The Oak Harbor High School Junior Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps received good news on two fronts over the weekend.
The Wildcat Battalion, with a strong showing in the final divisional meet Saturday, Feb. 23, in Oak Harbor, wrapped up its eighth consecutive Olympic Division championship.
Two of Oak Harbor’s shooters — Lauren Crossley and James Hart — also received invitations over the weekend to the National Junior Olympic Championships.
Wildcat Battalion
Not only did Oak Harbor wrap up the title in its seven-team division, but it qualified 12 units for the Northwest Drill and Rifle Conference Regional Championships set for March 16 at Oregon City, Oregon.
To qualify for the regional, the teams had to finish among the top three in the division based on points accumulated throughout the regular season.
Heading to the regional are color guard No. 2, gold unarmed drill team, gold armed drill team, individual armed exhibition drill, physical strength No. 1, dual armed exhibition drill, two academic teams, two dual unarmed exhibition teams and both shooting teams (precision and sporter).
Six of the units — gold armed drill, gold unarmed drill, dual armed exhibition drill, dual unarmed exhibition drill and the shooting teams — finished first in the division.
“The cadets of Wildcat Battalion are a very dedicated group of young adults who show up to school before 6 a.m. for practice, and their performance throughout the drill season that began in October has been beyond reproach,” said Chief Bill Thiel, who along with Cmdr. Vince Quidachay, instructs the unit. Dave Goodman is the shooting coach.
Oak Harbor Competition
The Olympic Division, which includes Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps from Arlington, Burlington, Marysville, Everett, Port Angeles, Snohomish and Oak Harbor, closed out the regular season with a meet hosted by Oak Harbor Saturday.
And the trend established over the past eight years continued — Wildcat Battalion dominated the competition.
Oak Harbor picked up four firsts in team events and seven among individuals.
Gold unarmed drill, gold armed drill, precision rifle and sporter rifle claimed first in team competitions.
Winning individuals were Manik Bains (unarmed commander), Daimen Christensen (armed commander), Victor Zarate Jr./James Fisher (dual armed exhibition drill), Noelle Pangilinan/Zach Evangelista (dual unarmed drill exhibition), Kanoa King (ironman), Ivan Snyder (sporter) and Crossley (precision).
Color guard No. 2 and academic No. 1 placed second; physical fitness No. 1 and academic No. 2 took third; color guard No. 1, purple unarmed drill and physical fitness No. 2 finished fourth; and purple armed drill was sixth.
In precision shooting, Hart was second, Alexis Kunze third, Cierra LeGendre fifth, Rylan Quiros seventh and Anna Jones eighth.
Following Snyder in sporter rifle were Joshua Odeneal in second, Trevor Westman sixth, Megan Kunze eighth and Trevor Adams ninth.
In the academic competition, Joshua Burke placed second, Kevin Schuldt fifth and Samantha Olson sixth.
Ethan Macaluso took second in individual armed exhibition drill.
Anthony Herrera was third in ironman and unarmed drill down, and Skye Kawi and Leanne Canonizado were third in dual unarmed exhibition drill.
Fourths were picked up by Pangilinan (unarmed commander) and Zarate (armed commander).
Lindsey Griffith, Alexis Kunze, Jaelyn O’Hara and Elaine Aguirre placed sixth through ninth in the ironwoman.
Junior Olympics
USA Shooting invited 607 athletes — including Crossley and Hart — to compete in the National Junior Olympics in April in Colorado Springs.
The shooters earned spots in the competition by posting the top scores from around the country in matches earlier this season.
Crossley, 16 and a junior at Oak Harbor High School, qualified in both small bore and air rifle.
She said she started to hone her skills once she found out she could earn a college scholarship through shooting.
“My freshman year I wasn’t really into it,” she said. “I told my dad at one time that I wasn’t sure if I wanted to shoot anymore.”
After Goodman pointed out she has the ability to shoot in college, Crossley began to focus on improving.
“I didn’t realize you could go to college doing this,” she said. “Once I realized the benefits, I was more into it.”
College coaches flock to the Junior Olympics to scout athletes to fill out their squads.
Crossley became so dedicated to the sport, she practiced shooting her sporter rifle at home, setting up a range from her bedroom, through the hall and into her sister’s room.
“Now I can say I went to the Junior Olympics,” Crossley added.
Hart, 15 and a sophomore, said he didn’t realize he was close to qualifying for the Junior Olympics. Now that he has, he said qualifying again next year will be a goal.
Like Crossley, Hart sees the opportunity as a way to pay for college.
“It’s a good way to get a scholarship,” he said.
James Hart sets up for a photo before the shooting competition last weekend. Hart earned a spot in the National Junior Olympic Championships. (Photo by John Fisken)
Shaina Aguirre, left, Taylor Kesler, Elaine Aguirre and Jasmine Schuldt march as Oak Harbor’s color guard No. 1. (Photo by John Fisken)
Oak Harbor’s Alexis Kunze poses for a photo before begining competition Saturday. (Photo by John Fisken)
The gold unarmed drill team goes through maneuvers Saturday. (Photo by John Fisken)
Student Cmdr. Manik Bains leads the Wildcats’ gold unarmed drill team. (Photo by John Fisken)
The purple aramed drill team led by student Cmdr. Victor Zarate Jr. performs in the home match Saturday. (Photo by John Fisken)
Trevor Westman takes aim for the Oak Harbor sporter rifle team. (Photo by John Fisken)
The Oak Harbor purple unarmed drill team marches Saturday. (Photo by John Fisken)
