FRANKLIN PIERCE sd — For the fourth year in a row, the Washington High School Air Force Junior ROTC marksmanship team qualified for Air Force nationals. This year’s team did so by placing 14th out of nearly 100 competing teams. The team that qualified was composed of senior Stanley Compton—who finished 9th out of over 450 competitors—juniors Kayla Abler and Dalton Arnold and sophomore Nehemiah Woodley. The second team, which included senior Micah Dickerson, junior Isaac Hinson and sophomores Katarina DiFranco and Leavitt Rushton, managed to place 29th.

The qualifying match was a postal competition. The Civilian Marksmanship Program—a United State government organization based out of Port Clinton, Ohio and Anniston, Alabama—provides targets to all competing teams. The teams shoot at their home ranges and mail the completed targets back to CMP where they are electronically scored and then ranked against the other competing teams.

Washington’s four person team (plus an alternate) will travel to Albuquerque, New Mexico from 13-17 February to compete in the West Regional. They’ll be joined by other AFJROTC teams from the western half of the United States. Two other regionals will take place in Ohio and Alabama. The top overall teams from the regional meets will receive invitations to the JROTC national competition at Camp Perry, Ohio in March to compete against teams from the three other JROTC service branches.

While Washington’s team has earned a berth the last four years, they have only accepted and competed the last three years. The first year they competed, they had an individual shooter qualify for JROTC nationals. Last year the team managed to earn an invitation to Alabama. This year’s team is hoping to repeat that feat, but even if they don’t, the trip will help the team gain valuable experience for the future.