QUANTICO, Va. - The All Guard service rifle team captured first place as the High National Guard or Reserve Team and second overall at the 50th annual Interservice Rifle Championship held here July 19 to 26.
“They shot well,” said Army Maj. J.R. Treharne, the officer in charge for the All Guard Team. “The results show that our competitors spend a lot of time practicing and training on their own.”
The All Guard team’s accomplishments against teams who train together full time is significant step as the team has been going through a rebuilding phase, seeing many longtime members replaced by new faces coming up through state sponsored shooting programs and competitions.
The 21-member team had seven new shooters competing at Quantico for the first time.
Army Staff Sgt. Charles Spiker, the non commissioned officer in charge for the All Guard team, was pleased with the performance of the new shooters.
“They really only had two weeks to train before they got here,” he said. “They performed very well given their experience level.”
Treharne said competitions like the Winston P. Wilson, annually held at Camp Robinson, Ark., help the team identify potential new recruits.
“We’ve got a lot of new shooters who are still learning and we‘ve identified and picked them up from other competitions,” Treharne said. “They’re learning fast though, and the time they’ve put in on the range in other programs shows.”
New shooters benefit from the wisdom of veterans, the competitors say.
One of those veterans, Army Staff Sgt. Richard Zolnowsky, shot in his 21st and final match here at Quantico. Zolnowsky, described by others as rock-solid, competent, and a great shooter, had advice for shooters thinking of competing at Quantico.
“Get all the training and practice you can before you get here,” he said. “You also want to make certain you are physically fit because this heat will take it right out of you.”
Like Zolnowsky, Army Sgt. John Coggshall believes there is significant value to the training leading up to and the competition itself.
“What competition does is it refocuses you on the fundamentals and all the lessons you’ve learned,” Coggshall said. “When you get back to your unit, you remind your guys that every time they pull the trigger, they’re practicing.”
One of the ways All Guard team members gather knowledge during the competition is through fellow competitors from other teams.
“Over the years I’ve learned a great deal from the guys in the other branches,” Zolnowsky said. “I take that knowledge back to my unit and spread it out.”
While shooters enjoy the competition, the friendly rivalries and the camaraderie the event provides, they know every round they put down range helps to sharpen their ability to perform during combat operations.
Coggshall, back from a deployment to Afghanistan this past November, sees a direct correlation between shooting for competition and shooting on the battlefield.
“Combat and competition are both stressors,” Coggshall said. “The more you can shoot under stressful conditions, the better at it you’re going to be.”
The following were the members of the All Guard team that captured second overall in the Interservice Rifle Championship:
- Army Maj. J.R. Treharne, Wisconsin National Guard
- Army Master Sgt. Daniel Marquart, North Dakota National Guard
- Air Force Master Sgt. Garey Diefenderfer, Pennsylvania Air Guard
- Army Sgt. 1st Class Marcus Merrick, Oregon National Guard
- Army Sgt. 1st Class Robert Pirisky, Arizona National Guard
- Army Staff Sgt. Kent Milam, Wisconsin National Guard
- Army Staff Sgt. Richard Zolnowsky, South Dakota National Guard
- Air Force Staff Sgt. Leigh Jenks III, Vermont National Guard
- Army Sgt. John Coggshall, Connecticut National Guard
- Army Sgt. Cody Shields, Ohio National Guard
The team captains are as followed:
- Army Master Sgt. William Cary, Nebraska National Guard
- Army Sgt. 1st Class Gregory Niederhiser, Pennsylvania National Guard
The team coaches are:
- Army Sgt. 1st Class Larry Shoaf, Ohio National Guard
- Army Staff Sgt. Charles Spiker, Oregon National Guard
The following are shooters from the All Guard team who finished fourth or better in individual competitions:
- 2nd place Interservice 600-yard prone, any rifle sight, Air Force Staff Sgt. Leigh Jenks III
- 3rd place Interservice Coast Guard Match Overall, Army Sgt. John Coggshall
- 3rd place Interservice Marine Corps Match, Army Chief Warrant Officer David Kerin
- 3rd place Interservice 600-yard prone, Army Staff Sgt. Richard Zolnowsky
- 4th place Match E-Squadding Match, Army Staff Sgt. Charles Spiker