Kelsey Dardas Sets Two National Records At 2025 JROTC Service Championship

Through the weekends of February 6-8, February 13-15 and February 16-18, a group of 1,110 youth cadets participated in the 2025 JROTC Three-Position Air Rifle Service Championship—part two of the annual JROTC Air Rifle Championship series.

The JROTC Three-Position Service Championship saw a dramatic rise in participation in 2025, with a 28% increase from last year’s event.

Congratulations go to Kelsey Dardas, who fired the highest combined qualification score through all services and set two new Three-Position Precision Individual 3x20 records for her outstanding day two score of 598-51X (U15 Age Group and Army JROTC), as well as to Brooklyn Zeigler, who reached the highest combined qualification score for sporter.

The 2025 JROTC Three-Position Service Championship events were held at indoor ranges in Ohio and Alabama, as well as on the CMP mobile target line in Utah. (Photo courtesy of CMP)

The JROTC Air Rifle Service Championship is a two-day 3x20 air rifle competition for sporter and precision athletes where competitors fire 20 record shots from three positions—kneeling, prone and standing. Additionally, the top eight athletes at each location (Utah, Alabama and Ohio) participate in a final to determine award winners.

The top three competitors from each service included the following.

ARMY

Alabama Sporter

1. Colin Donnelly, 17, Newsome High School, Florida
2. Valeria Alvarado, 18, North Brunswick High School, North Carolina
3. Ryan Roman, 17, Mulberry High School, Florida

Alabama Precision

1. Mallory Edwards, 16, Sarasota Military Academy, Florida
2. Drew Ridinger, 18, Ozark High School, Missouri
3. Grace Bledsoe, 18, Claudia Taylor Johnson High School, Texas

Ohio Sporter

1. Kaitlynn Burrell, 17, Walhalla High School, South Carolina
2. Katelyn Miller, 18, Webb City High School, Missouri
3. Johnathon Tatum, 17, Webb City High School, Missouri

Ohio Precision

1. Aurora Mayo, 17, Stuttgart High School, AE (Germany)
2. Eden Skidmore, 16, Lewis County High School, Kentucky
3. Sophia Durant, 17, Wiesbaden High School, AE (Germany)

Utah Sporter

1. Nayeli Cruz, 17, Robert McQueen High School, Nevada
2. Sariga Suresh, 18, Pueblo County High School, Colorado
3. Allyson Aguirre, 16, Procter R Hug High School, Nevada

Utah Precision

1. Kelsey Dardas, 14, Fountain Fort Carson High School, Colorado
2. Nayleen Campos, 18, Fountain Fort Carson High School, Colorado
3. Element Kimble, 18, Fountain Fort Carson High School, Colorado

MARINE CORPS

Sporter

1. Shiloh Hargrove, 17, Jack C. Hays High School, Texas
2. Joshua Prince, 16, Fort Mill High School, South Carolina
3. Brooklyn Zeigler, 17, Daniel Boone High School, Tennessee

Precision

1. Kennedy Wells, 17, Granbury High School, Texas
2. Ashley Haymond, 16, Shelby County High School, Kentucky
3. Mackenzie Sookhoo, 18, East Coweta High School, Georgia

NAVY

Sporter

1. Brianna Benedetto, 18, Zion Benton High School, Illinois
2. Chloe Cappetto, 17, Volunteer High School, Tennessee
3. Makayla Lovato, Highland High School, New Mexico

Precision

1. Brooklyn Reames, 17, Joshua High School, Texas
2. Logan Hall, 16, Floyd Central High School, Indiana
3. Madison Thompson, 17, Oak Harbor High School, Washington

AIR FORCE

Sporter

1. Wyatt Hamlin, 16, North Pole High School, Alaska
2. Layla Briggs, 17, Haughton High School, Louisiana
3. Dalton Piotrowski, 18, McMichael High School, North Carolina

Precision

1. Evan Williams, 17, Menchville High School, Virginia
2. Katelynn McEntee, 16, Sickles AFJROTC High School, Florida
3. Auriana Davis, 16, Kaiserslautern High School, AE (Germany)

Coinciding with the individual event was the four-person team match for both sporter and precision in each service branch. Here are the leading teams.

Army

• Precision: Fountain Fort Carson High School, Colorado – 4683-306X
• Sporter: Webb City High School, Missouri – 4322-149X

Marine Corps

• Precision: Granbury High School, Texas – 4712-335X
• Sporter: Jack C. Hays High School, Texas – 4380-152X

Navy

• Precision: Floyd Central High School, Indiana – 4696-330X
• Sporter: Zion Benton High School, Illinois – 4330-124X

Air Force

• Precision: Kaiserslautern High School, AE (Germany) – 4646-270X
• Sporter: North Pole High School, Alaska – 4258-115X

Top scorers overall will move on to the 2025 JROTC National Championship, set to be held at Camp Perry, Ohio, from March 20-22.

See the full results of the 2025 JROTC Service Championship at the CMP website.