MADISON – Affiliated with the 2023 National Air Rifle New Shooter League, cadets in Air Force Junior ROTC or AFJROTC at Bob Jones High School recently challenged the students in St. Stephens Navy Junior ROTC or NJROTC from Hickory, N.C.

St. Stephens NJROTC compiled their highest score of the season. They edged out Bob Jones with a score of 888.2, compared to the Patriots’ final with 882.6 in the 2023 National Air Rifle New Shooter League.

Eliseo Chavez shot a 227 for the North Carolina students. Other contributing members were Nathan Davis, Kaitlyn Barger and Makalynn Joines. John Moore coaches the NJROTC students.

Overall, St. Stephens NJROTC has been ranked 46th. They have a 4-2 record.

Bob Jones shot to achieve their highest team score of the season. Even with superior shooting, Bob Jones had to face a snap to their three-game winning streak with a final tally of 888.2 for St. Stephens NJROTC and 882.6 for the Patriots.

Aaron Chen shot a 243.8 to lead Bob Jones. The remaining cadets from Madison were Taylor Turpin, Elizabeth Lee and Sarah King. CMSgt. (ret.) Ellis Q. Clark coaches the team at Bob Jones.

Bob Jones now has a record of 4-2. Ranking for the team is 45th.

Following their competition, St. Stephens and Bob Jones both had a bye week.

These two teams are competing in the National Air Rifle “New Shooter” League. Sponsored by the Orion Scoring System, the league of national teams have membership exclusive to athletes in their first year of competition.

Teams in the ‘New Shooter’ league attend high schools and participate in junior rifle clubs throughout the United States. During 10 weeks, each team competes in eight games. Each team is paired weekly with another team with a near-equal skill level.

In each game, the teams compete in a “Three-Position Air Rifle Match,” Clark said. “The match is modeled after Olympic Rifle competitions but adapted to high-school age athletes.”

Each athlete shoots 10 shots in shooting positions for prone, standing and kneeling. Each shot is valued at 10.9 points maximum. The sum of points scored in the 30 shots is the athlete’s total. The team score is the total of results from four athletes with the best scores.

For more information on the league, including complete standings, visit national-leagues.com/new-shooter. For Bob Jones’ team page, visit orionresults.com/team/LeagueTeam.aspx?TeamID=2154.