Carson rifle wins state title

Some of the nation's top high school rifle teams are in this region and among those squads, Carson Naval Junior ROTC is the best of all.

Carson's NJROTC rifle team won the Northern Nevada zone and state tournament titles on Saturday at Spanish Springs. Carson concluded the regular season by beating previously unbeaten and last year's zone champion Spanish Springs 1,322-1298.

Carson had three of the top five shooters in the final regular season standings. Cody Stokes was the league's top shooter, Sarah Stadler finished second and Leah Taboada took fifth out of almost 50 shooters.

At the zone and state event, Northern Nevada's top six teams competed, with Carson coming in as the No. 1 seed. Carson won with a 1,324, averaging more than 260 out of 300 for its five shooters. Spanish Springs was second with 1,317 and Reed was third with 1,287.

Taboada and Stadler were named to the all-state first team while Stokes, Mike Moltz and Andrew Stephenson were chosen to the all-state second team for Carson.

In its two-year existence, the Northern Nevada league features some of the top teams and individuals in three-position sporter air rifle shooting in the nation. Four of the teams at the state tournament qualified for the West Coast Regionals to be held in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Feb. 24.

Carson and Reed will repesent the Navy while Spanish Springs and Galena will represent the Army. Schools from as far as Illinois will participate, with the top two teams from each military service advancing to the national match to be held in Fort Benning, Ga., on March 24. Carson is coached by Sergeant Major Wayne Baker.