BUDA — The Jack C. Hays High School MCJROTC recently became the 2024 Marine Corps National Sporter Three-Position Air Rifle Champions for the first time in the program's 29-year history.
The tournament took place in Sandy, Utah, on Feb. 8-10. In addition to winning the MCJROTC Team Championship, team captains Celeste Guerrero and Alexis Guerrero finished in fourth and sixth place, respectively.
In November 2023, 233 Marine Corps JROTC teams nationally competed to secure one of only 25 National Championship slots. Hays captured three of those slots and was the only team nationally to qualify an all freshman team. There are no age or seniority distinctions in 3 Position Air Rifle. The Hays freshman shot against sophomores, juniors and seniors.
Next up for the program is the All Service JROTC National Championships in March in Camp Perry, Ohio, where the Hays top team will compete against the top seven teams from each of the other services. The 28 teams remaining will have gone through two grueling elimination tournaments and are the final qualifiers from a field of more than 1,500 teams nationally.
Jack C. Hays MCJROTC 3 Position Air Rifle Team members are: Celeste Guerrero, Alexis Guerrero, Shiloh Hargrove, Sophia Padilla, Brynn Gray, Kobie Talavera, Gabriel Guerrero, Amaris Oliva, Viviana Martinez, Landen Grant, Zoe Quiles and Adah Guerra. The team is coached by Lt. Col. Don Wimp.
The rifle team was honored with a celebratory drumline procession through the campus’s main office building on Wednesday, Feb. 14.
