Britton played host to 84 youth from across South Dakota and Minnesota for the 14th annual South Dakota American Legion BB Gun Tournament on Saturday.
Mother Nature prevented clubs from Humboldt and Lake County to attend.
Rose Kraft, statistician for Marshall County, stated at the beginning of the tournament that, “There is something magical about this gymnasium, as every year someone shoots a perfect target,” and that came true for two competitors.
First, Cheyenne Braaten of Roberts County shot a 100 with eight centers in the prone position. Later in the sitting position, Alivia Crawford of the Marshall County 4-H Sharpshooters shot a 100 and seven centers in sitting. Both competitors shot their second target hoping to reach a national record and were unsuccessful. Braaten would have needed 36 continuous ten shots while Crawford would have needed 18.
The Marshall County 8 & 9 year-old competitors continued to show their strength with a second place finish. Team members were Rosalyn Rapkoch, Arianna Crawford, TinaRapkoch,LukasKnudson, and Leo Schuller. Rosalyn led her team with an aggregate score of 452 and 14 centers placing her first followed by teammate Arianna Crawford with a 443 and 10 centers for second place. Tina Rapkoch also placed in the top 10 with sixth place bringing with a 414 and two centers.
Rosalyn topped her day off with two first place finishes in prone and standing with scores of 97.05 and 87.02, followed by second in sitting at 95.07 and seventh in kneeling finishing off with an 85.01.
Arianna Crawford was right behind, tying for first place in standing and second in sitting with the scores of 87.02 and 95.06. She finished seventh in prone at 89.02 and eighth in kneeling shooting an 85.
Tina Rapkoch finished third in both prone and standing with scores of 92.01 and 76, fifth in kneeling at 86.01 and seventh in sitting scoring an 86. Delilah Maxwell also ribboned in the event, scoring 80.1 in kneeling for 10th place.
Alivia Crawford rode her perfect sitting score to the 10 & 11 year-old division title with a total score of 464 and 15 centers. She also placed. She also placed second in kneeling at 93.03, fourth in prone at 96.04, and 10th in standing with an 84.01.
Rylan Carlson put up a score of 452 and 12 center shots for a fifth place aggregate finish. He shone in standing with a 93.02, was fifth in sitting with a 96.04, and ended the day with a 90.02 for sixth place in kneeling.
Austin and Amelia Crawford showed their strength in the 12 & up division. Austin placed second in the tournament with an aggregate score of 478 and 13 centers. A 99 with seven centers was only good enough for second place in prone, he was fourth in standing at 92.01 and seventh in sitting with a 96.03.
Amelia finished behind her brother in third place with a score of 471 and 14 centers, fourth in kneeling at 95.04, sixth in sitting with a 96 and three centers, seventh in prone at 96.05 and ninth in standing, shooting an 88 with two centers.
The safety test is always an important part of all competitions. Austin Crawford showed his proficiency with a score of 100, followed by Kaylee Biel 98, Amelia Crawford 96, Alivia Crawford 92, and Charlie Schuller 90.
The day finished off with a shoulder to shoulder shoot off of the top 16 competitors. It came down to brother and sister, Austin and Amelia Crawford. Amelia out-shot her brother by two points for the bull buster championship.
Marshall County 4-H Sharpshooters competed in the 2024 American Legion BB Gun Tournament in Britton on Saturday. Pictured from left to right are Mike Kraft loading for Matias Guarin. Anissa Crawford and Ariana Crawford, and Kaylee Carlson with her loader and dad, Ryan Carlson. (HD Photography & Design Photos)
