Lemoore High's vaunted NJROTC marksmen earn return trip to national competition

And the team's four members aren't going there for the golf courses and the sunny weather.

The four pellet-shooting marksmen took top honors at the recent Area-11 NJROTC Marksmanship Team competition held January 11 at Parlier High School, recently earning themselves a trip to the national championships, scheduled for Feb. 7-8 in Phoenix, Arizona.

This competition isn’t the first trip for a group of Lemoore marksmen. The local NJROTC seems to be a regular fixture in local shooting circles. This year’s team: Juan Torres-Thomas, Cole Williams, Mitchell Bonham, and Angelo Sangerman will compete against the top shooters from the Air Force, Marines, Army, and Navy ROTC units throughout the country.

The Lemoore program has had a nationally ranked team for five years in a row, making it one of the top shooting teams in the country.

Lemoore’s team spends a lot of time on the practice range, said their coach and head of the Lemoore NJROTC, Lt. Cmdr. John Wolstenholme. “They shoot year in and year out because of their selfless determination and their commitment to the program,” he said.

Wolstenholme said his team practices four days a week in an effort to be one of the best teams in the country.