Skip to content

Civilian Marksmanship Program

  • Home
  • About
  • Donate
  • Sponsorship
  • Contact
  • Search
  • Calendar
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Auction
  • Competition Tracker
  • E-Store
  • Forum
  • Join Our Email List
  • Live Targets
  • Photos
  • Home
    Skip This Navigation Section
    • NM SUPPORT TEAM – NEW MEMBER FORM
    • RETURNING NM SUPPORT TEAM FORM
    • Privacy Policy
    End of Navigation Section
  • About
    Skip This Navigation Section
    • Director Emeritus
    • Director of Civilian Marksmanship
    • Board of Directors
    • Programs Chief
    End of Navigation Section
  • Donate
  • Sponsorship
  • Contact
  • Search
  • Youth
    Skip This Navigation Section
    • Air Gun Matches
    • College Resources
    • Aces Postal
    • American Legion Junior 3PAR Tournament
    • JROTC 3PAR Matches
      • National JROTC Air Rifle Championship History
    • Junior Rifle Camps and Clinics
      • Junior Air Rifle Camp Counselors
      • Application to Host a CMP Summer Camp
      • Junior Rifle Camp Counselor Resources
    • Junior Distinguished Badge
    • Postal and Regional 3PAR CMP Matches
      • CMP 3PAR Regional Championships
      • CMP 3PAR State Championships
    • CMP National 3PAR Championship
      • State 3PAR Junior Olympic Championships
      • CMP National 3PAR Championship History
    • National Trophy Junior Team Match
    • 3PAR Shooting information
      • 3PAR FAQs
      • Sanctioning 3PAR Matches
      • National 3PAR Council
      • 3PAR Forms
      • 3PAR National Records
      • National Standard 3PAR Rules
    • CMP Scholarship Program
    • CMP-USMC Highpower Rifle Clinic
    End of Navigation Section
  • Clubs
    Skip This Navigation Section
    • Club-Related Forms
    • CMP Affiliate Rifle Purchase Program
    • Club News
    • Become Affiliated with CMP
      • CMP Affiliation Application Form
      • Benefits of Club Affiliation
    • CMP MOU's
    • CMP-Affiliated State Associations
      • M1 Garand Fund Development Program
    • Club-Sanctioned Clinics and Matches
    • Find a CMP-Affiliated Club Near You
    • Form a CMP Marksmanship Club
    End of Navigation Section
  • Compete
    Skip This Navigation Section
    • ACES POSTAL COMPETITION
    • CMP National Records
    • CMP Smallbore Program
      • CMP Smallbore Postal Program
    • CMP Air Rifle and Air Pistol Program
    • CMP League Matches
    • Get Started
    • Matches
      • Air Gun Matches
      • CMP Match Award Donors
      • Talladega Matches
      • Camp Perry Matches
      • Military Matches
      • Rimfire Sporter Rifle Matches
      • All Upcoming Matches
    • Register for a CT Number
    • Distinguished Badge Program
      • Distinguished Marksman Badge
    • Competition Rulebooks
    • Forms
    • CMP Pistol Program
    • CMP Live Target Images
    • CMP Competition Games
    • Marksmanship Forums
    • Junior Highpower Support Program
    • CMP Rifle Program
    End of Navigation Section
  • National Matches
    Skip This Navigation Section
    • CMP Industry Day
    • National Smallbore Matches
    • National Air Gun Matches
    • National Matches Junior Camp
    • National Matches Support Team
    • Long Range Matches
    • Springfield M1A Match
    • National Trophy Pistol Matches
    • Awards & Trophies
      • Vintage Sniper Match
      • CMP Game Events Awards
      • Long Range Awards
      • Individual Pistol Awards
      • National Trophies
      • National Trophy Individual and Aggregate Rifle Awards
      • National Trophy Team Rifle Awards
      • National Trophy Infantry Team Rifle Awards
      • Team and Special Aggregate Pistol Awards
    • National Matches First Shot Ceremony speakers
    • National Matches Air Gun Events
    • National Matches Welcome Center Information
    • National Rimfire Sporter Rifle Match
    • National Matches Spectator Events
    • National Matches Camps, Clinics, and Schools
    • National Trophy Rifle Matches
    • Directions to Camp Perry
    • Area Lodging Info
    • CMP National Championship Matches
    • National CMP Games Events
    • National Matches Archive project
    • Commercial Row Information
    End of Navigation Section
  • Education
    Skip This Navigation Section
    • Advanced Maintenance Class
    • Basic Pistol Course
    • Advanced Highpower Clinic
    • GSMM Master Instructor Training and Certification
      • GSM Master Instructor Resources
    • Armorer's Corner
    • Clinics
    • NM COLLECTOR SOFTWARE - CMP EDITION
    • Other Resources
    • Range Officer Training Course
      • Range Officer Training Course: Level II Rifle
      • Range Officer Training Course: Level II Pistol
    • Shooting Tips from the USAMU Service Rifle Team
      • USAMU FAQs: Equipment and Ammunition
      • USAMU FAQs: Shooting Positions
      • USAMU FAQs: Shooting Techniques and Tactics
    • Information on CMP Target Systems
    • Basic Rifle Class
    • Introduction to Shotgun Class
    • JROTC Marksmanship Instructor Course
      • JMIC- Master Instructor Resources
    • State Directors
      • CMP State Director Application
    • Small Arms Firing Schools at the National Matches
    • Rifle and Pistol Marksmanship 101
    • Coaching Resources
      • Air Rifle Target Stand Plans
    End of Navigation Section
  • News & Media
    Skip This Navigation Section
    • National Matches Results Bulletins
    • Instagram Links
    • CMP Podcasts
    • CMP Media Kit
    • ON THE MARK Newsletter
      • An On the Mark Series by: Gary Anderson
    • Customer Comments/Feedback
    • CMP Publications and Training Materials
    • The First Shot
    • CMP Shooting News Archives
      • Join Our Email List
    End of Navigation Section
  • Safety
  • Sales & Services
    Skip This Navigation Section
    • Ordering Information
    • Rifle Sales
    • Creedmoor Rifles & Accessories
    • CMP Gift Certificates
    • 1911 Sales Information
    • Videos - M1 Garand
    • CMP Purchase Eligibility Requirements
    • Club Sales Index
    • Custom Gunsmithing
    • Firearm and Parts Sales Links
    • Guns on Auction
    • How CMP Supports Veteran Organizations
    • Visit CMP Stores
    • CMP Target Sales Program
    End of Navigation Section
  • Ranges
    Skip This Navigation Section
    • Air Gun Competition Centers
      • Anniston, Alabama Lodging
      • CMP Monthly Match Program
      • Open Marksmanship
    • CMP Targets at Petrarca Range
      • CMP Petrarca Monthly .22 Bench League
    • CMP Talladega Marksmanship Park
      • Talladega Matches & Events
      • CMP Talladega Pro Shop
      • Talladega Marksmanship Park Shotgun Events
      • Talladega Marksmanship Park Sponsorships
      • 5K Range Run & 1K Fun Run
      • 3D Archery Range
      • Paver Project
      • Talladega Marksmanship Park area lodging info
    End of Navigation Section

Massachusetts Junior Feature: MacKenzie Conant

February 21, 2020

Civilian Marksmanship Program▸The First Shot▸Massachusetts Junior Feature: MacKenzie Conant

By Serena Juchnowski, CMP Feature Writer

For Billerica, Mass., junior MacKenzie Conant, her marksmanship journey has always been about family. Though she was thrilled to earn her Distinguished Rifleman’s Badge in 2018, she notes that her journey “was fairly ordinary and kind of a blur now.” This does not mean she does not value the distinction of the badge, only that the journey pales in comparison to its unique presentation and what it now represents to her. 

MacKenzie earned Distinguished Rifleman’s Badge #2421 in 2018. 

Distinguished Badges are traditionally presented during the National Matches by the winners of the President’s 100 and National Trophy Individual events. MacKenzie’s older brother, Sgt. Verne Conant of the United States Army Marksmanship Unit (AMU), surprised her by presenting her badge and pinning her on stage. 

MacKenzie recalls, “Him pinning me on stage was extra special, knowing that he had his own slew of accomplishments while on the AMU that made this possible.” 

USAMU Sgt. Verne Conant, MacKenzie’s older brother, presented her Distinguished Rifleman’s Badge.

Besides earning her Distinguished Rifleman’s Badge, MacKenzie has her own sets of accomplishments. She started her shooting career in middle school, inspired and helped along by her dad and brother. First came beginning safety courses with .22’s, which her brother Verne helped teach. As she entered high school, MacKenzie found herself competing locally and nationally in smallbore and air rifle with the more advanced juniors of the Reading Rifle and Revolver Club. 

In 2016, MacKenzie earned a spot in the Junior Olympics by placing as the state high scoring female in smallbore at a Massachusetts Junior Olympic qualifier. After also shooting above the qualifying score in air rifle, she was able to compete in that event as well.

Nowadays, MacKenzie considers highpower her primary discipline.

MacKenzie Conant practices dry firing during the USMC Junior Highpower Clinic. 

“Smallbore and air rifle gave me a great foundation for highpower,” she said. “They taught me about trigger control and most importantly position and hold. I attribute my scores in offhand to all of my air rifle training.” 

She went on. “I had a great coach in smallbore and air, Maureen Trickett [CMP’s Massachusetts State Director and also a highpower shooter], who would have us practice without a jacket on, and that really makes you focus on your core position. Also, shooting 60 shot offhand matches gave us plenty of practice and repetition.” 

MacKenzie stands with her father, Steve Conant, following the 2019 Distinguished Badge presentation ceremony.  

MacKenzie first attended the National Matches at Camp Perry in 2015, and three years later, she earned the highest award recognized by the U.S. Government for excellence in marksmanship: the Distinguished Rifleman’s Badge. 

Three years – the same amount of time it will take MacKenzie to finish her degree in Parks, Recreation and Tourism with a minor in Marketing from the University of Maine. 

“As for career plans, that is the million-dollar question,” she said. “I am currently toying with the idea of graduate school as well as looking into internship opportunities for this summer.” 

The beginning of a new decade, 2020 does not just close out her time as an undergraduate but also her time as a junior competitor. Per CMP rules, a competitor is considered a “junior” through the year of his/her 20th birthday.

Conant participates in sitting live-fire drills during the USMC Junior Highpower Clinic. 

Being a “junior” means several things. It means reduced match fees, opportunities to take part in special clinics and events, and, most of all, it means competing as a junior – usually as part of a junior team. Being a member of a junior team is a unique experience, as it brings together kids with a common interest (an interest typically uncommon among most others their age), and gives them the support and resources to learn, compete and grow while representing something bigger than one’s self. 

Whatever MacKenzie chooses to do, she is not giving up shooting. Competing in highpower is not only rewarding for her, but it gives her an opportunity to spend time with her dad and brother. MacKenzie remembers her brother coaching her, driving with her to practices and shooting alongside him at the National Matches. 

“He only gets leave a couple times a year, so traveling out to Ohio to compete lets me see him an extra time,” she said. “Families tend to grow apart once their kids go off to school, so shooting keeps me coming home.” 

Competing in highpower is not only rewarding for her, but it gives her an opportunity to spend time with her family.

Home – not just to her family but to the highpower community. MacKenzie’s favorite thing about marksmanship is “the family around it. Seeing the same faces at the range every weekend and connecting with people across the U.S. Also, this sport is unique in that you can compete side-by-side with the world’s greatest, and most of the time you would never know. . . until you see their scores.” 

One thing MacKenzie has learned is how to ask for help. She notes that discipline and responsibility come first, followed by learning more about yourself and realizing that you will never know everything. 

For MacKenzie, the end of her time as a junior is really just another beginning, not anywhere close to the end of her time shooting. She will have some “new” borrowed equipment and will have to purchase some of her own – much of the equipment she had been using on loan from Reading Rifle and Revolver. She looks forward to passing down her equipment and the memories surrounding it to a young shooter but recognizes how hard it can be for juniors-turned-adults to continue to compete. 

Again, her solution is to ask for help from the community. While the resources may not come from a junior club, someone may have an extra coat or something else they are willing to sell or loan. 

MacKenzie plans to keep competing in Highpower Rifle Matches.

Going forward, MacKenzie hopes to make the President’s 100, but will be limited by the burden of school loans and work. 

“I certainly plan to keep competing, if nothing else to do it to spend time with my dad and brother…I may not be as competitive as I would like but I will certainly continue for the fun of the sport.” 

For other juniors aging out who think they may no longer have the time to compete MacKenzie reminds them, “Remember why you started.”

She explained her own reasonings, saying, “For me it was to spend time with my family, so I know I can’t stop all together. My scores may not be as high as I would like, but I will certainly still make it out to that firing line at least a few times a year to continue to partake in a sport that I love.” 

Tweet
Share
Pin
Share29
29 Shares
  • Auction
  • Competition Tracker
  • E-Store
  • Forum
  • Join Our Email List
  • Live Targets
  • Photos

Civilian Marksmanship Program

The mission of the Civilian Marksmanship Program is to promote firearm safety and marksmanship training with an emphasis on youth. Our vision is that every youth in America has the opportunity to participate in firearm safety and marksmanship programs.

If you need assistance accessing any of our content or would like it in an alternative format you can contact us via our contact form, click here.

  • Calendar
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Search
  • Home
  • About
  • Donate
  • Sponsorship
  • Contact
  • Search
  • Youth
  • Clubs
  • Compete
  • National Matches
  • Education
  • News & Media
  • Safety
  • Sales & Services
  • Ranges
  • Privacy Policy

©2022 Civilian Marksmanship Program. All rights reserved.
Site by West Edge Collective.