The Patrick County Shooting Education Team just returned Sunday from the state shooting competition held at the 4-H Center at Smith Mountain Lake. Shooting teams and clubs from across the state met and took part in the two-day Spring Air shooting event.
The Patrick County team did very well, bringing home several team medals and trophies along with individual awards.
Awards and events are as follows:
The BB team finished in third place overall, earning a place at nationals, which is held in Rogers, Ark., each year during the week of July 4th. This year’s BB team members are Steele Foley, Caleb Murphy, Matthew Shelton, Jason Mayhew, Kateland McKinney and Dylan Hedges. The team finished third with a combined total score of 2,092 and 31 center shots.
Out of 76 BB shooters, Steele Foley finished fourth overall with a 449 and 14 centershots out of a possible 500. Caleb Murphy was 11th with a 441 and 7 centershots; Jason Mayhew—a first-time shooter—was 21st with a 423 and 3 centershots. Kateland McKinney, another first-time shooter, was 38th with a 398 and 2 centershots; and Dylan Hodges, another first-time shooter, was 53rd with a 381 and 5 centershots. All the kids worked very hard for this year’s round, and their wins were a great accomplishment.
In other events held this weekend, the Air Rifle Spring Air Silhouettes was popular among the competitors. Thomas Coleman took first place overall, finishing up with 19 animal targets out of a possible 20.
Shae Cardwell took third place with 16 targets out of 20, and Emily Clark finished out the top 10 spot with 13 out of a possible 20.
In Air Pistol Silhouettes, Caleb Murphy took fifth place with 9 targets out of a possible 20. Shae Cardwell finished sixth with 9 out of 20, rounding out the top 10 shooters.
In the Air Pistol Individual International Standing, Cardwell took second place overall with a 407 and 8 centershots out of a possible 500.
The Patrick County Air Pistol International Standing Team took second place with a combined score of 841 and 5 centershots. Team members are Cardwell, Nick Hooker, and Jonathan Shelton.
In the 3 Position Air Rifle Individual Overall, Cardwell took first place, Thomas Coleman finished ninth, Clark 11th, and Hooker rounded out the top 15 shooters.
In the Individual Sporter Division, out of a possible 600, Thomas Coleman finished second place with a 506 and 6 centershots; Clark finished fourth with a 473 and 6 centershots; Hooker was eighth with a 459; Shelton was 14th with a 443 and 5 centershots; and Steele Foley rounded out the top 20 with a 428 and 1 centershot.
The Patrick County Sporter Air Rifle team took second place with a combined score of 1881 and 17 centershots. Team members are Thomas Coleman, Emily Clark, Nick Hooker and Jonathan Shelton.
In Individual Precision Air Rifle, Cardwell took first place with a total score of 580 and 27 centershots out of a possible 600.
While the BB team will be attending nationals in Rogers, Ark., Cardwell has qualified for a national competition, which will be held at the same time at Camp Perry, Oh. Her score is also an Individual Junior Olympics qualifier that will enable her to compete at the Junior Olympic event also held at Camp Perry.
The coaches of the Patrick County Shooting Education Team are so proud of each and every member of this group, and they wish these kids good luck. As always, the coaches wish to thank everyone for their support, and a special thank you to the Friends of the NRA for all their support.
