Nation Ford MCJROTC Wins Their First National League Title
Nation Ford MCJROTC edged out Pueblo County AJROTC last week and wins their first National Air Rifle League title. The final score was 2212 to 2194.
Nation Ford MCJROTC won their title in grand style despite being the number seven seed going into the tournament. In their quarter final game they knocked off two time champion, and second seed, Gulfport MCJROTC. In the semifinals they out shot defending champion, and third seed, Lebanon AJROTC. Beating Pueblo County in the title game was no easy feat either. Pueblo County was the only team in the league to out shoot the number one seed Zion Benton NJROTC, which they did once during the regular season and a second time in their semifinal matchup.
Most Valuable Player honors go Sarah Leininger of Nation Ford MCJROTC. She lead her team in all three tournament games. Shooting a 551 in the game against Gulfport, a 565 in the game against Lebanon, and a 560 in the title game versus Pueblo County
Despite the rules allowing five athletes to participate in tournament games Nation Ford elected to play only four. The same four athletes competed in each game, they were Saran Leininger, Deonte Hayes, Kayla Kalenza, Nick Noto. Nation Ford MCJROTC is from Fort Mill, SC, and is coached by Sean Mulcahy.
Pueblo County AJROTC finished the season with a 7 - 3 record. They finished second in the Army JROTC Conference.
In the title game Pueblo County AJROTC was led by, Hannah Brown who shot a 552. The remaining contributing members were Nathaniel Romero, Kayla Mihelich, Jennifer Knox, and KaitLynn DeLaittre. Pueblo County AJROTC is from Pueblo, CO, and is coached by Arnold Lewis.
The National Air Rifle League is sponsored by the Orion Scoring System and is a national team league for high school teams and junior rifle clubs. The league has two parts, an eight week regular season, followed by the Championship Tournament. The Championship Tournament takes the top eight teams after the regular season where the teams compete in a single-elimination style bracket.
In each game the teams compete in what is known as a Three-Position Air Rifle match. The match is modeled after Olympic Rifle competitions but adapted to high school age athletes. Each athlete will shoots 20 shots in three different shooting positions, prone, standing, and kneeling. Each shot is worth a maximum of 10 points. The sum of points scored in the 60 shots is the athlete's total. The team score is comprised of the best four athletes from each team.
Box Score: http://www.orionresults.com/team/GamePage.aspx?MatchID=1.1.854760856.1
Nation Ford MCJROTC team page: http://www.orionresults.com/team/LeagueTeam.aspx?TeamID=1009
Pueblo County AJROTC team page: http://www.orionresults.com/team/LeagueTeam.aspx?TeamID=1005
10 - 16 Dec 2018