MOULTRIE — Although the Colquitt County High air rifle team’s season will not officially start until next month, it already has rung up a significant victory.

Colquitt County has taken first place in the Gary Anderson Invitational, a top competition held at Fort Benning that drew 22 teams from around the Southeast.

The four-person team of Vickie Dampier, Yohann Brinson, Jessica Corona and Shontae Robinson shot a 2,274 out of a possible 2,400.

Colquitt County won by five points over Northside High of Columbus, last season’s Georgia High School Association state champion.

“We did really, really well,” said Colquitt County coach Lt. Col. Paul Nagy. “The kids have worked very, very hard and have been very disciplined. And it’s paying off.”

The Gary Anderson Invitational is considered one of the country’s top three-position air rifle competitions for middle school and high school teams and is sanctioned by the Georgia High School Association.

Among the teams in the field were Northside-Columbus, Wilcox County, Glynn Academy, Brunswick, Parkview and East Coweta. They are some of the teams Colquitt County will compete against this season in its chase for a state air rifle championship.

Also in the field were teams from schools in Florida, South Carolina, Alabama and Mississippi.The event sponsored by the Civilian Marksmanship Program and was held at the Fort Benning Pool Range in Columbus.

The competition was held over two weekends and was completed Sunday.

Four team members fire twice in all three positions for a possible 600 points.

Colquitt County shot 90 or higher in 23 of the 24 strings. The team had an 89 on the other. Dampier, a senior, led Colquitt County with a 578 and placed ninth out of the 190 shooters.

Brinson, also a senior, shot a 569 and Corona, another senior, had a 568. Robinson, a junior, shot a 559.

All four are veterans of Colquitt County’s 2005 air rifle team.

Nagy, who has guided the program since its inception nine years ago, said the performance was the best he has seen from a Colquitt County team.

The 2006 season will start the second week of January. Area competition must be completed by March 17 and sectionals will be held on March 23.