High school shooters vie for prep rifle titles

Post date: Dec 7, 2012 4:10:10 PM

by Bob Eley / beley@newsminer.com

Dec 06, 2012

FAIRBANKS — The best Mid Alaska Conference high school shooters will toe the line the next two days to determine the top teams and top individuals this season.

The North Pole Patriots will host the 2012 Mid Alaska Conference Regional Rifle Championships today and Saturday at E.F. Horton Rifle Range on the lower level of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Patty Center.

The air rifle championships are today and the smallbore championships will be shot Saturday.

Competition begins at 10 a.m. each day with the first relay. The second relay starts at 12:15 p.m. Friday and 12:45 p.m. Saturday and the third relay is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.

There are 10 shooters in each relay each day.

In addition to the Patriots, the Delta Junction Huskies, Hutchison Hawks, Lathrop Malemutes and West Valley Wolfpack have teams entered in the two-day event.

Each school is allowed to enter a four-person varsity squad and two alternates, who will serve as varsity shooters if a varsity shooter cannot participate.

Participants will take 60 shots in each discipline. In air rifle all shots are fired from the standing position. In the smallbore event, each participants shoots 20 times from the prone, standing and kneeling positions.

All scoring will be done using the Alaska Nanooks electronic scoring system. All ties will be broken in accordance with USA Shooting rules.

There will be a first place team award in each discipline, as well as awards for the top three individuals in each event.

An awards ceremony will be held at 6:15 p.m. Saturday.

Lathrop is the defending air rifle champion, while Hutchison is the defending smallbore champion. Kasey Barnes of Lathrop returns to defend her air rifle title, while West Valley’s Gabe Stutz is back to defend his smallbore crown.

In the final air rifle match of the season, the Malemutes defeated Delta Junction 2,243-2,041.

Kasey Barnes led the Malemutes with a personal best 573.

Erik Kirschner chipped in a personal best 559, JT Schnering notched a 557 and Connor Gilman posted a 554.

Delta was led by Jakob Schautt with a 540, followed by Patrick Newman’s personal best 521, Alex Mathews’ 501 and Kael Knight with a personal best 479.

Lathrop alternates Christian Brower and Spencer Cline put up personal best scores of 465 and 457, respectively.

Delta alternate Angus Pospisil notched 424.

The smallbore portion of the meet was canceled because of frozen pipes at the range in Delta Junction.