Shooting their highest score of the season, the MMA Colonels rifle team defeated Moberly AJROTC 1077.5 to 1073.2 in the National Air Rifle League. The rifle team included Cadets Marco Afane (senior, veteran), Zijie Zhou (junior, veteran), Xiang Chen (junior, rookie) and Eliseo Buch (freshman, rookie). Cadet Zhou shot the highest score on the team with a 272.6.
The Colonels have a 2-2 record and are currently ranked 19th in the Champions Division. Within the Army JROTC Conference, they are in sixth place. The Moberly AJROTC team, coached by 1SG Jeff Parks, has a 3-1 record and is ranked 17th in the Champions Division. In the Army JROTC conference, they are in fifth place.
The Colonels are competing in the Orion League, which is sponsored by the Orion Scoring System. The Orion League is national team league for high school teams and junior rifle clubs. The league has two parts — an eight-week regular season, which is happening now, and a post-season.
The Champions Division is reserved for the top teams in the country. The top eight teams from the Champions Division regular season will compete in a single-elimination tournament for the league championships. The Distinguished Division is made up of the second-tiered teams, followed by the Elite Division.
In each game, the teams compete in a three-position air rifle match. The match is modeled after Olympic rifle competitions but adapted to high school-age athletes. Each athlete will shoot 10 shots in three different shooting positions — prone, standing and kneeling. Each shot is worth a maximum of 10.9 points. The sum of points scored in the 30 shots is the athlete's total, and the team score is comprised of the best four athletes from each team.