The Marine Corps Shooting Team dominated the national championships, proving once more that there is nothing deadlier than a Marine and his rifle.

Marine teams took first and third place in the National Trophy Infantry Team match, held the last week of July in Camp Perry, Ohio. The winning six-man team won the championship by almost 70 points. The Corps also took second place in the National Trophy Rifle Team Match, where Sgt. Antonio DiConza also scored the first perfect score (500-15x) in the match's history.

The National Trophy Infantry Team match, commonly called "rattle battle," features six firing members, a team coach, and team captain. In this homage to World War I-type warfare, the team shares 384 rounds. Shooting starts at the 600-yard line. The target is up for 50 seconds; because point values are greater at further distances, the goal is to maximize rounds down range before progressing to the 500, 300, and 200-yard lines. The Marines recorded more than 900 of their 1,427 points at 600-yard line.

"To put that in perspective, our guys were putting 50 rounds effectively on target from 600 yards during a 50-second exposure that included as many as three magazine changes," said Staff Sgt. Mark Altendorf, the team's head coach.

The Marine team scored the fourth-highest score in the history of the National Trophy Rifle Team, but 2,954-91x was not enough to beat the Army Reserve's 2,957-111x. That score was just one point below the national record set by the Marine Corps in 2006.

The team match features six shooters who fire 50 shots for a possible 500 points each:

200-yard standing, 10 minutes to fire 10 shots.

200-yard sitting or kneeling from standing, 60 seconds to fire 10 shots.

300-yard prone from standing, 70 seconds to fire 10 shots.

600-yard prone, 20 minutes to fire 20 shots.

It is here that DiConza scored the match's first perfect 500 score. Army Staff Sgt. Donald Manning's previous record of 499-28x had stood for 31 years — longer than DiConza has been alive.

"Honestly, it's still a little unreal," said DiConza, a mortarman by trade. "I couldn't have done it without the guys here pushing me to push myself, and to help me through it. They're the best motivation I had."

While national championship teams are comprised of professional shooters with years, even decades, of experience, the Corps' two teams of trigger pullers were an even combination of permanent team members and summer augments — Marines selected from the Corps' division matches who were invited to temporarily join the team. Many augments had not participated in a shooting match prior to the division matches. After only a few months of match training, they found themselves dominating the "world series of the shooting sports."

"To have that strength and depth is truly impressive," said Capt. John Sheehan, the rifle team's officer in charge. "It is a testament to what these Marines are able to accomplish, and the dedication they put forth throughout those months that they spend with us."

Most summer augments share a common story: They were sent by their commands to the division shooting matches not because they were hot shots or top guns, but simply because they were available. At those matches, the shooting team would look for Marines with raw skill and a willingness to learn through long and relentless hours of training.

The team included Cpl. Justin Crago, an infantryman who had never shot with iron sights before the Eastern Division matches at Camp Lejeune. He didn't place at that competition, but was invited to the Marine Corps championships. He still didn't place but was invited to be a summer augment.

"It was an awesome opportunity I wasn't about to pass up," he said.

Crago has since earned five medals in various championships, to include first place in the National Trophy Infantry Team match and gold in the National Trophy individual portion.

Cpl. Isaiah Vue, a radio operator by trade, didn't even know this was a sport until was sent to a "competitive shooting thing," which turned out to be division matches in Hawaii. Now he is a national champion, as is Staff Sgt. Steven Beall. An aviation calibration Marine who pulled time as a Marine Security Guard and as part of the Marine Security Augmentation Unit, Beall got his chance simply because he was available when his command needed to send someone to the Eastern Division matches. Though he had experience as a combat marksmanship coach and firearms instructor, Beall had no knowledge of competition shooting. Still, he fared well and went on to the Marine Corps championship matches. He didn't win, but when the dust settled, he was invited to join the shooting team for the summer.

"It is two different disciplines of shooting," Beall said. "I come from a combat shooting background. Competitive shooting is a whole other game, but the fundamentals don't change. You still need trigger control, sight alignment, and sight picture. To be introduced to this whole new sport was eye opening, but having success in combat shooting helped me to be successful in competitive shooting."

Beall, in his first time competing at the national level, scored 497 out of 500 in the same match DiConza earned his perfect score.

"It is a testament to what the team does," said Cpl. Fredie Church, who became a permanent member in December. While the augments felt they did not perform well at division matches, the team saw in them the desire and dedication to build on solid fundamentals and make national champions out of them in a matter of months, he said.

As those augments now return to the fleet to spread the skills and knowledge gained in competitive marksmanship, Sheehan is left to rebuild the shooting team. Specifically, he wants more permanent personnel to ensure continuity in years to come. Deployments and the drawdown has undermanned this team, which was at about half its allowance when the spring shooting season kicked off.

"If you're interested, we are interested," he said.

For more information on joining the Marine Corps Shooting Team, contact Maj. Eric Antonelli at 703-784-5350 or eric.antonelli@usmc.mil, or Master Sgt. Jeremy Coppola at 703-784-5539, or jeremy.coppola@usmc.mil.

1st Place National Trophy Infantry Team Match team:

Total Score: 1427

- Capt. John Sheehan

- Staff Sgt. Mark Altendorf

- Staff Sgt Timothy Snyder

- Staff Sgt. Steven Beall

- Sgt. Antonio DiConza

- Cpl. Fredie Church

- Cpl. Justin Crago

- Cpl. Isaiah Vue




3rd Place National Trophy Infantry Team Match team:

Total Score: 1333 

- Staff Sgt. Mark Windmassinger

- Staff Sgt. Aaron Meares

- Staff Sgt. Christopher Bargerstock

- Staff Sgt. Nick Molina

- Sgt. Michael Martinez

- Sgt. Zachary Miller

- Sgt. Jared Lawson

- Lance Cpl. Steven Hannas

Share:
In Other News
Load More