By Ashley Brugnone, CMP Writer
During the month of April, the Civilian Marksmanship Program’s (CMP) annual Three-Position Regional Air Rifle events were fired, with over 450 talented junior athletes aiming for a trip to Ohio for the Three-Position National Championship in June and July.
Each Regional match is a 3×20 (three-position) air rifle competition, where sporter and precision class athletes from 4-H, Scouts, American Legion, club or JROTC rifle programs fire 20 shots at three positions: prone, standing and kneeling. Three separate matches were held at CMP venues around the country, including the Gary Anderson CMP Competition Center at Camp Perry, Ohio, the CMP’s south air gun range at the South Competition Center in Anniston, Ala., as well as through the use of its Mobile Range in Sandy, Utah.
Qualifiers for the National competition are chosen from the overall scores from the combined regions.
Leading overall in the sporter Regional event was Mackayla Bourgeois, 18, of Gulfport MCJROTC in Mississippi, with a total combined score of 1230. Following Bourgeois were Nation Ford MCJROTC team members Kayla Kalenza, 15, and Deonte Hayes, 18, with respective scores of 1214.3 and 1210.1. The Nation Ford team out of South Carolina led the sporter class at the National JROTC Air Rifle event in March, with Kalenza earning second overall.
In precision, Gavin Perkowski, 17, of the Great Trail Musketeers in Ohio, fired a score of 1282.5 to lead the Regional event. Sarah Frantz, 16, of Ontelaunee Jr. Rifle in Pennsylvania, recorded a score of 1277.2 for second, as Anusha Pakkam, 17, of the Ole Mill Rangers in Georgia, followed closely in third with 1276.9.
The Great Trail Musketeers claimed the top spot in the precision team event, with a score of 4673-289x, as Nation Ford led the sporter class, totaling 4455-173x.
Top performers at each location include:
Camp Perry, Ohio:
Sporter:
- Bailey Hoenig, Zion Benton Team 1, IL – 1198.2
- Linsey Kleckner, Freeport High School, IL – 1184.9
- Nathan Adomaitis, Seneca Valley AJROTC, PA – 1184.5
Precision:
- Gavin Perkowski, Great Trail Musketeers, OH – 1282.5
- Sarah Frantz, Ontelaunee Jr. Rifle, PA – 1277.2
- Derek Keiser, Great Trail Musketeers, OH – 1275.0
Anniston, Ala.:
Sporter:
- Mackayla Bourgeois, Gulfport MCJROTC, MS – 1230.0
- Kayla Kalenza, Nation Ford MCJROTC, SC – 1214.3
- Deonte Hayes, Nation Ford MCJROTC, SC – 1210.1
Precision:
- Anusha Pakkam, Ole Mill Rangers, GA – 1276.9
- Emily Buck, Shelby Co. Shooting Sports, AL – 1273.0
- Brianne Staton, Calhoun Hawkeyes, AL – 1272.2
Sandy, Utah:
Sporter:
- Samantha Louie, Selma High School, CA – 1190.2
- Kevin Nguyen, Des Moines North MCJROTC, IA – 1189.2
- Jake Slingluff, Lebanon High School, OR – 1187.4
Precision:
- Nina Schuett, Gallatin Valley Sharp Shooters, MT – 1274.7
- Jonna Warnken, Hellgate, MT – 1273.8
- Kim Jettenberg, Borealis Bullseyes, AK – 1273.3
Overall teams:
Sporter:
- Nation Ford High School, South Carolina – 4455-173x
- South Panola, Mississippi – 4368-135x
- Zion Benton High School, Illinois – 4359-135x
Precision:
- Great Trail Musketeers, Ohio – 4673-289x
- Ole Mill Rangers, Georgia – 4650-280x
- Ontelaunee Jr. Rifle, Pennsylvania – 4644-296x
Leading teams and individuals are invited to the 2019 CMP National Three-Position Air Rifle Championship, held at the Gary Anderson CMP Competition Center in Ohio, June 27-29 for sporter and July 13-15 for precision. The event is free and open to the public.
Junior marksmen participating in the CMP National Championship will also be automatically entered in the USA Shooting National 3P Junior Olympics, also held at the Gary Anderson Competition Center on June 28 (sporter) and July 14 (precision).
For a complete list of results of the CMP Regional Championships, visit https://ct.thecmp.org/app/v1/index.php?do=match&task=edit&match=18094&tab=results.
More information about the CMP 3P Air Rifle Championships, including the list of Regional Qualifiers, can be found on the CMP website at http://thecmp.org/air/national-three-position-air-rifle-championships/.
Photos of the events can be found on the CMP Zenfolio page at https://cmp1.zenfolio.com/f1021178851.