Somerset County 4-H rifle team earns national title

Jul. 21—GRAND ISLAND, Neb. — The Somerset County 4-H club's shooting team won first place in the three-position, smallbore rifle event at the 4-H Shooting Sports National Championships a few weeks ago in Grand Island, Nebraska.

Emily Bennett, Noah Lehman, Sadie Palfrey and Zach Tedrow not only brought home first place with 1,602 points, but also took second place for smallbore silhouette and overall smallbore score.

In three-position shooting, all four finished in the top nine as Lehman (fourth, 539), Bennett (fifth, 533), Tedrow (sixth, 530) and Palfrey (ninth, 514) turned in high scores.

Bennett, the state runner-up in this year's scholastic meet, finished in third place and Tedrow took sixth in the smallbore rankings. Bennett ranked second in the silhouette steel individual event. Palfrey was fourth in the rapid fire civilian marksmanship program.

The four shooters were chosen to represent Pennsylvania's 4-H rifle team after winning the state shooting championship in Shelocta in April.

Bennett is a rising senior at Bishop Carroll Catholic High School and Lehman will be a junior this fall at Conemaugh Township Area High School. Palfrey is a home-schooled student from Indiana. Tedrow is a 2022 graduate of North Star.

"It's a real accomplishment for them," 4-H assistant coach Barry Rininger said.

This is the third year in a row the Somerset County 4-H won the state championship. Rininger and coach Mike Knapp put their team up against 79 individual shooters from 20 states, testing their skills at targets 50 yards down range using single shot Olympic-style target rifles with open sights.

The foursome excelled in the three-position (standing, kneeling and prone) rifle category in 100-degree heat and 40-mph winds.

"We are especially proud of our team for winning again, to repeat in this nation-wide competition is truly remarkable," Rininger said. "Our kids remained focused and didn't let the tough conditions, big crowds and keen competition get them rattled. Adversity is part of this game and Emily, Sadie, Noah and Zach were confident and determined to bring home the gold, and they did just that."

The Grand Island finals attracted 700 young men and women from 39 states who participated in a variety of disciplines from June 26 to July 1.

Teams also competed in archery, muzzle loader, shotgun and air rifle/pistol events.

The four marksmen are also members of the Jerome Junior Rifle Team (JJRT), which competes in a number of state-wide and Junior Olympics competitions, in addition to college matches in Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia and Michigan. Rininger leads that team. The junior rifle team and the Somerset County 4-H team both consist of shooters ages 14 to 19, and sometimes younger. They practice together and are based at the Jerome Sportsmen's Association's indoor and outdoor range facilities.

The junior rifle team will be hosting its first outdoor three-position, 50-yard, .22 caliber small-bore rifle competition from July 29-31. Dubbed the Jerome Sportsmen's Association (JSA) Open, the event will also include an indoor .177 caliber air-rifle match.

"It's open to any shooter who wants to come, and we do have it sanctioned with the NRA (National Rifle Association)," Rininger said. "Their scores there will be registered throughout the country, so college coaches can see how they did in a match."

Shooters of all ages are welcome, but must provide their own .22 caliber or .177 pellet rifles and ammunition.

Awards will be given for the top three shooters in the men's and women's divisions in each category, and a special youth BB gun competition for kids ages 8 to 13 will be held Sunday afternoon.

All interested coaches, teams and individuals are encouraged to register at $25 per shooter by Monday by contacting Barry Rininger at 814-233-6000 or emailing him at bsrbuildingsystems@gmail.com, but those registering in-person during the event will not be turned away.

For BB gun information, contact Nikki Tedrow at 814-701-6427 or jeromejrrifle@gmail.com.

There will be a chicken and burger BBQ, and other food and drinks will be available for sale during the competition, with proceeds benefitting the Jerome Sportsmen's Association.

"The club is quite generous to us," Rininger said. "We try to do as much as we can for them because they allow us to use the range at no cost, so we try to pay it forward and help them out."

John Rucosky is a photographer for The Tribune-Democrat. He can be reached at 814-532-5055. Follow him on Twitter @JohnRucosky.