U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit Comes Out On Top During National Match Team Events
August 3, 2017
By Ashley Brugnone, CMP Writer
CAMP PERRY, Ohio – Earning overall wins in multiple events during the 2017 National Trophy Rifle events was the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (AMU), whose members not only came together to win team events but also took home individual honors.
The team began with U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit Craig overtaking the National Trophy Team (NTT) Match, with a score of 2944-113x. Firing members were 2017 National Record setter and National Trophy Individual champion SFC Brandon Green, SPC Daniel Lowe, SFC Shane Barnhart, SGT Ben Cleland, 2017 record setters SSG Amanda Elsenboss and SSG David Bahten, with captain William Pace and coach SSG Walter Craig.
Members then went on to lead the National Trophy Infantry Match (NTIT) with a score of 1439. Firing members of U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit Barnhart were SFC Green, PV2 Forrest Greenwood, SPF Lane Ichord, SFC William Pace, SGT Joseph Peterson, SSG Cody Shields, captain SFC Evan Hess and coach SFC Barnhart.
Winning the Hearst Doubles two-person team match was SSG Cody Shields and SFC Daniel Crody, with a score of 595-24x. Both are members of the Army Marksmanship Unit.
Incredibly, SFC Green fired a perfect 300 score as an individual in the Hearst Doubles team match, with 18 x-ring hits.
The Leatherneck Trophy, which is awarded to the High Civilian Team in the NTIT, went to Texas Gold. Firing members Kyle Hoelscher, John Lizhoefer, Clayton Maugans, Tony Miller, Hugh Reich and Randall Scheibel recorded a score of 1326. The 2017 President’s 100 Champion, Justin Utley, served as captain, while David Wilson stood as coach.
The Army Reserve Gold Team, placed fifth overall but was awarded the Celtic Chieftain Trophy (High Reserve Component). Team members were LTC Christopher Bear, SFC Daniel Dorosheff, SSG Kristoffer Friend, SSG Scott Grant, SFC Adam Stauffer and SGM Douglas Withus fired a score of 1323. The team was coached by MSG Joseph Braswell and MSG John McFarland was the team captain.
Making a mark as the Junior NTIT team was the California Grizzlies O’Connell, consisting of Joe Blacksmith, Kenneth Blacksmith, Samuel Blacksmith, Justin George, Miles Grove, Nathaniel Nye, captain Loet Van Hoven and coach Jim O’Connell.
The National Civilian Rifle Team is comprised of the highest six civilian competitors in the NTT event, with a captain and coach pulled from the highest civilian team. Members of the honorary team earn coveted Elihu Root gold medals. This year, the members will come together to compete as a true team at the Talladega 600 in December, fired at the CMP’s Talladega Marksmanship Park in Alabama.
Earning places on the team were Alex Vitous of Martinton, IL, James Vaughn of Bloomington, IL, David Strickland of Marietta, OH, Robert Taylor II of Sonora, CA, Jared Perry of Porterville, CA and Justin Utley of Mineola, TX. John Holliger from White Oak Armament received the coach title, while Konrad Powers received the captain distinction.
Only two points behind the winning USAMU team in the NTT was the Army Reserve Arcularius Team firing a 2942-100x, winning the Hilton Trophy. Team members included MAJ Samuel Freeman, SPC Bryant Wallizer, SPC Keith Stephens, SGT Nickolaus Mowrer, SGT Joseph Hall and SFC Joel Micholick. Team coach was SFC John Arcularius and team captain was SGM James Mauer.
The High Civilian team of the NTT was Illinois State Gold, with a score of 2909-84x. Team members were James Vaughn, Tim Klauer, John Roth, Mark Aussieker, Konrad Power (captain) and John Holliger (coach).
The High Junior team was WI Force Cheddar. Team members Josh Hanrahan, Bryan Melville, Jadon Selsmeyer, Brad Schoenemann, Vincent Norling and Riley Stewart fired a new National Record score of 2831-52x. Captain of the team was James Melville, with coach Kaleb Hall leading the way.
First place in the National Junior Trophy Team match was Wisconsin Force Cheddar. Firing members Josh Hanrahan (captain) and Brad Schoenemann. Coach of the team was Kaleb Hall.
Like the National Civilian Team, a National Junior Team is also comprised from the top individuals in the Junior Tea Match. Making this year’s team was Jack Graw, Murraysville, PA, Miles Grove of Davis, CA, Josh Hanrahan of Green Bay, WI, Alex Vitous of Martinton, IL, Brad Schoenomann of Lodi, WI and new National Record holder Liam McKenna of Warrenville, IL, who fired a complete junior aggregate score of 1279-49x.
For a complete list of results, visit http://ct.thecmp.org/app/v1/index.php?do=match&task=edit&match=15053&tab=results.
Photos of all of the National Match events can be found on the CMP Zenfolio page: http://cmp1.zenfolio.com/f308381592.