CUMBERLAND – Alex Bapties, a student in the Cumberland High School Junior ROTC program, recently participated in the Air Rifle Championships held in Anniston, Alabama. This event has been called the Super Bowl of air rifle competition, and it requires both talent and practice.

In order to qualify for the event, participants began in October through “postal competitions.” This involved shooting at targets at their home school ranges and submitting those scores by mail. Many of the competitors also participated in other tournaments and contests, both in the region, in the state, and out of state. Postal competitions ended in mid-December and eligible contestants advanced to the February championship at the CMP South Marksmanship Center in Anniston.

Alex finished third at the Anniston meet and was ranked fourth out of the 7,713 JROTC shooters who participated in the Civilian Marksmanship Program postal match. Currently, Alex is ranked seventh in the nation. In March, he will go back to Anniston to participate in the Inter-Service JROTC National Championships, where he will compete against the top shooters from the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps Junior ROTCs. According to JROTC instructors Major Peter Amico and Sgt. Steven Carrier, Alex is the first-ever Cumberland cadet to make it to this level. He will be the only cadet from Virginia to compete in the Inter-Service meet this year.