Saint Thomas Academy Narrowly Defeats South Panola AFJROTC
Saint Thomas Academy edged out South Panola AFJROTC 1081 to 1067 last week in the National Air Rifle League. With the win, Saint Thomas Academy is in second place overall and first place within their 'Junior Rifle Club' conference. They currently have a 4 - 2 record. Saint Thomas Academy was led by, Michael Driscoll who shot a 274. The remaining contributing members were Daniel Staelgraeve, Joe Brennen, and Joey Farrington. Saint Thomas Academy is from Mendota Heights, MN, and is coached by Paul Preblich.
South Panola AFJROTC currently has a 3 - 4 record. After the loss they are in eighth place overall and first place within their 'Air Force Jrotc' conference. South Panola AFJROTC was led by, Thomas Harkins who shot a 271. The remaining contributing members were Logan McCool, Austin Leland, and Breanna McGregor. South Panola AFJROTC is from Batesville, MS, and is coached by Col Robert Mims.
Next up Saint Thomas Academy will compete against Moanalua High School from Honolulu, HI. Moanalua High School currently has a 5 - 1 record. While South Panola AFJROTC has a bye week.
These two teams are competing in the Champions Division of the Orion National Air Rifle League. Sponsored by the Orion Scoring System, the league is a national team league for high school teams and junior rifle clubs. The Champions Divisions is the most difficult division in the league. The league has two parts. An 8 week regular season going on now, where teams compete for their conference's title. Followed by the post-season, comprising of two single elimination tournaments. Only the top 16 teams across all conferences advance to the post-season, to compete for the league title.
In each game the teams compete in what is known as a Three-Position Air Rifle match. The match is modeled after Olympic Rifle competitions but adapted to high school age athletes. Each athlete will shoots 10 shots in three different shooting positions, prone, standing, and kneeling. Each shot is worth a maximum of 10 points. The sum of points scored in the 30 shots is the athlete's total. The team score is comprised of the best four athletes from each team.
For more information on the league, including complete standings, visit https://www.national-leagues.com/
Box Score: http://www.orionresults.com/team/GamePage.aspx?MatchID=1.1.922540988.1
Saint Thomas Academy team page: http://www.orionresults.com/team/LeagueTeam.aspx?TeamID=1193
South Panola AFJROTC team page: http://www.orionresults.com/team/LeagueTeam.aspx?TeamID=1178
11 - 17 Nov 2019