By: Robbie McAnelly

Most students likely spent their spring break traveling or lazing around back home. The New Albany High School NJROTC Rifle Team did quite the opposite.

The rifle team traveled to Anniston, Alabama to compete in the 2012 JROTC All-Service Championship. The team faced competition from the top five teams from each branch of JROTC Service and pulled through with an eighth place finish.

Junior rifle team member Sam Harris knew from the beginning that the competition would be no easy ride.

“We did worse than I expected,” Harris admitted. “There were things we could have done to improve our placement. The competition was pretty tough.”

Eighth place is respectable in any sense. According to Harris, the team has been improving greatly in recent years.

“[The team] has gotten a lot better,” Harris said. “My freshman year we didn’t even make it to [JROTC All-Service Championship]. Last year we came in ninth place, and this year we improved to eighth place.”

The tough competition in Alabama did not slow the team down.

Over spring break the team also traveled to Fort Wayne to compete in the Indiana State Junior Rifle Championship. The team won first place in 3 Point Precision and won the International Match Championship. Another accolade achieved by the team was a third place finish in Smallbore, the first time in 25 years the team has ever shot in said category.

When asked about the challenge of assimilating into such a high-par team, freshman Rifle Team member Luke Rhoades had a spirit of determination.

“The competition style is not like any other team,” Rhoades said. “It’s not like playing in a basketball game. It’s a peaceful setting.”

When asked what their outlook was on the team in upcoming years, both Harris and Rhoades had high hopes.

“I think the team will continue to do better,” Harris said. “The coaches are learning just as much as the shooters are. Incoming team members are learning faster and shooting better.”

Rhoades shares a similar view as Harris on his up and coming years on the NAHS Rifle Team.

“I think we will continue to do well,” Rhoades said. “It will take a lot of time and practice.”