Rifle Team Finishes Strong in SY22-23 Campaign

JUL 5th – The Smithfield HS JROTC Rifle Team finished very strong this year led by Senior Captain Caroline Lewton. The team beat their rival and nemesis James River (JR) NJROTC in the final postal match of the year in the Virginia Rifle League (VARL). This was the first time SHS outshot JR and with a total combined score of 1016, an average of 254 per marksman, the team ended the season on a high note! This year the Varsity finished 2nd in the VARL behind James River and the JV team placed first. The team placed 11th in the Northeast Region of the United States and 32nd in the Nation among all Army JROTC rifle teams. The team retained its #1 AJROTC ranking in Virginia since it began in SY 2019-20 and has qualified for the regional competition every year. Caroline Lewton and first-year athletes Lauren Read and Nymiar Towns all placed in the top 50 in the region and in the top 150 in the nation.  

 

“I am very proud of this team! They met their goals this year and those returning for next year are already planning out new goals to finish even better next SY; I could not be prouder,” said Coach LTC (Ret) Peter Badoian. “We would also like to thank the NRA for its generous grant donation for the 4th straight year totaling over $10,000. These grants allowed us to hit the ground running these last four years with state-of-the-art shooting equipment. This year their grant allowed us to purchase two electronic targets like the ones in the picture shown. These along with the operating system which was purchased last year brings the total electronic targets to four and allows real-time electronic scoring and feedback to be provided to the marksmen as well as the coach. These additional targets will allow coaching and adjustments to be made in real time to multiple shooters; reducing movement considerably by each shooter.”