Davis Wins Marine Corps JROTC Precision Air Rifle Title and Wheeless Captures Sporter Crown

ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO – Connor Davis, 17, of Shelby County High School in Shelbyville, Kentucky, won the 2011 U.S. Marine Corps Junior ROTC Service Championship in the precision air rifle division. Thomas Wheeless, 18, of Phoebus High School in Hampton, Virginia, also picked up a gold medal and will move on to defend his national sporter championship crown at the National JROTC Championships in Anniston, Alabama in late March.

Connor Davis captured the 2011 Marine Corps JROTC precision air rifle service championship and will compete for a national title in Anniston, Alabama later this month.

Both shooters improved from last year’s service championship with Davis moving from 10th to first and Wheeless improving from a 2010 second place finish to win the 3x20x2 match format fired over two days, 19 & 20 February, at the City Range of Albuquerque.

Davis compiled an aggregate score of 1272.4 over the two-day period, capping his performance with a 100.4 10-shot final on the second day of the competition. He shot a pair of 586 qualifying scores leading up to the final.

Keri Marlin placed second in the precision air rifle championship in Albuquerque. Marlin, along with precision champ Connor Davis, helped Shelby County High School win the team precision championship as well.

His Shelby County teammate, Keri Marlin, 16, placed second, eight points behind Davis, with an aggregate score of 1264.2. Kelsey Moral, 16, of East Coweta High School, Sharpsburg, Georgia, placed third with an aggregate of 1262.7.

Kelsey Moral, of East Coweta High School, Georgia, placed third in the precision championship, firing an aggregate score of 1262.7.

In the sporter championship, Wheeless opened with a 543 on Day I and followed with a 553 on Day 2 and scored an 87.3 in the final. Steven Murphy, 17, of RS Central High School, Forest City, North Carolina, placed second with an aggregate score of 1180.1. Michael Stroud, 17, of Des Moines North High School, Iowa, scored an aggregate of 1167 to finish third.

Thomas Wheeless won the 2011 Marine Corp JROTC sporter air rifle service championship and will head to Anniston to defend his 2010 sporter individual national title.

In team competition, Davis’ Shelby County High School squad fired a 4630 aggregate in defeating East Coweta, Sharpsburg, Georgia (4616) and La Cueva High School, Albuquerque (4586). Davis was joined by teammates Keri Marlin, Heather Kirby and Brandon Thompson atop the podium.

East Coweta was led by Kelsey Moral and teammates Tyler Dayton, Ciara Centenera and Adam Grumbling. La Cueva’s team is comprised of Landon Shankles, Michael Abonyi, Kourtney Burd and Hunter Firebaugh.

Shelby is coached by 1SGT Willie Brown, USMC (Ret.); East Coweta is coached by MSGT John Skinner, USMC; and La Cueva is coached by 1SGT Alberto Griego, USMC (Ret.).

USMC JROTC cadet shooters check their rifles in prior to the opening of the 2011 Marine Corps service championship.

In sporter team competition, RS Central High School of Forest City, North Carolina led the way with an aggregate score of 4285. The team leader was Steven Murphy and he was joined by Alex Murray, Amber Swink and Martina Carson.

In second place, Albuquerque’s Eldorado High School team posted an aggregate score of 4253 and was fired by Duncan Baker, Wren Hudson, Tyler Savoie and Jacob Crites. Des Moines North High School, led by Michael Stroud, fired a combined score of 4226 and was joined by Sara Crampton, Emily Allen and Griselda Sandoval.

RS Central is coached by Russell Armentrout; Eldorado is coached by MAJ James Koerber, USMC (Ret.); and Des Moines North is coached by GySGT Michael Gettler, USMC.

For logistical reasons, the Air Force Junior ROTC team from Volcano Vista High School in Albuquerque also participated in the event. Their individual and team results were recorded separately in CMP’s Competition Tracker.

For the AFJROTC, which competes in the sporter air rifle division only, Allen Cohenour, 17, of Volcano Vista was their high scorer with an aggregate total of 1169. Cohenour also fired a 93 in the final on Day 2. Jocelyn Caro, 17, placed second (1153.2) and Rachel Sanchez, 17, shot an 1147.7.

Volcano Vista had the only Air Force team in the Albuquerque event and they scored an aggregate total of 4205. Team members were Cohenour, Caro, Sanchez and Alexander Reed, 17.

For complete results of the 2011 USMC JROTC Service Championships, log onto http://clubs.odcmp.com/cgi-bin/report_matchResult.cgi?matchID=6603.  For results of the 2011 Air Force JROTC Service Championships fired in Anniston, AL, log onto http://clubs.odcmp.com/cgi-bin/report_matchResult.cgi?matchID=6493.  For photos from these and other recent events log onto http://cmp1.zenfolio.com.

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