The best precision rifle teams, precisely 50 of them, from across the country took part in the National Championships in Anniston, Alabama, and Camp Perry, Ohio. Tallulah Falls School earned a spot with a solid showing at regionals, taking Andrew Erwin, Ben Fisher, Peyton Gunn, and Sam Stamey to the National 3P Air Rifle Championships.
“We were not expecting to make the National Championship, but we were excited to be there,” says coach Tim Stamey. “The score our team shot at regionals was just enough to squeak them in.”
While riflers in both Alabama and Ohio were competing, electronic targets synced the locations in real-time.
Perfection for a team was found in a score of 2,400. A Texas-based team shot 2,363. TFS finished 49th in the two-day event.
“I’m extremely proud of this team,” states Stamey. “To make it to this level is a great achievement! Since the birth of our rifle team only four short years ago, we have seen an individual (Sam Stamey) make it to the National Junior Olympic Championship (60 shot Standing), and a team (Gunn, Fisher, Stamey, Erwin) make it to the National 3 Position Championship. Pretty amazing if you ask me.”
Next month, TFS opens a new rifle season and will be looking to fill three slots opened up by recent graduates. The team will enter into GHSA competition and will chase a state title.