Packer Air Rifle Team
"Shoot Sharp, Shoot Small, Smithfield's here to win it all!"
Competitions are shot here in Smithfield at the JROTC Bldg and targets are either mailed in, a postal meet, or held at another location and against other competing teams, a side by side competition. We may have a side by side competition held here at Smithfield if the Prince George meet is not able to occur.
2022-2023 SY Rifle Team
Front Row left-right: Lauren Read, Nicole Smith, Chinaza Agbasi, Corrin Albers, Kai Fruchey, Caroline Lewton.
Back Row left-right: Garrett Halle, Zachary Hedgepeth, Alora Wooten, Nymiar Towns, Dalton Fesser, Alexander Ramirez, Colton Stalls.
Not Pictured: Jakub Hradil.
Pictured above: Rifle Team Varsity and Junior Varsity members competing at James River High School, Midlothian VA on 19 November 2022. The team placed 2nd and Cadet Caroline Lewton finished 3rd overall in the Veteran category and Nymiar Towns placed 1st in the Novice category. See more awards in the event section below.
The Rifle Team competed as one of the top 20 teams in the brigade and placed 5th overall in the 4th Brigade Best of Best competition in Hickory, North Carolina on December 10th. The competition in Hickory, NC resulted in the Packer Marksman shooting their overall team best with a combined 1998 total after qualifying 16th with a score of 1861. Junior Nymiar Towns placed 7th overall among all novice shooters in the Brigade and Senior Caroline Lewton and Junior Colton Stalls both placed in the top 20 in the Brigade of 250 competitors.
On February 11, 2023, The SHS JROTC Rifle Team traveled to Port Clinton, Ohio to compete in the Army JROTC Air Rifle Northeast Regional Championships at Camp Perry. Led by team captain, Senior Caroline Lewton, the team placed 11th in the Northeast Region and 32nd in the Nation. Caroline Lewton, and first year athletes Lauren Read and Nymiar Towns all placed in the top 50 in the region and in the top 150 in the nation. During the two-day competition (60 shots each day) both Caroline Lewton and Nymiar Towns earned their gold marksmanship pins by shooting 515 or over out of a possible 600 points. The team has been the #1 AJROTC Team in Virginia since it began in the 2019-20 school year and has qualified for the regional competition every year. “I am very proud of this team! They improved their team score from last year’s regional and met the one day elusive 3x20 score of 2000; 3 team members shot their personal best scores this week including two novice shooters (Read and Towns) who broke the 500 mark; and two earned their gold pins; I could not be prouder”, said Coach LTC (Ret) Peter Badoian.
Pictured above: The SHS AJROTC Regional Rifle Team shoot from the prone position during their Northeast Regional Competition (R to L: Nymiar Towns, Lauren Read, Colton Stalls, Alex Ramirez, and Caroline Lewton)
Pictured above: The team members give the thumbs up as to their performance. (Back L to R: Colton Stalls, Alex Ramirez, Nymiar Towns; Front L to R: Lauren Read, Caroline Lewton.
The SHS Air Rifle Team consists of 14 cadets. These cadets practice a minimum of two times a week (Mondays and Wednesdays) practicing their accuracy with the .177 Crosman Challenger Air Rifle. The team competes in the Air Rifle Sporter Division in the Virginia Rifle League (VARL) and in other Civilian Marksmanship Program and JROTC Unit sponsored events. In SY 19-20 in its first year of existence the Rifle Team was the best Army JROTC team in Virginia, and qualified for and competed in the regional championships at Camp Perry, OH. During the SY 20-21 season (a short year due to COVID-19) the team again placed 2nd in the VARL, 18th in the 4th BDE region and was the best Army JROTC team in VA again. The team also placed 5th in the National Topeka West Invitational Postal Competition. Last year the Team again placed 2nd in the VARL, placed third in the Northeast Region and 6th in 4th Brigade. Caroline Lewton, this year's team Captain, won best overall and best in kneeling in the VARL.
Upcoming Competitions
Scheduled Competitions:
1) Monthly VARL 3x10 Postal:
NOV 30: Placed 2nd for Varsity and 1st for JV teams
JAN: Placed 1st for Varsity and JV Teams
FEB: Placed First for Varsity and JV Teams
MAR : Placed First for Varsity
VARL Overall 1ST place SY 23-24: Best finish for SHS Rifle ever.
1) Summer Fruchey Top Gun of the league
2) Nymiar Towns placed 3rd overall
3) Nymiar Towns placed 2nd in Kneeling
4) Summer Fruchey and Nymiar Towns placed 1st and 3rd respectively in Standing
5) Summer Fruchey placed 2nd in Prone
4) 4th Brigade 3 x 20 BOB Side by Side: Competed but did not place in this event
3) 5th Annual Topeka West Charger Battalion Postal: April 2024- Placed 2nd of 49 teams nationally; best finish in this competition for SHS ever.
5) Camp Perry Regionals; Port Clinton, Ohio 8-12 Feb: Competed but did not place
Practice Schedule
The normal practice schedule during the SY is from 3-4:45 Mon and Wed weekly. The time and days may vary if a postal competition (3-5:00) is being conducted.
Packer Drill Team
The SHS Drill Team consists of dedicated cadets who practice a minimum of twice a week to compete in local, regional and state drill competitions. In 2017, '18 and '19, the SHS Drill Team placed 2nd in VA in the American Legion State Drill competition. The team has the opportunity to compete in 10 different events:
Squad Armed and Unarmed Regulation Drill, Platoon Armed and Unarmed Regulation Drill, Platoon Inspection, Colorguard, Squad Armed and Unarmed Exhibition Drill, Platoon Armed and Unarmed Exhibition Drill.
2022-2023 SY Drill Team
Top row left-right: Sophia Hewitt, Mikey Taylor, Iana Young, Gabriella Baker, Ryan McEathron, Alorah Wooten, Aubrey Graupman, _ Keagan, Adelyn Nixon.
Bottom row left-right: Andrew Bailey, Christian Jacobs, Chinaza Agbasi, Alexander Ramirez, Jackson Sikes, Summer Kai Fruchey, Summer Quinby.
At their second competition of the year, the Drill Team won 1st Place overall honors at the annual JROTC Drill classic conducted at Manor High School, Portsmouth, VA. Competing against five other JROTC Teams, the Packer Drill Team placed in all seven events:
1st Place: Unarmed Platoon and Armed Squad; 2nd Place: Colorguard and Unarmed Squad; 3rd Place: Inspection, Armed Platoon and LET 1 Unarmed Squad.