Youngsters guide Hutch to smallbore title

Post date: Dec 15, 2013 4:32:12 PM

By Danny Martin DMARTIN@NEWSMINER.COM

FAIRBANKS — Emma Daniels fired a rifle for the first time last year.

“Last year was hard because I didn’t know anybody and I didn’t know what I was doing because I had never shot before,’’ the Hutchison High School sophomore said after Saturday’s final competition of the Mid Alaska Conference Rifle Championships in the E.F. Horton Range in the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Patty Center.

Daniels, in a year’s time, went from not knowing the purpose of a rifle sling to wearing a silver medal.

Daniels placed second Saturday with a 550 total in the smallbore competition and her finish helped propel Hutchison to the team title in the discipline with a combined total of 2,175.

“I don’t really have words for it,” Daniels said. “I had no idea that I would be getting a medal let alone getting to regionals (conference meet).

“It’s kind of undescribeable,” she said. “There’s no way really no way to put into words or describe anything about how I feel.”

Dave Stutz, Hutchison’s first-year head coach, had plenty to say about Daniels and fellow sophomore, Amy Gentry, who placed third Saturday with a 549 score.

“The top shooters for are sophomores. It’s pretty incredible,” said Stutz.

Stutz also was alluding to Lathrop’s Liam Eberhart, who garnered the smallbore gold medal with a 552 effort.

Daniels and Gentry among several freshman and sophomores for the Hawks, whose only senior is Gabe Stutz, coach Stutz’s son.

“They just had incredible focus today ... focus when it counted,” coach Stutz said of Daniels and Gentry.

Gentry capped a turnaround season with a bronze medal that helped boost her team’s title achievement.

Last season as a freshman, Gentry missed the cut for Hutchison’s varsity squad and shot with its junior varsity team. She also didn’t compete in the MAC tournament.

“I’ve really come a long way since last year,” Gentry said. “Last year, I didn’t make the cut to shoot in regionals and I was on JV the whole year.

“This year is kind of crazy, overwhelming,” she said.

Eberhart displayed calmness Saturday while collecting the second straight individual honor for Lathrop. Senior Kasey Barnes won in the air rifle Friday, also pacing the Malemutes to the air rifle team honor.

“You have to be blank minded. You have to think about shooting but not think about shooting,’’ Eberhart said. “It’s a tricky game but you’ve got to keep a clear mind and know what you’re doing at the same time.

“You’ve also got to be safe,” he said. “It’s so many variables and keep it all in track in your head.”

A practice before Saturday’s competition was beneficial variable for Eberhart, who didn’t place in the top three last year.

“Staying relaxed is a big thing because you’ve got to keep your heart rate down, and you’ve got to not think about the competition too much,” said Eberhart. “You’ve got to think about it as another practice, because really it is. You’re just practicing on a different range.”

Lathrop head coach Curtis Watkins said Eberhart has a natural touch for smallbore shooting.

“He just has natural talent,” Eberhart said.

Barnes achieved her third straight MAC air rifle title Friday after compiling a 577 score out of a possible 600.

“It’s just a lot of practice,” said Barness, “and it’s really exciting for the third year in a row to just keep it going and manage to do that well again.”

Barnes said she approached the air rifle with hopes of not letting her teammates down.

“I wanted to do well enough that the team would have a good place to start from,’’ she said. “I knew that if I didn’t place first it wouldn’t matter to me. It was more about helping the team out.”

Chloe Allen, an alternate shooter for Lathrop, was runner-up with a 568. Conor Gilman made it a Malemutes sweep of the top three places by shooting a 566, which also was shot by Gentry.

Gilman gained third place based on a tiebreaker of more bullesyes (26-21).

Barnes is as sharp mentally as she is in shooting, said Watkins.

“Casey is extremely sharp,” Watkins said. “She knows when to fix something.”

Watkins gives each of his shooters a handout that’s titled “What Do You Do When the Wheels Fall Off?” Barnes read it well.

“She knows when the wheels fall off and what to do about it,’’ said Watkins, “ and that’s a huge part with her.”

It was the second time in three years that Hutchison won the smallbore team trophy and Lathrop celebrated the air rifle trophy. Hutchison won both titles last year.

“The thing is we’re teams that strive to do well,’’ Watkins said. “We both want to win and we both work to win.

“It kind of makes it fun because we’re so close to each other,’’ he said.

Twenty-nine points separated Lathrop (2,252) from Hutchison (2,223) in the air rifle Friday. On Saturday, Hutchison finished with a 16-point advantage.

Delta Junction placed third in the smallbore Saturday with a 2,036 total. The Tok Wolverines were fourth with 2,007 and the North Pole Patriots and West Valley Wolfpack followed, respectively, with 1,969 and 1.924 totals.

Eric Engman/News-Miner

North Pole's Noah Scheff focuses while competing in the kneeling position smallbore event during the 2013 Mid Alaska Conference Region VI Rifle Championships Saturday afternoon, December 14, 2013 at the E.F. Horton Range in the UAF Patty Center.

Junior Olympics

The final round of the Alaska State Junior Olympics takes place today at the Patty Center, starting at 8 a.m. with air rifle competition.

The meet, featuring more than 50 high school and college shooters from around the state, is a qualifier for the U.S. Junior Olympic Championships, scheduled for next March or April at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.