Superior 4H shoots at state

SUPERIOR – The Superior 4H Shooting Sports Team hit the bull’s-eye at the State Tournament last week as a number of students took high places in the archery and rifle competitions.

The competition was held in Bozeman from Friday, Feb. 28 to Sunday, March 2. The competitions focused on archery as well as shooting rifles and pistols. There were seven kids on the Superior team, with four girls and three boys. According to Michelle Parkin, one of the supervisors for rifle shooting, all seven members shot rifles and three also did archery.

One of the main competitions was three position, or 3P, where the shooters fire on a target with 10 bull’s-eyes. They shoot at each target while standing, kneeling and lying prone. Shooters can get a total of 300 points.

The first, second and third place scorers of each age group were awarded a medal. There was also a special plaque given to the person who got the highest score in a category.

Luke Boyce took first place overall in the prone competition. He also took fifth place in 3P and third place standing. Because Boyce is also on the Superior basketball team, and was at the Divisional Tournament in Butte on Saturday, he had to do all of his competitions on Sunday.

Alli Parkin took second place for the 9 to 10 year-old 3P rifle competition.

In the 11 to 12 year old 3P competition, Kathryn Parkin took third place, Jonna Warnken took fourth, Howie Edison took fifth, Margaret Parkin took seventh and Kade Parkin took ninth.

The 11 to 12 year old standing competition had Jonna Warnken in second place, Margaret Parkin in the fifth and ninth places, Howie Edison in eighth with Kade Parkin in 10th.

The results of the archery competition were not available.

Parkin said the kids did a good job this year and performed well in their past tournaments. The team went to competitions in other towns as well as some where they stayed home and mailed targets to the judges.

She recalled one match where Warnken went to a tournament and almost all the teams were from schools with JROTC programs. Because JROTC usually incorporates rifle shooting, Parkin believed students had an advantage in the competitions. Warnken tied for third place against approximately 450 participants.

According to Parkin, the competition was smaller than it has been in the past. With blizzard conditions tearing through the state, many schools decided not to risk the roads and passed on the competition. It was estimated there were 200 people across the disciplines at the tournament.

“They probably lost half of the kids because of the roads this weekend,” Parkin said.

The Superior shooters were happy overall with their performances. Parkin said some felt they could have done better in places, but they were mostly positive. She felt it was tough for them because of the unfamiliar surroundings.

“You’re shooting in another facility and there are all these other kids around shooting different disciplines,” Parkin said.

The team’s competition may not be over yet. Boyce and Warnken hope to go to the NRA National competition at the end of March. There will also be the National 4H Shooting Sports Invitational in the summer, though only Boyce would qualify to go since participants must be 14 or older. Warnken also may be invited to the Junior Olympics qualifying round.

“We still have some possibilities of kids being able to shoot some more this summer,” Parkin said.