Justin Weber, senior, practices his aim for competition. Photo courtesy of Justin Weber.
On Feb 18. – 19 ROTC made a victory in nationals placing 3rd in the nation.
This competition took place in Birdville, TX. It was the Birdville Invitational Drill Meet. Along with them qualifying for nationals, team captain, Justin Weber, senior, and Ricky Windle, senior, both placed in the top 10 national qualifiers. Justin Weber fired 291 shots out of a possible 300, with 18 perfect shots out of 30 possible which makes him ranked no. 3 in the nation.
Teammate Ricky Dwindle who is ranked no. 7 nationally, made a score of 288 with 17 perfect shots.
“It was pretty stressful. It was the first time everyone at the team had been to a competition. We all dealt with the nervousness quiet well; we pulled together in the end,” Weber said.
They were in a new terrain as it was different from their typical shooting range.
The day was laid out with different sections. They had a practice block of two hours to get acquainted with the range. There were also two different relay times that you could be assigned. There was a morning relay one day, and a three by twenty course.
The range consist of one simple target that moved up and down. The competition had a new, more direct system to get more exact results. They used four microphones to detect where the bullet hit the target. Moments of silence filled the room as the cadets and commanders watched in suspense.
“The rifle team is extremely committed. They worked very hard to qualify and compete; they are a talented group, and I am very proud of the entire team, and how they represented Roosevelt,” Colonels Robert Foutz said.
They have won several competitions this year, that have brought TR great pride. They have won the fifth Brigade JROTC precision Air Rifle Championship, as well as the North East ISD JROTC Air Rifle Championships, and placed in second in the 2010 W.J Borldelon Cup Match on their drive to the National Championships.
Through the hard work and training, they are working their way to more victories next year, with new and old members in their strive to accomplish all they can.