“When we got there, we walked into the range and it wasn’t open like our range, because we each had our own individual booths,” Morgan Arbour, member of the team and first-place winner, said. “It didn’t feel real. I was thinking, like, I can’t believe it’s happening right now.”

The entire team traveled to the Michigan 3-Position Air Rifle Civilian Marksmanship Program Junior State Championships in Bay City on Dec. 10 where individuals shot 60 shots each: 20 shots lying down in the prone position, 20 shots kneeling, and 20 shots standing.

Each air rifle had about 3,000 psi-worth of compressed pressure, which, according to Dave Cloft, director of the Junior Air Rifle Team, said can shoot about 600 feet per second.

When members shoot, they only aim with an iron sight, making it even more difficult to hit the bullseye. Then, a quick and loud shot of compressed air rings from the rifle as they pull the trigger.

Courtesy Photo Thunder Bay Junior Air Rifle members line up to shoot at the Michigan 3PAR CMP Junior State Championships in Bay City. When shooters fire, a computer monitor shows where the pellet went on the target.

“So what we’re doing here — the targets we’re shooting at are the same exact targets they shoot at the Olympics,” Cloft said. “And so, obviously, our scores aren’t as good as that, but you could actually say, we’re shooting the same target. And the kids can say, ‘Wow, if that guy can do it, I could probably do it.'”

Cloft originally did rifle shooting in college and later competitively shot in Germany for about four years. He was also in the U.S. Army and became a member of a shooting team for the military, shooting rifles at world championships.

The sport of rifle shooting means so much to him that he wanted to give the same opportunity to the kids in Northeast Michigan.

“One of the neat things about it is that, well, there are not very many sports where men and women compete directly against each other,” Cloft said. “I noticed that this is a sport where we don’t care if you’re whatever, but it just matters what your score is.”

Cloft started the Thunder Bay Junior Air Rifle Team two years ago and says that the support from sponsors and locals around the area has been fantastic.

Courtesy Photo From left, Dacia Clegg, Blaine LaCross, and Morgan Arbour won third, second, and first, respectively, and received medals for their achievement.

One unlikely supporter was St. Paul Lutheran Church, which harbors the team’s air rifle range on its third floor. Cloft said that he feels especially blessed to have the space the church provides and feels thankful.

“The church has been awesome,” Cloft said. “Like, we got this room. We don’t pay any rent. You know, they love having us here. One of our former presidents knew that the church was looking for activities, and so a pastor of the church said, ‘Sure, come on in.’ He was actually a retired Air Force veteran and he’s been really cool.”

The team is comprised of 11 members, all of whom vary in age and schools they attend.

For example, the third-place winner, Dacia Clegg, is an eighth-grade student at Immanuel Lutheran School in Alpena. Second-place winner, Blaine LaCross, is also in eighth grade but attends Thundery Bay Junior High.

First-place winner, Morgan Arbour, is a senior at Hillman High School and plans to shoot in college.

News Photo by Mike Gonzalez Air rifle members check out other people’s scores on the target on the shooting range at St. Paul Lutheran Church on Dec. 14.

“I just like the fact that I get to shoot and actually get good at it,” LaCross said. “I’ve been shooting for about two years now.”

As the new year approaches, the team will hold a personal match for a national postal championship.

Cloft will need to certify each member’s scores and targets, to ensure no one is cheating, and mail the scores in to the Civilian Marksmanship Program. If anyone does well enough, they might compete shoulder-to-shoulder in an in-person national championship.

“I like how it’s a mind game kind of thing,” Arbour said. “You really got to focus on it. And really thinking about each shot helps block out everything else that’s happening. You just can focus on this and just relax.”

News Photo by Mike Gonzalez Morgan Arbour, member of the air rifle team, lines up her shot down the shooting range on the third floor of St. Paul Lutheran Church on Dec. 14.

News Photo by Mike Gonzalez Morgan Arbour reloads her air rifle at St. Paul Lutheran Church on Dec. 14.