Local marksmen shine
Kirtland Central, Piedra Vista place 1 and 2 at state championships by Lauren Duff and Rick Hoerner | courtesy photos Two local high school Junior ROTC teams received state recognition after scoring the first and second place trophies during the New Mexico State Marksmanship Championship in Albuquerque on April 12 through April 13. The event was held in conjunction with the CMP or Civilian Marksmanship Program, Western Regional Championships sponsored by the CMP.
In this event the best shooting teams from 13 western states qualified for the National Championships to be held in Anniston, Alabama this coming July. Kirtland Central High School’s JROTC Marksmanship Team earned first place in the state championships and Piedra Vista High School’s JROTC Marksmanship Team earned second place.
“It has been a long year of competitions, and with each one we kept improving. Our ultimate goal was to make it to the state championships,” said Thomas Frost, Kirtland Central JROTC instructor. “The kids were elated when they found out we placed first.” David Naber, Piedra Vista JROTC instructor, said the students were pleased with their overall score. “I was also particularly pleased with the performance of the sophomores on the team. They shot exceptionally well,” he said, referring to sophomores Brandon Von-Ha, Darnell Lincoln, Shelby Wyckoff, Joseph Johnson, and Broderick Conniff. Naber said the two high school teams also broke school records during the competition. The New Mexico State Championship was held in conjunction with the Civilian Marksmanship Program Western Regional Championship. Since the two teams competed in the regional championships during the same weekend as the state championships, the Kirtland Central JROTC Marksmanship Team was recognized as first in the region and third in the nation and the Piedra Vista JROTC Marksmanship Team was recognized as fourth in the region and seventh in the nation. “It is really unusual to have two teams that are only a few miles apart do so well in the state championships,” Frost said. “We have quality students who are dedicated and practice before and after school, and it paid off.” As a result of winning the Western Regional, Kirtland Central was awarded with two checks, one for $1,500 and one for $5,000. The $5,000 check
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Four Corners SPORTS
May 2013