Rifle team for the Burnet County 4-H on target at state prone championship
Members of the Burnet County 4-H rifle team include Alex Defily (left), Bryer Atkinson, coach Guy Taylor, Dan Killough of Killough Shooting Sports, McKenzie Boop and Katelyn Hensley. The team earned several awards while competing at the Texas State Rifle Association State Prone Championship at Copperhead Creek Gun Club on Oct. 26. Courtesy photo
SPECIAL TO THE PICAYUNE
MARBLE FALLS — Members of the Burnet County 4-H rifle team earned several awards while competing at the Texas State Rifle Association State Prone Championship at Copperhead Creek Gun Club on Oct. 26.
Alex Defily of Faith Academy won the title of top junior prone shooter. He was the best shooter for those under 18 and has several years still left in his eligibility as a junior, coach Guy Taylor said.
“Alex is no stranger to prone shooting and has won several class awards at prestigious matches,” Taylor said.
Defily won the Firecracker 4800 in Raton, N.M., last summer.
Llano High School student Katelyn Hensley took the top women’s title.
“Katelyn is just starting her third year of competition and was able to keep the ‘Top Women’ title with the Burnet County 4-H Team,” Taylor said. “This was her first major match to win.”
Marble Falls High School graduate Katie Bridges held the title for four years.
Eleven-year-olds Bryer Atkinson, a home-schooler, and McKenzie Boop, of Marble Falls Middle School, finished third and fourth, respectively.
“Bryer and McKenzie have shown superior progress well beyond their years and are able to compete right alongside seasoned shooters,” Taylor said. “Both are just starting their second year of shooting and have become such good shots they are beating other juniors and adults who have been shooting much longer than they have.”
And the coach did his part by winning the Sharp Shooter class.
“Shooting sports is the only competition where the coaches can compete alongside their kids,” he said.
The finishes wouldn’t be possible without the generosity of Dan Killough of Killough Shooting Sports, who donated ammunition when the team discovered it was left with a only a few hundred rounds, Taylor said.
In the past, Bridges dominated the match. She secured a shooting scholarship to Texas Christian University, and Taylor is proud her former teammates didn’t skip a beat at this year’s event.
“The Burnet County 4-H Rifle team proved that winning is still a tradition, even when your top shooter has left for a college team,” he said.