May 15, 2020 

Granbury Marine Corps JROTC rifle team members took the top honors as the 2020 JROTC All Service National Champions for the third year in a row.  

The Civilian Marksmanship Program combined all of the results from the individual JROTC Service Championships and declared results for the 2020 JROTC National Championships based on combined scores from the various branch service championships after cancelling the national match in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Granbury was 30 points ahead of the second place team. 

Representing Granbury as the three-time national champions was the team of Ashton Arlington, Philip Becker, Allison Henry, and Clarissa Layland. In addition to the team championship, Becker placed first as national champion individually, followed closely by Henry and Layland in fourth and fifth place respectively. 

Each fall, over 7,500 JROTC cadets, representing Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force JROTCs compete in a postal match. The best teams from each JROTC service compete in shoulder-to-shoulder Service Championships. The final test is the JROTC National Championship, representing winners from each service-level contest.  

“To have the season end the way it did was not the way we wanted to finish, especially for our seniors. The team was peaking and had just shot some of our top scores.,” commented Lt. Col. Scott Casey, the Senior Marine Instructor and rifle team coach. “It was exciting to see our freshmen shooters preparing to compete at their first national CMP match.  Confidence was high, and we really were looking forward to the experience.” 

All three Granbury seniors will head off to continue their sport in college this fall – Becker at Ohio State University, Henry at Murray State University, and Layland at the United States Naval Academy. 

Pictured at the Marine Corps Service Championship in February are (left to right) Clarissa Layland, Ashton Arlington, Allison Henry, and Philip Becker. In back is Lt. Col. Scott Casey.