Webb City High School JROTC rifle teams performed well last weekend in regional and national competition at Camp Perry, Ohio.
In the regional championships against other Army JROTC programs in 25 states plus Army schools in Europe, Cardinal Battalion cadets came home with:
• First place in the sporter (old shooter) division. Shooters were Gabriel Boone, Kayleigh Wilson, Hope Shinn and Arabella Tandy. Boone placed third individually.
• Second place in the precision team division: Abigail Riggs, Anthony Kulju, Amy Klor and Allie Mealman. Riggs placed first individually.
In competing with more than 1,700 Army JROTC programs, Webb City won:
• Fifth place in the sporter team division.
• Third place in the precision team division.
“What a great week and a great group of cadets!” says their instructor, Lt. Col. Dustin Elder. “These kids have been practicing since mid-August for two hours a day, 4-5 days per week for this moment and it paid off for them. Over the last few days days we’ve had lots of nerves, lots of cheers and some tears. I couldn’t be more proud of them for their resilience.”
Both the sporter and precision teams qualified to return to Camp Perry toward the end of March to compete against the top JROTC shooters from all branches – not just Army. Joining them to determine the national champion will be teams from the Marine Corps, Air Force, Navy and Space Force.
“This is the first year that we have qualified two teams into this best of the best competition,” notes Elder.