JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Camden County High School’s marksmanship team -- which has only been active since 2019 -- has made history as state and national champions.
For the cadets to reach these kinds of accolades so quickly is impressive. Watching them in action was even more astounding.
The students use air rifles and typically shoot at an electric target. The pellets they use are very small. You can compare them to the size of an ungrounded black pepper.
Lt. Col. Stephen Banta, the team’s coach, said the pellets are .177-caliber and 4.5 millimeters in diameter.
Jordan de Jesus proved hitting the mark is not hard for the Camden High sharpshooters.
“You cannot control what anybody else does on the line,” said de Jesus, who is a senior this year. “But what you can do is show up and be a good team member on the range, off the range, during practice, during matches, before matches, after matches.”
Virginia Byrd is a part of the team and its historic run.
“For a team to work, the teammates have to communicate,” said Byrd who is a junior. “They have to work with each other, they have to help each other and kind of hype each other up.”
The team competes on two different circuits.
In the last high school season, the marksmanship team had a perfect record, winning the Georgia state championship and finishing with the highest score ever: 1,175.
Coach Banta explained the most important part of being a sharpshooter is coming together.
“They work hard at it and they are up for the challenge,” Banta said. “It is not done by any one individual. It is truly a team effort. It just goes to how dedicated they are.”
The team also competes in an NJROTC season. It just won back-to-back titles in the Navy Nationals and set a new record with a score of 4,646. The cadets won the most recent national championship in February in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Byrd said being a part of this team reshaped her life.
She has her sights set on joining the Air Force and competing in college. Byrd eventually hopes to take her talent to the Olympics.
“It helps you a lot with not just rifle, but with everything else in life,” Byrd said. “School work, stuff at home, having a job.”
De Jesus is the captain and shot a perfect 300 score in a match once. She said this is her passion.
“You can be inspired to do something,” she said. “But if you’re not going to put in the work, without the discipline, then you are not going to be able to achieve your dreams.”
The cadets put the News4JAX crew to the test.
I managed to hit the target during two attempts, but photojournalist Jesse Hanson, who was working with me on the feature story, shot a near-perfect score during his round.
The cadets prove that this skill requires mental toughness and discipline. The hardware they have hoisted over the last year, shows they have mastered it.
De Jesus is grateful to be a part of the journey.
“It is something that I will always treasure forever,” she said.
De Jesus and Byrd are being highly recruited by colleges across the country. A year ago, they both competed in the Junior Olympics in Colorado.