On March 3, cadets from Daniel Boone High School Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (MCJROTC) won the school’s third straight Tennessee State Air Rifle Championship held at Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville.
According to the team’s coach, Master Gunnery Sergeant John Daniels, this accomplishment has never before been achieved since the organization’s commissioning in 1971. Not only did the team make history when it defended the title for a third consecutive time, Boone’s cadets also set a high school record for the highest aggregate score of 2169 out of a possible 2400 points.
The team was made up of four primary shooters – Nanchaya Bailey, Luke Higgins, Jake Moody and Jaylee Hamilton – plus one alternate, Tristan Rowe.
“It seems almost surreal,” said team captain Jaylee Hamilton. “We have recorded countless hours of practice and worked really hard to prepare for this.”
The record-setting performance by the Air Rifle team followed up a first-place finish in a drill meet at Parkview High School in Atlanta last month.
This marks eight years of consecutive first place victories for Boone’s JROTC. With five total events, Daniel Boone managed to sweep the competition with a total of four first place trophies and one second place trophy.
Team members included: Andreya Cox, Steven Crow, Destiny Breeding, Makenzie Mevis, Logan Clontz, Jaylee Kirkpatrick-Hamilton, Jackson Ramsey, Sean Martin, Dylan Conkin, Caitlin McCormack, Tristan Rowe, Tabitha Storey, Aiden Monette, Calvin Shepard, Casey Grindstaff, Zachary Belcher, Lily Lovelace, Owen Peterson, Jozzlynn Stewart, Landon Dingus, Nanchaya Bailey, Mackenzie Cole, Luke Higgins, Kolten Puckett, Cavin Osborne and Xavier Bray.
