Blair County 4-H Sharpshooters Dominate State Team Competitions

The Blair County 4-H Sharpshooters swept the 4-H State Air Rifle Competition, placing 1st in both the senior and the junior divisions in this year’s 4-H state championship. The tournament was held on May 4th in the Ag Progress Complex in Pennsylvania Furnace.

Claiming the 1st place senior team division medals for the second year in a row were lady sharpshooters Alivia Snyder - third place overall, Joulia Wolf - second place overall, and Alexis Sumner - seventh place overall. The team led the state with a combined score of 713 points, besting the second place team’s score of 685 points. All 3 girls are invited to compete in the national 4-H Air Rifle Competition held this June in Nebraska.

New to the competition this year was the Sharpshooters Junior Division squad. This team was comprised of Alayna Mitchell - placing 10th in the Junior Division, Isaiah Snyder - placing third, and Alex Wolf - placing seventh. The team compiled a total score of 640 points to claim the First Place Junior Division title. They handily out shot the second place team’s 546 points.

In addition to claiming team honors, Wolf, Snyder, and Mitchell won their respective lines in the silhouette shooting competitions. Mitchell took home the title for hitting the most silhouette targets amongst all competitors.

The Blair County 4-H Sharpshooter’s head coach, John (JR) Butler congratulated his teams and impressed upon them that it is their continued investment of hardwork and discipline that leads to their successes. Coach Butler was asked if he was concerned about losing his senior division shooters if they attend the national tournament this year. Attending the national tournament would make them ineligible to participate in next year’s state tournament. Coach Butler replied “The goal of our shooting program is to help the kids develop their shooting skills to the best of their potential. Nothing makes my coaching staff and me prouder than watching them be successful and seeing them enjoy the sport. We will continue to support our shooters every way we can if they decide to advance in their discipline”.

Coach Butler and his teams would like to thank his coaching staff, the Pennsylvania 4-H shooting sports program, the Blair County 4-H program, and the Blair County Game, Fish, and Forestry Association for their continued support of our teams. The Blair County 4-H Sharpshooters are sponsored by the Blair County Game, Fish, and Forestry Association located at 301 Riggles Gap Sportsmen Road in Altoona. For more information about the program, contact the club at 814-942-8522 or the Blair County 4-H office in Martinsburg at 814-940-5989.