On July 7-9,2025 43 of the junior teams in the country competed in the CMP 3 position air rifle championship at Camp Perry, Ohio. Southern Indiana Rifle and Pistol Club Precision, based in Georgetown, Indiana earned an invitation by winning the state qualifier in January. The team consisted of Ashley Haymond, Ysabelle Martinez, Megan Fondy, Logan Hall and Lacy Schilmiller (alternate). The competition is a 60-shot match shot on consecutive days with 20 shots in the kneeling/prone and standing position.
Competition at the is level is INTENSE! Many of the competitors there already have shooting scholarships to top D1 teams such as the University of Kentucky and West Virginia University. It is not uncommon to have a single point separate 3-5 positions with the number of x’s determining the difference!
SIRPC Precision had qualified in the previous 2 years finishing 24th the first time and 15th last year. This year they qualified third overall. They knew that if they kept their focus that they could win a National Championship! Day 1 started off with strong performances by Ysabelle 594, Logan 592, Ashley 591 and Megan 579. That gave them a narrow 7-point lead over Yellowstone Rifle Club.
On Day 2, Yellowstone Rifle Club shot an even better score than day 1. Setting the stage for a nailbiter going down to the last and most challenging stage, standing. SIRPC Precision continued to shoot consistent scores in kneeling and prone and going into the standing stage they shot the highest standing team score of the day. At this point no one knew who had actually won, just that it was going to be very close. When the team found out they had won the national championship, the look of shock/surprise/joy occurred all within a few seconds on their faces and then screams of victory were an amazing moment to witness and will be a priceless memory for them all. The final tally after two days of shooting was SIRPC Precision 4707 and Yellowstone Rifle club 4702. Only a 5-point difference after each team had fired 480 record shots.
Top 3 individual awards were determined by a ‘finals’ elimination shootoff based on the top 8 scores from the match. Ashley Haymond made the top 8 and made a strong effort and ended up 5th individually.
Megan Fondy also was recognized by earning a distinguished shooter badge by earning a total of 30 points over past competitions including this match.
This team consists of two upcoming juniors and 3 upcoming seniors so they will be returning again next year.
Additionally, this team also competed in the National Smallbore and Air (Standing only) matches the following week. They finished second in the club category in both Smallbore and Air.
About the Author
