By Score Atlanta
The GHSA Riflery State Championship presented by Georgia Army National Guard is set for Saturday, April 16 at the Pool International Shooting Complex on Ft. Benning. The 12 winning teams from the GHSA Semifinal competitions, plus two invitational place teams, will compete for the state team championship. Gainesville and Upson-Lee earned the invitational bids, while defending state champion and four-time state titlist Northside-Columbus leads the field of 12 semifinalist victors. Gainesville fell in a tie-breaker to Woodward Academy in the semifinals with a 1148 score, which earned the Red Elephants a spot in the championships as only Walton (1151), Ware County (1150) and East Coweta (1171) posted higher scores in the semifinals. Upson-Lee’s semifinal loss came with a 1171-1142 loss to East Coweta. The 1171 score by East Coweta in the semifinals is the highest score seen in this year’s playoffs by 20 points and that score would surpass the team state championship record set by Allatoona in 2014 (1162). Buford, Allatoona, Monroe Area, Union Grove, Tift County, Harrison and Lee County account for the remaining team championship field.
Each team consists of five shooters with the top four scores accumulating as the team’s score. The competition is governed by the 2014-2016 National Standard Three-Position Air Rifle Rules (10th Edition), 3 x 10 course, and the GHSA Constitution and By-Laws. The air rifle competition determines the individual and team place winners based on total shooting scores from the prone, standing and kneeling positions.
The eight individual athletes that fire the highest scores qualify for the individual Finals, which will determine the individual championship standings but have no effect on the team standings. Allatoona’s Alana Kelly set the individual state record with a score of 296 in 2014. She qualified with a 297 score this year and will compete with a field that includes Lee County’s Katelyn Howell and Columbus’ Veronica Leggett. Howell shot a 296 to qualify, while Leggett enters competition with a state-best 298 qualifying score.
The 2016 Georgia All-State Rifle Team will be presented by the GeorgiaCarry.Org after the awards ceremony.
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