4 named to All-Area first team in rifle

Published 11:00 pm Wednesday, March 15, 2006

MOULTRIE — The U.S. Marine Corps has helped supply top-of-the-line 1.77-calibre Anschutz precision air rifles with which to fire at targets 33 feet away in a well-lighted indoor range.

The Colquitt County athletic department and Packer Booster Club have helped with travel and camps. Gunnery Sgt. Emmett Bryant provides the coaching and motivation and Lt. Col. Paul Nagy the overall guidance.

And the 2006 Colquitt County air rifle team has responded with the best season since the program started eight years ago.

The seven-member team has set the school scoring record twice, including a 1,156 in the regular-season finale against Worth County on March 9.

And four crucial matches still looming, including the Area 2 championships today at Turner County High, the team’s individual shooters are being honored for their outstanding performances.

Col-quitt County had six shooters among the top 20 in the 10-team area. And the top four shooters – seniors Tori Dampier, Jessica Corona and Yohann Brinson and junior Shontae Robinson – finished in top eight in the area in scoring and were named to the All-Area 2 first team.

The top four also scored a 290 or better during the season, qualifying them individually for the April 1 state competition at Fort Benning.

First-year shooter Amanda Thompson qualified for the All-Area second team and was named the area’s top rookie shooter after posting an average of 275. Megan Dubberly was fourth among the first-year shooters with a 271.5

Fitzgerald’s Andrew Lavender finished first in the area with an average of 288.50, edging Dampier, a four-year member of the Colquitt County team.

Dampier was second with a 288.13. She also had the top average in the kneeling position with a 97.13, was third in the prone position with a 98.50 and was fifth in the standing position.

She was the first Colquitt County shooter to qualify individually for the state competition when she scored a 293 in the third match of the season. She shot a 291 in the following match and had the school’s highest score ever when she shot a 294 in the regular-season finale against Worth.

Dampier had the team’s highest score this season in the prone position when she shot a 100 against Worth.

Robinson averaged 287.75 to finish third in the area and had the highest average in the area in standing position, the most difficult of the three, scoring a 93.63. Her 97 in the fourth match of the season was a team-best.

She also placed fourth in the kneeling position.

Robinson qualified for state with a 293 in the fourth match and also had a 291 two matches later.

Corona had the fifth-best average in the area, a 285.75. She was second in the area in the standing position behind Robinson.

After a slow start, Corona had a span of six matches in which she shot 289 or better five times, including back-to-back scores of 290 and 291.

The 100 she shot in the kneeling position against Dodge County was the team’s best this season.

Brinson shot four matches this season with a broken little finger on his trigger hand, requiring him to shoot with a splint. But he still managed to finish with the sixth-best average in the area, a 284.88. His 92.88 in the standing position was good for fourth place, giving Colquitt County three of the top scorers in standing, or off-hand, position.

Brinson qualified for the state meet as an individual with the 293 he shot at Lee County on Feb. 2.

The top three finishers in scoring average received trophies and the top 16 were awarded medals.

The first-place finisher in each of the three positions also received a trophy. Those who finished second through fourth earned medals.