Shooting their highest score of the season, Akron Public Schools Garfield Army JROTC defeated Smith Station Marine Corps JROTC 989.9 to 953.7 in the 2023 National Air Rifle New Shooter League. Garfield Army JROTC was led by Isabella Baughman who shot a 254.4. The remaining contributing members were Jonathan Stanevich, Sadie Feagain and Tymmithee Miller.The team was formed in December and has competed in six certified events to date.
Overall, Garfield Army JROTC is ranked twenty-sixth internationally.
Smith Station MCJROTC was led by Nathaniel McCoy who shot a 260.3. The remaining contributing members were Matthew Westenkirchner, Janelle Owens and Daniel Miller. Smith Station MCJROTC is from Smith Station, Ala., and is coached by Major William Bolden.
These two teams are competing in the National Air Rifle "New Shooter" League. Sponsored by the Orion Scoring System, the league is a national team league exclusive to athletes in their first year of competition. Teams are from high schools and junior rifle clubs throughout the world. Over 10 weeks, each team competes in eight matches. Each week, each team is paired with another team with a nearly equal skill level.
In each match, the teams compete 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 composed of the best four athletes from each team.