Juneau’s middle school shooting sport athletes are halfway through their fifth season. Jan. 28, they competed in the first match of the season at Floyd Dryden Middle School.
Dzantik’i Heeni has 22 students in the program, and Floyd Dryden has about 13, wrote coach and Dzantik’i Heeni teacher Ray Imel in an email.
“I got involved to help teach gun safety to kids,” Imel wrote. “So many Alaskan homes have guns it is very likely every kid will come into contact with a gun at some point. I also wanted to reach out to students that might not wrestle or play basketball. Shooting is fun, so I’m sharing my enthusiasm with kids. Finally, a few of the students may be able to take advantage of college scholarships in shooting sports, which would be awesome.”
Imel, Dianne Zemanek and Ryan Dorsey are the coaches; Dzantik’i Heeni principal Molly Yerkes and Floyd Dryden principal Jim Thompson, as well as retired principal Tom Milliron, are also supportive of the program, Imel said. The Territorial Sportsmen and Juneau Shooting Sports Foundation pay for the activity, and Bruce Bowler and Ernie Muller “have been essential in keeping the program going.”
The instructors are all certified by the NRA in Basic Rifle and as Range Safety Officers, Imel wrote.
The students competed Thursday, Feb. 4 as well; their next match is a postal match Thursday, Feb. 11, in which competing teams mail results to the host. Those with the highest scores in the three positions — standing, kneeling, and prone — receive ribbons, as do best overall male and female shooters.
Scores from the Jan. 28 meet are as follows:
Standing position
1st Place: Gavin Gende (FDMS) Score: 50 (3X)
2nd Place: Kylee Fairbanks (FDMS) Score: 47 (1X)
3rd Place: Faith Swearingin (FDMS) Score: 46
4th Place: Nolan Ramseth (DHMS) Score: 44 (1X)
5th Place: Tim Degener (FDMS) Score: 43 (1X)
Kneeling position
1st Place: Kylee Fairbanks (FDMS) Score: 49 (3X)
2nd Place: Gavin Gende (FDMS) Score: 48 (2X)
3rd Place: Tie: Faith Swearingin (FDMS) & Alex Eagan (DHMS) Score: 48 (1X)
4th Place: Tie: Cade Babcock (FDMS), Tim Degener (FDMS) & Eric Dobson (DHMS) Score: 46 (1X)
5th Place: Lucas Erickson (FDMS) Score: 45 (1X)
Prone Position
1st Place: Faith Swearingin (FDMS) Score: 50 (1X)
2nd Place: Tie: Gavin Gende (FDMS) & Tim Degener (FDMS) Score: 49 (3X)
3rd Place: Eric Dobson (DHMS) Score: 49 (1X)
4th Place: Tie: Kylee Fairbanks (FDMS) & Alex Eagan (DHMS) Score: 48 (1X)
5th Place: Josh Carte (FDMS) Score: 48
Overall Top Scoring
Female: Kylee Fairbanks (FDMS) Score: 144 (5X)
Male: Gavin Gende (FDMS) Score: 147 (8X)
From left, Floyd Dryden student Gavin Gende and Dzantik’i Heeni students Margot Oliver, Jaylynn Bennet, and Ian Bugayong shoot air rifles from a prone position. About 35 kids in both middle schools participate in the program, which teaches gun safety and sports and is sponsored by the Territorial Sportsman and Juneau Shooting Sports Foundation.
