The Wisconsin Junior Rifle Crew – with divisions which are aptly named Wisconsin Cheddar, Wisconsin Colby, Wisconsin Mozzarella – had an distinctive yr on the 2024 Nationwide Matches at Camp Perry. They went dwelling with a number of wins, a number of trophies and the data that months of laborious work paid off on the vary.
The Wisconsin groups are usually not new to success. They’d a powerful yr on the 2023 Nationwide Matches, successful a number of particular person and crew occasions. However this yr, there was a marked shift within the crew that remodeled their collective mindset and helped them carry dwelling first, second and third place wins within the Nationwide Trophy Junior Crew Match. The crew of Thomas McGowan and Thomas Kirsten took first place, incomes the Freedom’s Fireplace Trophy. Wisconsin’s two-man groups additionally positioned 22nd, 25th and 36th within the competitors.
Wisconsin Junior Crew Head Coach, Kaleb Corridor, mentioned the crew’s mindset shift from particular person wins to crew victories gave them an edge on the Nationwide Matches that helped them safe many high spots.
“The youngsters had been centered on the crew this yr. There was not a whole lot of concentrate on the person,” Corridor mentioned.
Corridor didn’t push the transformation. It materialized organically throughout the crew as they practiced aspect by aspect in preparation for the matches.
“Everybody needed to contribute to the crew this yr,” Corridor mentioned. “We went to a whole lot of crew matches all year long. The crew labored collectively rather a lot, and everybody needed to shoot effectively for one another.”
In the long run, the crew mentality helped push every marksman to a better talent degree, leading to a number of particular person wins as effectively. 4 of the crew members earned the Col. Invoice Deneke Trophy which is awarded yearly to the Nationwide Junior Service Rifle Crew which is comprised of the six high scoring junior shooters in an combination of the President’s Rifle Match, the Nationwide Trophy Particular person Rifle Match and the Nationwide Trophy Junior Crew Match, in addition to the coach and captain of the successful Nationwide Trophy Junior Crew.
The Wisconsin teammates who earned the Col. Invoice Deneke Trophy had been Thomas McGowan, Kacie McGowan, Anna Behnke and Thomas Kirsten. That is the primary yr that 4 members of the Wisconsin crew earned the trophy.
“It’s an enormous honor to get on that crew. We’ve by no means had that many on it,” Corridor mentioned. “I don’t know of any state that had that many.”
The Wisconsin crew spent months getting ready for the Nationwide Matches.
“We’ve been capturing just about each week since Could. Many of the youngsters shoot all of the matches, so that they’re very snug on the vary. They’ve been doing this, so that they shot at competitors how they shoot at dwelling,” Corridor mentioned.
Getting his marksmen snug on the vary is a main purpose of Corridor’s teaching philosophy. With sufficient expertise on the vary, capturing in competitors turns into second nature.
“Principally what I concentrate on is getting youngsters out to the vary to shoot after which concentrate on the issues. It’s about placing time into getting snug behind the rifle,” Corridor mentioned.
The Wisconsin crew additionally got here dwelling with the Minuteman Trophy, which is offered to the highest junior crew within the Nationwide Trophy Rifle Crew match. They earned the Infantry Trophy, Leatherneck Trophy and Magnificent Seven – Junior Infantry Crew Trophy within the Infantry Match, beating army groups to rise to the highest.
“It did and didn’t shock me that they beat the army groups,” Corridor mentioned. “This match is often type of an end-of-the-week, enjoyable match, and we don’t usually prepare for it.”
This summer season, Corridor assigned a coach the job of prepping his crew for the Infantry Match.
“It virtually felt straightforward for them as a result of they’ve been doing all of it yr,” he mentioned.
Wanting forward, Corridor needs to maintain the Wisconsin crew’s success by strengthening the talents of the youthful members. He introduced a couple of of them to the Nationwide Matches this yr to show them to the competitors.
“They got here to Camp Perry and noticed the dedication the older youngsters put in,” Corridor mentioned. “I need to concentrate on getting the youthful juniors as much as that degree.”
Study extra concerning the Wisconsin Junior Rifle Crew at https://www.fb.com/wicmpjuniors/.
Excited about becoming a member of a Marksmanship Membership? Go to the CMP web site at https://thecmp.org/golf equipment/search-clubs/ or give us a name at (888) 267-0796.
Recap of the 2024 Wisconsin Junior Crew Accomplishments throughout the 2024 Nationwide Matches:
Nationwide Trophy Junior Crew Match (NTJT)
-1st Place (Freedoms Fireplace Trophy): Crew Mozzarella, Thomas McGowan, Thomas Kirsten, Coach Michael Stewart, 969-30x
-2nd Place: Crew Colby, Kacie McGowan, Sam Ruiter, Coach SFC Aaron Cobosco ARNG, 969-20x
-Third Place: Crew Cheddar, Anna Behnke, Casey Hollenbeck, Coach Kaleb Corridor, 967-26x
-Twenty first Place: Crew Blue Cheese, Erik Heil, Alex Pelishek, Coach SGT Owen Pickens ARNG
-Twenty fourth Place: Crew Gouda, Titus Behrendt, John McGowan, Coach SSG Josh Hanrahan ARNG
-Thirty fifth Place: Crew Muenster, Bella Behrendt, Cedric Behrendt, Coach William VanTreeck
Nationwide Trophy Crew Match (NTT)
-Third Total, Excessive Civilian(Soldier of Marathon Trophy) and Excessive Junior Crew (Minuteman Trophy)
Crew Cheddar: Thomas McGowan, Thomas Kirsten, Casey Hollenbeck, Anna Behnke, Kacie McGowan, Sam Ruiter, Coach Kaleb Corridor, Captain Anna Behnke, 2923-105x
-Seventh Junior, Crew Colby, John McGowan, Titus Behrendt, Erik Heil, Alex Pelishek, Bella Behrendt, Cedric Behrendt, Coach Mike Stewart, Captain John McGowan
Nationwide Infantry Trophy Crew (Infantry)
-1st total (Infantry Trophy), Excessive Civilian (Leatherneck Trophy), Excessive Junior (Magnificent Seven Trophy)
Crew Cheddar: Thomas McGowan, Thomas Kirsten, Casey Hollenbeck, Anna Behnke, Kacie McGowan, Sam Ruiter, Coach Michael Stewart, Captain Kaleb Corridor with a Junior Nationwide Document and Civilian Nationwide Document rating of 1361! That is solely the second time a Junior crew has received this match!
Excessive junior in Nationwide Trophy Particular person (NTI) (Golden Eagle Trophy): Anna Behnke, 490-13x
Nationwide Trophy Junior Service Rifle Championship (combination of P100, NTI and NTJT) Anna Behnke, 1263-32x
Col. Invoice Deneke Trophy: Anna Behnke, 1263-32x, Thomas Kirsten, 1255-35x, Thomas McGowan, 1253-40x, Kacie McGowan, 1246-28x, Coach Michael Stewart, Captain Thomas Kirsten
Nationwide Civilian Rifle Crew: (Elihu Root Gold Medal)
Thomas McGowan, 496-22x, Thomas Kirsten, 491-22x, Coach Kaleb Corridor, Captain Anna Behnke
The Civilian Marksmanship Program is a federally chartered 501 (c) (3) non-profit company. It’s devoted to firearm security and marksmanship coaching and to the promotion of marksmanship competitors for residents of america. For extra details about the CMP and its applications, log onto www.TheCMP.org.
