Rifle team shoots 1,152

Published 10:18 pm Tuesday, February 7, 2006

MOULTRIE — Shontae Robinson shot a record-tying 293 in the Colquitt County rifle team’s 1,152-920 victory over Westover on Friday at the ROTC range, giving the team its third state qualifier.

And Jessica Corona came within a point of becoming the fourth member of the team to earn a spot in the state championships.

A shooter must score a 290 to qualify for the state championships and Victoria Dampier qualified last week in a match against Dooly County with a school-record 293 and Yohann Brinson qualified with a similar 293 last Thursday in Leesburg.

On Tuesday, Robinson, a junior, joined the two seniors in qualifying for state.

And Corona just missed with a 289 that included a perfect 100 in the prone position.

Brinson added a 287 and Dampier had a 283 as the team equaled the school-record score of it set in Leesburg last Thursday.

The victory improves the team’s record to 4-0 as it prepares for the Marine Corps JROTC Eastern Champion-ships that will run Thursday through Saturday at Fort Benning.

The team will resume its high school competition on Feb. 16 at Wilcox County.

“A lot of teams in the north (part of Georgia) and in the Columbus area are tracking what we’re doing,” said Gunnery Sgt. Emmett Bryant, the team’s coach. “We’ve got a big bull’s eye on our backs now.”

Robinson shot a 97 in the difficult standing position, the team’s highest score in that position this season, and added a 99 in the prone position and a 97 in the kneeling position.

The 293 was seven points better than her previous season-high of 286 shot against Lee County last Thursday.

Corona’s 289 also bested her previous high by seven points.

In addition to the 100 in the prone position, she had a 95 standing and a 94 kneeling.

Brinson has been the team’s most consistent scorer through the first four matches, with scores of 285, 286 and 293 to go along with the 287 he fired on Tuesday.

Brinson had a 97 in both the prone and kneeling positions and shot a 93 standing.

Colquitt County’s 1,152 included a 395 out of a possible 400 in the prone position, a 372 in the standing position and a 385 in the kneeling position.

The two non-counting Colquitt County scores on Tuesday were a 276 by Megan Dubberly and a 271 by Amanda Thompson.

Both are first year shooters and their scores were better than Westover’s top score of 258 shot by Diane Dickens.

Dubberly’s score included a 99 in the prone position.

“I can’t tell you how proud I am of them,” Bryant said. “They are all doing really well. I think this is the best team we’ve had. It’s Yohann and the females.

“I tell them all the time I’m not criticizing you, I’m critiquing what you are doing. It’s a good feeling seeing all the marksmanship training pay off.”

Bryant was especially pleased that Robinson, who is in just her second year of shooting, was able to qualify for the state match.

Tuesday’s match was something of a rarity in that it drew six spectators.