Kokomo Standard

MHS JROTC Cadet Yancey captures another marksmanship state title

Marion High JROTC marksman Alysa Yancey has added another state title to her ever-growing list of accolades. Shooting Saturday in the Indiana State Rifle and Pistol Association State Championship, Yancey won the match and helped the Marion squad take the second place team title. Her teammate Hayden Montgomery pulled in the third place finish in the state-wide match.

This match also serves as the state championship for the Civilian Marksmanship Program air-rifle program in Indiana.

Marion cadets were competing in the Precision category, in which competitors fire air rifles from three different positions: standing, kneeling, and prone (lying flat on the ground) at targets 33 feet (10 meters) away. The targets are approximately the size of a quarter coin. Millimeters can separate the winner from the loser.

“I was really happy about winning this one,” said the usually very humble Yancey. “It was a match that I have wanted to win for several years now.”

Last year she placed second, losing by only one point.

This match also served as an introduction to statewide competition for several other Marion marksmen. Shooting in their first state championship for the Giants were Emily Smith, Michelle Rasor, Nic Purdy, and Andersson Guevara.

“Except for Yancey and Montgomery who are both seniors, we have a very young team, so to pull down a second place finish was awesome,” said retired Lt. Col. David Farlow the Giants marksmanship team’s coach and Senior Army Instructor for Marion High School’s JROTC program. “Plus, the new kids gained some very valuable experience.”

The Giants have several more regional matches and have also qualified for the All-Army JROTC National Championship to be held in February.

Additionally, the Giants are again eyeing the Junior Olympics, where both Yancey and Montgomery competed last year. 

“Depending on how some of our newer shooters develop over the next month, we might even have several qualify for the Junior Olympics,” Farlow said.

Original source can be found here.