CAPE CORAL, Fla. — The Mariner High School Marksmanship Team is proof that hard work pays off after winning the JROTC National Air Rifle Championship last weekend in Camp Perry, Ohio.
"I think it's around 200 cadets who were at Nationals and thousands who tried and competed to get to that competition," said sophomore team member Elyssa Vazquez.
Marksmanship competitions are shot in a controlled environment where cadet athletes use single-load pellet air rifles. They compete in three positions that include kneeling, prone, and standing. All of the pellets are then tracked in a system.
"For the standing position, you kind of want your feet shoulder-width apart," said junior team member Tyler Dennard. "Then, you want to have your elbow on your hip bone. That's where the most stability comes from."
Vazquez said the camaraderie keeps her coming back every year.
"It's really made me open up, and come out of my shell since freshman year," she said. "I love the people the most because we've become a close-knit type of group, and we always hang out outside of school."
The team's next competition will be in Alabama next month.
