Here Are The 5 High Power Coaches That Received President’s Medallions

The 2019 High Power Rifle National Championship season recently ended with the firing of the F-Class Nationals. After the last team match was complete, five new coaches were honored after earning their final points to qualify for the NRA President’s Medallion. This medallion is awarded to any high power rifle coach who earns 40 points towards the award. Something to note: Twenty of those points must be earned at the National Matches.

The President’s Master Rifle Team Coach Medal, a.k.a. the President’s Medallion, is to be presented to those individuals who have proven to be successful rifle team coaches by accumulating a total of 40 points. Points are earned by successfully coaching four-person rifle teams to victory in various team matches during Regional and National Championship tournaments. The final caveat—at least five teams must in competition at each match.

From the NRA High Power rules:

[P]oints may be accumulated across disciplines, e.g., a team coach winning a team match in an F-Class Mid-Range tournament will combine the points awarded for that tournament win with points won as the result of a second-place team finish in a Match Rifle Long-Range Team Match at the NRA National Championships, etc.

Recipients of the President’s Medallion this year are Carl Kovalchik, who earned his final points at the 2019 NRA Long-Range Nationals at Camp Atterbury, IN. Additionally, Lane Buxton earned his at the Fullbore Nationals, while Michelle Gallagher, Scot Harris and Nathaniel Guernsey qualified with wins at the F-Class Long-Range Team Nationals—both held at the NRA Whittington Center near Raton, NM.

All five of the winning coaches mentioned above can now be formally designated “Master Team Coach.”

Note: Special thanks to NRA Board Member Walt Walter for his help with this story.