ROTC shooters will compete for national title

Striking a spot on a target the size of a pinhead 10 meters away with an air rifle might seem a near impossible task to most.

But for the students in Westside High School's Junior Navy ROTC program, hitting that bull's eye, or getting quite close, has become so common that the rifle team is ranked No. 7 in the country among 565 competitors.

The ranking gives Westside an automatic invitation to vie for the national title next month at Camp Perry in Ohio.

Competitors shoot while lying on the ground, kneeling and standing, the most difficult of the three positions. The distance to the target is so great and the target so small that shooters must rely on scopes to verify their aim after each shot.

The biggest challenge is focusing and concentrating on the target, said Caitlin Collier, a former cheerleader and now the rifle team's best shooter.

"It's just a matter of tuning everyone else out," the 17-year-old senior said. "I definitely like this over cheerleading."

Caitlin was the fifth-best shooter in the nation among Junior Navy ROTC cadets last year.

Teammate D'Warren Daniels, a 17-year-old sophomore, said a shooter must stop breathing for a moment, hold steady and pull the trigger at the proper time.

"There are a lot of kids who don't do this who think this is real easy," he said.

Many hunters think they can pick up an air rifle and shoot these targets with precision, said Maj. Hank Mitchell, the team's coach. But shooting a deer is like hitting the broad side of a barn compared to the accuracy his cadets display in competition.

Anyone who can hit a bull's eye on an air rifle target can hit a deer from 500 yards away, Maj. Mitchell said.

"I'm real proud of these kids," he said.

All of his cadets are A-B students, and many are among the best in their class academically, he said. Riflery tends to attract strong students, and it could make them even stronger by improving their ability to concentrate and focus.

Riflery is the opposite of sports such as football, Maj. Mitchell said. In football, it's all about adrenaline, but riflery is about controlling that energy and emotion.

Maj. Mitchell's cadets compete in the "sporter" division, meaning there is a cap on how much their rifles can cost and they can't use high-end shooting clothes, which increase accuracy.

"They get excited about how they continue to improve," he said. "It's an addiction almost to some of them."

Westside might not be the only Richmond County school competing at Camp Perry.

Cross Creek High School is behind Westside with a No. 16 ranking. At Camp Perry, 22 teams will compete.

Reach Greg Gelpi at (706) 828-3851 or greg.gelpi@augustachronicle.com.