State of Ohio Wins National Championship

[Zipsrifle]

Rifle Coach Newt Engle had a hand in helping the State of Ohio Junior Air Rifle team bring home another National Championship. It also appears he's worked to bring next season's Junior National Championship Match to Akron. Some pretty good young shooters on this team, hopefully Newt's involvement will continue building the UA program!PRESS RELEASEDate: July 10, 2005 ORPA Juniors Win Second National Air Rifle Championship Yet Another National Record for Women’s Air Rifle Team! This years 6th annual NRA/Pyramid air national junior air gun team championship and training summit was held July 5-9, at the Deschutes County Fairgrounds and Expo Center in Redmond Oregon. Being a contender since the first championship 6 years ago, the Ohio teams have been performing at Olympic levels which last year earned precision rifle the national championship with sporter rifle and pistol finishing in the top 10. This year the trip to Oregon was filled with dreams of defending the championship and improving standings. The performances of this years teams have more than proved that dreams can come true. The precision air rifle team has earned the national championship for the second year in a row and the sporter rifle team moved from #8 to #5 while the pistol team improved from #7 to #6. That is right folks, in the entire USA! This match is not just a scrimmage among friends, this is the national championships! These teams come from all over the nation and contain team members who lead local clubs to state championships, colleges to collegiate championships, and yes, the USA to Olympic gold medals. These are not kids. They are our national champions. Every single one of them. Are you starting to figure out how talented these young athletes are and how proud the coaches are of every one of them? Ohio should be proud to be represented by athletes of this caliber. Head coach and Ohio Rifle and Pistol Association air gun director, Tom Paumier (rifle world record holder himself) states, “Beyond a doubt, this is one of the most talented teams to represent Ohio I have had the pleasure to coach. They knew what needed done and brought the gold back to Ohio. What more can I ask?” Air Pistol DivisionTeam Captain Ryan Devine (Columbus, OH) is now a seasoned veteran of leading the Ohio air pistol team at national championships. His leadership was apparent as he assembled his team and proceeded to finish as the #6 junior air pistol team in the nation. But how close is close? On a pistol target the scoring rings are a mere ¼ inch apart. Each competitor shoots 80 shots with each shot on a target with ten rings. Thus each shot can earn up to 10 points for hitting the center with one point off for each ring away from the center. There is 80 shots for each of the three competitors giving the team a chance to earn up to 2,400 points. So winning or loosing by 5 to 10 points would be extremely close. With this in mind, examine the below listed team totals from this championship.2085 North Dakota2075 Massachusetts2060 Montana2054 Oregon2023 Pennsylvania2022 Ohio2016 South CarolinaAir Pistol had 12 teams and 42 individuals. So how close is close? Many of the teams are less than 10 points apart with Ohio only one slim point behind Pennsylvania. This is a testament to the high levels of competition found at national championships. Below is the individual standings and accomplishments of the Ohio air pistol team.Score:707 Ryan Devine of Columbus, Ohio, Big Walnut Shooting Sports Assn. finished as #2 in the Junior class (Bronze medal), and #5 overall, named as a member of the NRA national air gun team.686 Rene’ Goeppinger of Fredericktown Ohio, finished #14 overall629 R.Jay Frinke of Oak Harbor Ohio, Oak Harbor Conservation Club finished #27 overall2022 Team Total finishing as the #6 air pistol team in the nation. Pistol team alternate member:570 Staci Collins of Waterford, Ohio, The Ohio State University, finished # 35 overall Sporter Air Rifle DivisionSporter air rifle is a category designed for entry level air rifle competitors. The rifles are very light, and less expensive than precision. The sporter competitors wear sweatshirts, jeans and a shooting glove rather than the leather and canvas worn by the precision competitors. But these differences are insignificant when it comes to the skill and determination required to be competitive in this division. Three year veteran sporter team captain Dominic Mendiola (Hartville OH) lead his team to show dramatic improvement by raising the team standings from #8 last year to #5 at this years championships as shown below: 4257 Montana4195 New Mexico4119 Pennsylvania 4116 Preston High School JROTC4059 OhioSporter air rifle had 15 teams and 61 individuals.Below is the individual standings and accomplishments of the Ohio sporter air rifle team. (Individual score out of a possible 1200)1068 Dominic Mendiola of Hartville, Ohio, Great Trail Musketeers JRC, finished #5 on day one and #7 on day two, finished #5 overall, finished #2 in Junior class (Silver medal), invited to be on the international postal team –vs- South Africa, named as a member of the NRA national air gun team.1029 Erica Troyer of Hartville, Ohio, Canton McKinley JRC, finished #9 on day one, finished #17 overall, invited to be on the international postal team –vs- South Africa.983 Sarah Fitz of Columbus, Ohio, Central Crossing JROTC, finished #30 overall.979 Henna Kahn of Grove City, Ohio, Grove City HS JROTC, finished #31 overall.4059 Team Total finishing as the #5 sporter air rifle team in the nation.Sporter team alternate member:970 Amanda Quinn of Columbus, Ohio, Central Crossing JROTC, finished #34 overall. Precision Air Rifle DivisionOhio consistently presents one of the top precision air rifle teams in the nation as demonstrated by finishing #2 in 2004, #1 in 2005 while setting two national records, and now #1 again in 2006 and setting yet another national record. Since members of this team come from all over Ohio, the success of this team is a credit to the junior rifle clubs in Ohio who are supported by the Ohio Rifle and Pistol Association and the friends of the NRA along with many generous local supporters. This backing has put Ohio in the national spotlight as one of the premier states fielding championship junior teams. This years team lead by team captain Ashley Jackson (Cuyahoga Falls) was keenly aware of the fact that all eyes were on them as they began day one matches. When the smoke cleared, Ohio was alone at the top, but only by a slim 6 points! Day two began with the team warming up with the song “we are the champions” followed by a cheer of OH----IO! and the match began. Cheers rocked the championship headquarters as the final results went up showing Ohio had again earned gold. But remember how close is close? Check out these team rankings: 4669 Ohio4665 Washington4664 Virginia4651 Pennsylvania4639 CaliforniaPrecision air rifle had 25 teams and 112 individuals. Winning the national championship was just the beginning for the Ohio team. Several of the team members earned special recognition for stellar individual performances. Below is a list of what Ohio can be proud of: (Individual score out of a possible 1200)1173 Gina Cheliras of Girard, Ohio, Ashland Eagles JRC, finished #10 on day one, finished #6 on day two, finished #5 overall, finished as #1 intermediate junior (gold medal), invited to be on the international postal team –vs- South Africa, named as a member of the NRA national air gun team.1172 Abbey Stanec of Wadsworth, Ohio, Ashland Eagles JRC, finished #11 on day one, finished #8 on day two, finished #10 overall, invited to be on the international postal team –vs- South Africa, named as a member of the NRA national air gun team.1169 Ashley Jackson of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, Ashland Eagles JRC, finished #14 overall, currently a member of the NRA national air gun team, named as team captain for the international postal team –vs- South Africa. 1155 Kelly Lake of Columbus, Ohio, The Ohio State University, finished #31 overall.4669 Team total and new Women’s 3 Position Air Rifle National Record for the second straight year. Precision team alternate member1139 Chelsey Frink of Roswell, Ohio, Great Trails Musketeers JRC, finished #56 overall. All members of this years ORPA teams offer sincere thanks to The Ohio Rifle & Pistol Association for their generous financial assistance. As well as assistance from The National Rifle Association Foundation which is supported by local Friends of the NRA events. A contributing factor to the success of the Ohio teams was in part due to a collaborative effort between Ohio and a championship host site local club. This year Ohio paired up with the Four Corners Rod and Gun Club of Salem Oregon to run a 5 day pre-championship clinic. This clinic was conducted by Coach Tom Paumier, Coach Chuck Miller and Coach Newt Engle. It was the generous assistance of Four Corners President Dave Hill, Secretary Tim Brown and junior coach Mike Wright, which made this clinic a possibility. The hospitality of our new western friends had a definite positive affect on the Ohio teams. Lastly and MOST importantly, a big thanks to the local junior rifle and pistol programs across Ohio with the coaches and parents who make Ohio the envy of the nation. Next years championship will be special indeed. The Ohio teams will not only be going for the gold for the third time, but they will be doing so in their own back yard. The 2007 NRA Air Gun National Championships will be held at The University of Akron. The championships next year will begin on July 4th with training on July 5th and day two matches on July 6th. Mark your calendars and plan on stopping by to see some of the nations finest young athletes performing at Olympic levels right here in Ohio. Plans are already being developed to provide Ohio teams the best chance possible of remaining as the top teams in the nation. If you are interested in providing assistance (financial or otherwise) please contact the air gun director listed below.

[fear the brown roo]

i know absolutely nothing about air rifle but the guy is a zip and good for him. nice job

[zippyrifle32]

yeah, it will be great exposure for the university by having the national match at the university. from my understanding, they'll be shooting in the field house (since air rifles only need pellet traps instead of a full on backstop). it will be like a free visit for hundreds of kids who are looking at shooting in college.