McAndrews, Poke win state titles
- Updated: January 10, 2015
Oneonta freshman, Daleville senior claim Air Rifle crowns; updates with NRA results
Anna Scheer (L) rests while Ryan McAndrews completes his prone relay at the CMP Alabama State Air Rifle Championships. Below, Alexis Poke secures her gun after finishing a winning Sporter program.
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
Ryan McAndrews, a freshman at Oneonta High School, won the precision class title on his final shot of the competition and Alexis Poke, a senior at Daleville, made a bid for a sporter national record, in winning CMP Alabama State Air Rifle Championship titles on Saturday.
McAndrews, who shoots for the Magic City Kats team, centered a 10 on his final shot to edge Lilly Vonderau of Shelby County Shooting Sports by three points, 584-581. Anna Scheer of the Magic City Kats was third.
Poke, who shoots for the Daleville JROTC team and already holds one national record, was on pace to set a national sporter mark despite scoring a 6 in one of her first prone shots of the match. She scored 562 total points, missing the record by 12 but winning the class by 15 points over Daleville teammate Gabriel Hood.
McAndrews sat in second place following the standing relay, one point behind Vanderau, but is considered a strong kneeling shooter and displayed that skill with the match on the line. He scored 198 from the position, the same score he posted prone, and was as relaxed as ever as he approached the final shot.
“Today it felt like normal practice,” he said. “I try to not focus on anything about the competition; I just treat it like a practice. It helps me stay calm. I know everybody here. It’s just fun.”
Poke, meanwhile, doesn’t go into each competition thinking about setting records, just trying to do her best. The record she does hold is the NRA 40-shot standing mark.
She got off to a fast start Saturday, scoring 192 from the prone position. She wrapped up the day with a 10 on her final shot, but packed her gear at the end of the tournament with a pouty lip because of some loose shots shortly before the finish.
“I was happy with my total score but I was sad because I shot the two 8s; I could’ve done better,” she said. “My first target was amazing and I thought OK this next target is going to be a little better. Then I got a 10.6 and my arm kind of died.
“I couldn’t feel it and I thought what am I going to do? I kept over-thinking it. If I hadn’t over-thought those two shots, I would’ve been fine.”
In an NRA Sectional match that followed later in the day, McAndrews finished second to Glen Lauzon of Senoia, Ga., 584-581. Scheer was fourth. Amanda Francis of Shelby County won the sporter division with 433 points.
The Civilian Marksmanship Program range in Anniston holds tournaments every month and has several major events scheduled in the coming weeks. It will conduct Area 8 and Area 12 JROTC Championships Jan. 17 and 24, respectively, the Dixie Challenge Jan. 31 and segments of the JROTC Service Championship Feb. 13-15 and 19-21.
CMP ALABAMA STATE AIR RIFLE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Precision Class
Ryan McAndrews, Magic City Kats 584
Lilly Vonderau, Shelby County 581
Anna Scheer, Magic City Kats 580
Seth Hartbarger, Magic City Kats 572
Sam Richardson, Shelby County 572
Jared Hartbarger, Magic City Kats 563
Will Stamps, Shelby County 553
Tommy Loring, Magic City Jr. Kats 552
Ainsley McFarland, Magic City Jr. Kats 537
Garrett Boggan, Magic City Jr. Kats 525
Blake Wingard, Magic City Jr. Kats 516
Don Eckard, Old Man Club 502
Jude Raia, Shelby County 472
Landon Moro, individual 419
Levi Hartbarger, individual 399
Daniel Puckett, individual 351
Sporter Class
Alexis Poke, Daleville JROTC 562
Gabriel Hood, Daleville JROTC 547
Jonah Nabinger, Daleville JROTC 528
Magdiel Rosario Orta, Daleville JROTC 507
Grayson Lester, Buckhorn HS 494
Shae Franklin, Buckhorn HS 491
Michael Hundley, Buckhorn HS 490
Michael Martinez, Buckhorn JV 489
Nick Heller, Buckhorn JV 479
Gabby Hendrix, individual 476
Danielle McKinney, individual 455
Erik Sigmon, Buckhorn HS 455
Amanda Francis, individual 444
Caden Aguirre, Buckhorn JV 430
Taylor Jones, individual 419
Jarrett Shepherd, individual 380
Kyler Robinson, Buckhorn JV 375
Gabe Griffin, individual 317
NRA SECTIONAL
Precision Class
Glen Lauzon, Senoia, Ga. 584
Ryan McAndrews, Oneonta 581
Alexandria Wright, Senoia, Ga. 580
Anna Scheer, Trussville 579
Seth Hartbarger, Magic City Jr. Kats 570
Jared Hartbarger, Magic City Jr. Kats 563
Sporter Class
Amanda Francis, Shelby County 433
Taylor Jones, Shelby County 412
You must be logged in to post a comment Login