51 Cadets, 12 Teams Compete At Fourth Annual NRA Arizona State JROTC 3-Position Air Rifle Championship

2024-2025 NRA Arizona State JROTC 3-Position Air Rifle Championship
USFT-Youth Shooting Sports Program
Ben Avery Shooting Facility
Phoenix, Arizona
September 21
51 competitors
Submitted by Dan Palmer

The 2024-2025 NRA Arizona State JROTC 3-Position Air Rifle Championship was held at the Ben Avery Shooting Facility’s indoor air gun range in Phoenix, Arizona, on September 21, 2024.

Topping the team leaderboard at the 2024-2025 NRA Arizona State JROTC 3-Position Air Rifle Championship was Fontana H.S. MCJROTC team one, walking away from the match with an aggregate score of 2087-39X. Team members were Javier Campos, Stephanie Mendoza, Eliezer Moreno and Aleen Castro.

This competition is one of two qualifier matches in Arizona for JROTC cadet athletes to be invited to compete in the Arizona National Sectional Match, which is scheduled for January 10, 2025.

Fifty-one cadets—including 22 women—representing the AFJROTC, USAJROTC, MCJROTC, and NJROTC programs attended the event, with 12 competing teams and three individual competitors.

Teams at this year’s competition included Basic Academy MCJROTC (Henderson, Nevada), Cienega NJROTC (Vail, Arizona), Deer Valley AFJROTC (Glendale, Arizona), Fontana MCJROTC (Fontana, California), Kofa MCJROTC (Yuma, Arizona), Sandra Day O’Connor AFJROTC (Phoenix, Arizona) and Tombstone USAJROTC (Tombstone, Arizona).

On the left is the winner of the individual competition, Jaylie Hays of Cienega H.S. NJROTC team one. Pictured on the right is individual runner-up Delila Mendez of Kofa H.S. MCJROTC team one.

Jaylie Hays from Cienega H.S. NJROTC team one was the top shooter at the match, posting scores of 547-15X in qualification and 629-15X after the top eight final. Delila Mendez from Kofa H.S. MCJROTC team one was the runner-up with a 541-21X qualification score and 623-22X after the top eight final. In addition, Bryant Fletcher from Cienega H.S. NJROTC team one came in third place, with a 526-20X qualification score and 618-21X after the final.

In the team competition, Fontana H.S. MCJROTC team one took the first place honor with a score of 2087-39X, while Kofa H.S. MCJROTC team was the runner-up with 2063-49X. In third place was the Cienega H.S. NJROTC team one with a score of 2023-45X.

Additionally, Fontana MCJROTC team two finished in fourth place, Tombstone USAJROTC team one was in fifth place, Sandra Day O’Connor AFJROTC team one claimed sixth place, Kofa MCJROTC team two was in seventh place, Cienega NJROTC team two was in eighth place, Sandra Day O’Connor AFJROTC team two in ninth place, Deer Valley AFJROTC team one earned 10th place, Sandra Day O’Connor AFJROTC team three was ranked 11th and Basic Academy MCJROTC team one secured 12th place.

A big thank you to David Halbrook of NRA Days for taking care of us once again this year and making sure we had plenty of t-shirts, hats, pins, safety cards and NRA Marksmanship Qualification books available for competitors and spectators. Thanks also goes to M&J Trophies of Glendale, Arizona, for performing an outstanding job on the medals for the competition.

The following volunteers that helped as staff and range safety officers also deserve thanks, including Chief Range Safety Officer Michael Schoenle, Range Safety Officer and Jury Chairperson James Cook IV, along with Range Safety Officers Ariana Cherry and Natalee Coti-Alvarado.

SPORTER TEAM LEADERBOARD

1. Fontana H.S. MCJROTC Team One, 2087-39X
2. Kofa H.S. MCJROTC Team One, 2063-49X
3. Cienega H.S. NJROTC Team One, 2023-45X

SPORTER INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD

1. Jaylie Hays, 629-15X
2. Delila Mendez, 623-22X
3. Bryant Fletcher, 618-21X