Juneau District Rifle Team Out Shoots Two More Squads

Juneau District Rifle Team member Nelson Abel shoots from the standing position. (courtesy photo)

Juneau, Alaska (KINY) - The Juneau District Rifle Team outpointed two more opponents in the National Air Rifle League, defeating Illinois team Mattoon AJROTC 998.4 to 953.4 in a virtual match from Nov. 15-21 and Germany’s Ansbach AJROTC 958.9 to 892.3 from Nov. 8-14.

  This was the fourth win in a row for the JDRT as they finished the season with steady improvement and a push for a playoff spot. They finished their season ranked in 18th place throughout the Sporter Distinguished Division of the Orion National Air Rifle League - determined by average score - and in fifth place in their Junior Rifle Team conference with a 6-1 record. Only the top two teams in each conference have a one match shoot for their conference title.

  "I am very proud of our team, adults and shooters," JDRT coach Dianne Zemanek said in a press release.

  Against Mattoon the JDRT was led by Nelson Abel who hit his season best with a 263.9 total that included a prone score of 96.6, standing 77.9 and kneeling 89.4. The team score is comprised of their four best athletes scores.

  Contributing members were Madeline Germain (254 - P 91.5, S 85.4, K 77.8), Lam (243.3 - P83.7, S 80.1, K 79.5) and Timothy Shorten (236.5 - P 89.9, S 68.0, K 78.6). Germain had the top standing score with 85.4 and Abel the top kneeling point total.

  Mattoon was led by Larissa Kelly with 259.5 points, including the top prone total of 97.2.

  JDRT top prone shooters were Abel (96.6), Sydney Bennett (92.0), Germain (91.5) and Shorten (89.9). Top standing shooters were Germain (85.4), Lam (80.1), Abel (77.9) and Beck Schneider (71.1). Top kneeling shooters were Abel (89.4), Aubri Engen (84.7), Bennett (83.2) and Luke Fergusson (81.9).

  Against Ansbach the Juneau District Rifle Team was led by Bennett who shot a 252.4 for the three-position air rifle match (P 95.2, S 70.0, K 87.2) and the remaining contributing members were Lam (238.8 - P 83.7, S 80.6, K 74.5), Abel (235.4 - P 93.4, S 59.8, K 82.2) and Engen (232.3 - P 90.6, S 56.6, K 85.1). Top prone shooter was Bennett with 95.2. Top standing shooter was Lam with 80.6 and top kneeling shooter was Ansbach’s Jorge Ortega-Velez with a 92.5. Ortega-Velez totaled 262.9 (P 96.5, S 73.9, K 92.5).

  The top four JDRT prone shooters were Bennett (95.2), Abel (93.4), Engen (90.6) and Nathan Crerswell (88.8). Their top four standing shooters were Lam (80.6), Bennett (70.0), Schneider (66.7) and Abel (59.8). Their top four kneeling shooters were Bennett (87.2), Engen (85.1), Carson Gonce (82.5) and Abel (82.2).

  Sponsored by the Orion Scoring System, the league is a national team league for high school teams and junior rifle clubs. The league had two parts. An eight week regular season, followed by a single game Conference Title Game for the top two teams in each conference.
  In each game the teams competed in what is known as a Three-Position Air Rifle match. The match is modeled after Olympic Rifle competitions but adapted to high school age athletes. Each athlete shoots 10 shots in three different shooting positions, prone, standing, and kneeling. Each shot is worth a maximum of 10.9 points. The sum of points scored in the 30 shots is the athlete's total. The team score is comprised of the best four athletes from each team.