Locals earn top honors in North Idaho Junior Olympic Rifle State Championship
Members of the Sandpoint and Kootenai Valley junior rifle teams pose for a photo. Pictured (from left): Salix Harris, Lizzie Geisinger, Gretchen Weig and Ellie Rutherford.
(Courtesy photo)
BONNERS FERRY — On Saturday, Jan. 23, the Kootenai Valley Rifle Club in Bonners Ferry hosted the Junior Olympic Rifle State Championship for North Idaho.
Competitors shot a single shot .22-caliber rifle, with iron sights, at a target 50 feet away. To score a 10, juniors must take out a dot the size of the period at the end of this sentence. Competitors shot 20 shots in each of the prone, standing, and kneeling positions.
Several shooters from the Sandpoint and Kootenai Valley teams competed in the championship and Gretchen Weig, a 15-year-old from Sandpoint, claimed the title with a score of 530 out of a possible 600.
Ellie Rutherford, a 16-year-old on the KV team, took home the silver medal with a score of 525. Third place went to Lizzie Geisinger, a 17-year old from Sandpoint, with a 515.
Shooting in her first match, 12-year-old Salix Harris placed first in her age group.
The scores shot at this match were combined with those from a match held in the southern portion of the state. Rachel Engles from Boise won that match with a score of 567 to be declared the overall champion in Idaho. By winning, Engles earned an invitation to shoot at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
If you are interested in learning more about the sport or returning to it, as a junior or senior shooter, please contact your local rifle range.