At the National Rifle Association Collegiate National Championships this past weekend Liliana Reyes, a resident of Milledgeville, Georgia, received the prestigious award as a recipient of the 2017 NRA All Star Second Air Rifle Team. Liliana will graduate this spring from GMC and continue her education at Armstrong State University. This is the first time a student from GMC has received a position on the NRA All Star Team in eleven years. Liliana shot on the second relay in small bore and had a score of 510 with eleven bulls eyes on Saturday afternoon. The air rifle competition was held on Sunday afternoon and she shot an outstanding score of 569. When the two scores were combined she had a total of 1079 to give her top score for the team and her award with the NRA.
Cadet Emily Stefurak, from Clover, South Carolina and a first year shooter for GMC was top shooter in the small bore position with a 517 and four bulls eyes. On Sunday, as she began her sighting period for air rifle, she shot a strong ten, but the second shot proved to be a rifle malfunction. Emily was able to continue in the competition with the use of a rifle from Grand Valley, Michigan's rifle team. Emily's strong spirit and determination in shooting gave her a score of 539 and a 1056 for the match.
Cadet Tristian Swann in the three position small bore shot his competition with a 504 and nine ten's. He is from Social Circle, Georgia and shot his air rifle score with an outstanding 550, giving him a total score of 1054 for the match.
Cadet Ray Parker from Hephzibah, Georgia, in his first year of shooting for GMC shot his personal best in small bore with a 506 and five ten's. In air rifle he scored another personal best with a 528 score. He was fourth man on the Bulldog Rifle Team with a total score of 1034.
Cadet Jeffrey Glass, in his first year of shooting from Tallahassee, Florida and with six family members watching his shooting, shot small bore with a 495-five ten's. In air rifle he had a great score of 510 for a total match score of 1005.
When Georgia Military College shot their small bore match, the wind was blowing harder with flags flying on the outdoor range. While the shooters are inside the range, a door is open to the outside and the targets are down range. The experience gave GMC's shooters the chance to shoot while the wind was strong and then the sky opened and it rained. Even with these conditions, GMC shooters remained focus and confident they could shoot a decent score and they did!
Georgia Military College's top four shooters score a 2042 in small bore and placed fifth place. Akron University in Ohio took first with a 2181, The University of Michigan a 2140 for second and Clemson University 2147 for third and Perdue fourth. In air rifle there were approximately eighty seven shooters with GMC ranking fourth in competition tied with Perdue University. To break the tie GMC had more bulls eyes so they were given fourth place and Perdue fifth. Akron University took first, followed by Clemson and the University of Michigan third.
As the only two year college rifle team in the United State of America, The Bulldog Rifle Team continues to be recognized in the sport of shooting throughout the country. They were also second runner up in the Fun Shoot organized by the match host, The United States Army Marksmanship Team. The shooters attended a clinic by the Olympic Army shooters as they shared their experiences with the fun they had in Rio and how they calm their nerves when competing in any competition.
At the NRA Banquet held Sunday evening, the competitors had the opportunity to talk to the Army Marksmanship team, meet the NRA staff members, especially Victoria Croft and Newt Engle and meet the other college team members and coaches. The National Rifle Association presented the Distinguished Coaches Award to J. Michael O'Connor, Coach of the University of Michigan. Coaching awards were presented to five other individual coaches and GMC's Mary Ellen Benning Eaton was fortunate to be one of the recipients. The team was coached by Mary Ellen and LTC. Duane Clayton.