March 26, 2018
Rifle team members of the Granbury Marine Corps JROTC took top honors as the National Champions at the JROTC Air Rifle Championships held at the Gary Anderson CMP Competition Center in Port Clinton, Ohio on March 22-24, 2018.
Trinity Hathaway, Allison Henry, M’Leah Lambdin, Clarissa Layland, Kelcy McGrath, Brittney Pinckard, Elizabeth Plecity, and Makenize Sheffield represented Granbury High School in the 3×20 air rifle event, featuring competitors firing 20 record shots from three positions (prone, standing, and kneeling) over the two-day contest.
The GHS top squad of McGrath, Hathaway, Sheffield, and Henry shot a 4689 out of a possible 4800 points to claim the national title – 23 points ahead of Eldorado High School, New Mexico. Additionally, Henry led the team and shot a personal best of 1176 out of a possible 1200 points making finals on day two and shooting a 103.5 that topped all final scores placing her third and winning the bronze medal as an individual. In addition, Sheffield made a run at the podium placing third on day one and making finals on both days that propelled her to a fourth-place finish overall.
Granbury’s second team of Pinckard, Layland, Lambdin, and Plecity placed sixth overall – only four points from making the podium.
Henry received her Junior Distinguished Badge, an award bestowed upon school-age junior three-position air rifle shooters who distinguish themselves by attaining a series of high rankings in designated major junior air rifle championships that include State Junior Olympic Qualifiers, CMP Cup Matches, the National Junior Olympic Championships, and other National Council Three-Position Air Rifle Championships.
"I couldn't be more proud of this team," commented Lt. Col. Scott Casey, the Senior Marine Instructor and rifle team head coach. "The team worked hard the last thirty days after a close victory at Service Championships last month. Throughout the whole championship, they never panicked and pushed for every point. I knew we had a special group from top to bottom at the beginning of the season.”
High school cadets from Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force JROTC (Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps) met on the firing line to complete a journey that has been months in the making. Over 7,000 junior shooters participated in the 2017 Civilian Marksmanship Program Postal Competition in October with the highest-scoring shooters in each branch qualifying for the JROTC National Service Championships last month.
Pictured are (left to right) Allison Henry, Trinity Hathaway, Kelcy McGrath, and Makenzie Sheffield. In back is Lt. Col. Casey.
