CASPER, Wyo. — Of thousands of JROTC students across the country who competed in marksmanship this year, only the highest echelon of shooters will be competing at the national competition in March. Among them will be Kelly Walsh High School’s Payton Raffensperger, who earned her spot on the sport’s biggest stage with a strong showing this past week at the JROTC Regional Championship.
Though the regional competition went well for Raffensperger, things didn’t start out easily, she said.
“I double-pelleted on my first time out there, which is a score of zero,” she said. “I really had to calm myself down and focus after that. … It’s all about not letting your emotions or nerves get in the way.”
After her early miscue, though, Raffensperger was nearly automatic for the rest of the competition. She finished with an average score of 264 per round out of a possible 300 points.
“She is as calm and collected as they come,” said retired master gunnery sergeant and marksmanship coach Fred Pickering. “She’s a great shot, and even other instructors from other teams were coming up to me and going, ‘She’s a really good shot.'”
What makes Raffensperger so good, Pickering said, is her rock-solid fundamentals.
“She has no bad habits,” he said. “She’s been doing this for four years now and you can see she has experience when she shoots.”
“These past few months, I’ve really been working on my follow-through and remaining steady when I pull that trigger,” Raffensperger said.
Raffensperger also qualified for the regional championship as a junior, though in that year she was unable to advance to the national competition. When thinking about what made the difference between this year and last, she chalked her improvement up to the additional traveling the team has done this season, as well as the experience that last year provided.
While Raffensperger shined, Pickering said the team as a whole was hindered by several key members being unable to attend. Multiple students missed due to sickness and other personal issues, and another wasn’t able to compete because the Marine Corps asked him to ship out early.
But even still, other Kelly Walsh Trojans had strong outings. Emmalie Graham, in just her first year competing, finished only a couple points behind Raffensperger, Pickering said.
“She had a really good showing too,” the coach said.
The Kelly Walsh marksmanship team will next be in action April 8, when it hosts the Wyoming Championships, drawing teams from across the state.
