Throughout the winter on the morning announcements, students are informed of the scores of the previous days matches from each of the Southern Lehigh sports teams:

“Boy’s basketball won 40-32.”

“Girls basketball won 64-32”

“Southern Lehigh won 400 to 398.”

Students sit and think to themselves, “what kind of sport has a score that high?” Well, that would be the Southern Lehigh Rifle Team, which competes in the Northeast Pennsylvania Rifle League during the winter season. The team is arguably one of the Spartans’ most successful teams, yet almost certainly the most under-recognized.

Anybody is welcome to try out in the fall. After signing up, members have to be fitted for equipment. Once the winter season rolls around, the team hosts a three-day tryout period when they determine who makes the team. Once the team logistics are settled, the season begins.

Matches consist of five relays with two shooters per team, meaning there will be a total of four shooters competing at a time. Each shooter will shoot one target over the course of a match. Once all the relays are complete, all the targets are gathered to be scored. The scores from the top five targets of each team are taken and compared against each other. At the end, whoever has the highest score wins.

“I think most of our matches we won this year, we won by like one point because the scoring is just that close,” junior Jake Chemnitz said.

Despite each shooter competing on their own, they are all striving for the same goal: a team win. The rifle team is a close-knit unit and many members can often be seen hanging out with each other in head coach Mr. Robert Gaugler’s room in their free time during the school day. This close bond has led the team to become very open and welcoming to first-time members.

Freshman Elizabeth Cacace, who joined the team simply because she thought it would be an interesting activity, having never shot a gun in her life, is a prime example of this. Over the summer, she watched YouTube videos to help hone her craft and once the season came she hit the ground running and became one of the top shooters on the team. Over the course of the season Cacace would consistently shoot 100s and became an integral part of the team’s success.

“My favorite part of the season was the whole thing. It was all a good experience and I had a lot of fun; my teammates are really nice to be around,” Cacace said. “We take our shooting very seriously, and we’re always trying to improve and do better; our coaches really help us out.”

Over the winter the 25 members of the rifle team completed an undefeated 2018 season in league play, finishing at 9-0, a record that included handing league power house, Emmaus, their lone loss of the season in a 500 to 499 victory. This is a stark contrast to the results of the previous two seasons, where the team finished with a 5-4 record.

The success of the Spartans continued in the post season, despite the disappointing result of the North East Pennsylvania Rifle League Tournament, where the Spartans made it to the final round, suffering their first loss of the season in a 998-1000 defeat to Emmaus.

Putting that loss behind them, the team mustered a seventh-place finish in the PA State Scholastic Rifle Championships, including a 22nd place finish from Chemnitz, a 23rd place appearance from senior Jeanne Haverhill, and a 35th place finish by senior Isabelle Sanchez. A select few members of the team including Haverhill, Chemnitz, Sanchez, and sophomore Rachel Kressler went on to compete in the PA Interscholastic Air Rifle state competition, where they finished in 8th place.

Chemnitz has been named as a 2018-19 captain for one of Southern Lehigh’s most up and coming sports. Through a solid core of shooters spanning multiple grades, the rifle team is hopeful that they can maintain their success in the seasons to come.

“It’s kind of a lot of pressure because I’m supposed to lead them … I have to try to lead them to victory again seeing how we went undefeated this year, it’s going to be a lot to match up to,” Chemnitz said, “But, it’s going to be a fun time because I like my teammates and they trust me to lead them.”

Haverhill will be continuing her shooting career at the University of Akron.