Gary Anderson, above left, at podium, Director of the Civilian Marksmanship Program and two-time Olympic Gold medallist,  welcomed teams to the 1st Annual JROTC National Championship.  Two guest speakers. J.B Hudson, above right, Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Army and COL Hoidahl, above center, USAMU Commander, spoke at the opening ceremony. Mr. Hudson spoke of the need for JROTC to help produce future leaders of the army and the role that marksmanship plays in that. COL Hoidahl spoke of setting goals, and expressed hopes that someday some of the competitors here would be members of the prestigious Army Marksmanship Unit.

Left:

Air Rifle competitors Stephany Delgado, Alex Ott, Kara Lydy, and Chadwick Gilmore served as color guard members in the opening ceremony.

Right:

Pictured here are the medals that were awarded in the 1st Annual JROTC National Air Rifle Championship.

Left:

A scene from the  firing line during the Sporter JROTC Air Rifle Championship.

Right:

A picture from the  firing line during the finals in the Precision JROTC Air Rifle Championship.  The top eight shooters from each day competed in a 10-shot final.

Precision Class Individual Winners.  James Tickle, Stockbridge HS NJROTC, took first place honors with a score of 1,267.0.  Leah Wilcox, Shelby County HS MCJROTC, was close by placing second, with a score of 1,265.4.  Mike Jablonski, Eldorado HS MCJROTC, finished third with a score of 1,255.3.

BG Sealock II poses with the  top three shooters in the Sporter Class Individual Championship, all from Winnsboro HS AJROTC.  Ian Beach took first place honors with a score of 1,152.0.  Judson Talbot placed second with a score of 1,146.8.  Alaina Wallace’s 1,138.3 finish placed her third.

J.B. Hudson poses with the Sporter JROTC National Team Championship, Winnsboro HS AJROTC, and the JROTC National Championship Team Runner-up, Ozark HS AJROTC.

The Precision Winning Team, Shelby County HS MCJROTC, is honored at the Awards Banquet.

Teresa Casey, NJROTC Program Support, congratulates winners of the Sporter Class Individual Alternates Match.  David Ferger, Zion-Benton HS NJROTC, placed first with a score of 512.  Carrie McLemore, Ozark HS AJROTC, was second with a score of 505 and Travis Carter, Winnsboro HS AJROTC, placed third with a score of 503.

Paul Duffey, MCJROTC Director, posed with the Precision Class Individual Alternate Winners.  First place honors went to Matthew Smith, Shelby County HS MCJROTC, with a score of 567.  Brandon McMillan, Fitzgerald HS AJROTC, took second place with a score of 545 beating Chris Thompson, Stockbridge HS NJROTC, who also scored a 545.  McMillan had the highest score in the kneeling position.

Special thanks for photos from the JROTC Championship is given to Scott Pilkington of Pilkington Competition Equipment (http://www.pilkguns.com) and Paula Pagan, USAMU Public Affairs Officer.