GRAND ISLAND, Neb. — Three Barton County teenagers were among the 712 4-H members, representing 34 states, at the 2017 National 4-H Shooting Sports Championships held June 25-30 in Grand Island, Nebraska. All three placed and helped take the Kansas squad to a second-place finish.
Sam McGinnis from Great Bend competed in compound archery, while Katelyn Reh from Ellinwood and Parker Smith from Great Bend competed in .22 rifle.
The 4-H members were ages 14 to 18 and competed in one of nine shooting sports disciplines that are part of the 4-H shooting sports program: air pistol, air rifle, .22 pistol, .22 rifle, muzzle loader, shotgun, re-curve archery, compound archery, and hunting skills. Kansas was represented by 36 4-H members, with four-person teams for each of the disciplines.

Archery
In compound archery, there were 103 participants. On the first day of competition, the archers shot a FITA match which is similar to the Olympic archery event. McGinnis placed 44th. On the second day of competition, they competed in a field archery event which is similar to the FITA match except the targets were at varying distance. McGinnis placed 49th.
On the third day of competition, the archers shot a 3-D target match which included life size targets of different animals at different distances. McGinnis placed 34th.
Overall, McGinnis placed 39th in the nation.

Rifles
In the .22 rifle or small bore rifle event, there were 90 competitors representing 30 states. On the first day of competition, the members competed in an NRA Small Bore Silhouette match where they shot 1/5 scale cast iron animals at different distances.
Smith placed seventh and Reh finished in a four-way tie for 13th. The Kansas team placed third.
On the second day, competitors shot a CMP Small Bore Rifle Match. In this match, they shot prone and kneeling at 50 yards with 10 shots untimed and a pair of five shot strings each in 25 seconds. They also shot standing at 25 yards with the same shot cycle.
Reh placed fifth and Smith finished in a five-way tie for 12th. The Kansas team placed first.
On the third day, they shot an NRA Three-Position Match. In this match, they shot 10 scoreable shots from prone, standing and kneeling at 50 yards. Smith placed 13th and Reh placed 34th. The Kansas team placed fourth.
Overall for the whole match, Smith placed fifth, Reh placed 17th and the Kansas team placed third in the nation.
For the whole event, the Kansas team placed second in the nation.