Corps Teams were Gloucester High School Marine Corps JROTC of Massachusetts in Sporter and Shelby County in Precision.

Winnsboro High School swept the individual championships in the Sporter Class with Ian Beach taking first, Judson Talbot second and Alaina Wallace third. The High Army shooter was Nathan Denney of Ozark High School in Missouri. The High Navy shooter was Anthony Florez of Reed High School. The High Marine Corps shooter was Tyler Burke of La Cueva High School of New Mexico.

Winners in the Precision Class individual championships were James Tickle of Stockbridge in first place, Leah Wilcox of Shelby County in second place and Mike Jablonski of El Dorado High School in New Mexico in third. Jeremy Drennan of Union Grove High School in Georgia was the High Navy Shooter, Kyle Eberle of El Dorado High School was the High Marine shooter and Latoya Gilbert of Fitzgerald High School in Georgia was the High Army Shooter.

In the Alternates Match, Travis Carter of Winnsboro was the winner in the Sporter Class; David Ferger of Zion-Benton High School Navy JROTC of Illinois was second and Carrie McLemore of Ozark was third. In the Precision Class, Matthew Smith of Shelby County was the winner, Brandon McMillan of Fitzgerald was second and Chris Thompson of Stockbridge took third.

Other teams that competed were Central Catholic High School of Texas, Carson High School of Nevada, Morton Memorial High School of Indiana, North High School of Iowa, Cary High School of North Carolina and Wuerzburg, Germany, American High School. The students received their medals and trophies at an awards dinner, which was held at the Columbus Iron Works Convention and Trade Center on March 29. U.S. Army Cadet Command Deputy Commanding General Brig. Gen. Gratton O. Sealock II, CMP Director and Olympic Gold Medalist Gary Anderson and USAMU international rifle Olympian Maj. Michael E. Anti were the guest speakers.

Three-Position Air Rifle shooting is the most popular and fastest growing form of shooting sports competition for youth of high school age or younger, according to CMP officials. Three-Position Air Rifle is modeled after Olympic-style shooting competitions. Competitors fire at targets with air rifles at a distance of 10 meters in three different positions - prone, standing and kneeling. For photos taken at this year’s event, go to www.odcmp.com/3P/JROTCPIC.htm.

Last chance for Olympic quotas
USAMU to host Pan-Am Team Trials

FORT BENNING, Ga. - The U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit will host the second and final selection matches to choose members of the U.S. Pan-American Games Shooting Team. The trials at Fort Benning will take place on April 22 to May 2 and May 17-24. The 2003 Pan American Games will take place in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic August 2-9. Approximately 200 shooters will compete on the USAMU ranges in International Rifle, International Pistol and Shotgun events. The Pam American Team Running Target trials will take place at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado on April 24-26.

Soldiers of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit won more than two-dozen medals at the first Pan-Am Team Selection Match, which the USAMU hosted last September and October. USA Shooting, the national governing body for Olympic shooting sports in the United States, sponsors the selection matches.

The Pan-American Games is an Olympic-style multi-sport competition for Western Hemisphere nations that includes the sport of shooting among its more than 30 sports. The Pan American Games, like the Olympics, are conducted every four years. The last Games were staged in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada in 1999. In addition to competing for Pan-American Games medals, the Games are also the last chance for shooters from the Western Hemisphere to win quota slots for their countries to compete in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.

The competition schedule for the final selection match is listed below. Shooting starts at 9 a.m. each day and awards ceremonies will be held after the finals on the last day of each competition.

* Men's and Women's Skeet, April 23-26, Hook Range
* Men's Rapid Fire Pistol, April 25-27, Phillips Range
* Men's and Women's Double Trap, April 27-29, Hook Range
* Men's and Women's Air Pistol, April 27-29, Pool Indoor Range
* Men's Free Pistol, April 30-May 2, Pool Outdoor Range
* Women's Sport Pistol, April 30-May 2, Phillips Range
* Men's and Women's Trap, April 30-May 3, Hook Range
* Men's Air Rifle, May 17-19, Pool Indoor Range
* Women's Sport Rifle, May 17-19, Pool Outdoor Range
* Men's Prone Rifle, May 20-22, Pool Outdoor Range
* Women's Air Rifle, May 20-22, Pool Indoor Range
* Men's Three Position Rifle, May 21-24, Pool Outdoor Range
Media are invited to cover the matches and awards ceremonies but must coordinate with the USAMU Public Affairs Office before coming on post. Call (706) 545-5436 or e-mail paula.pagan@usarec.army.mil for more information.