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By Tom Gaffney
Beacon Journal sports writer
POSTED: 05:36 p.m. EDT, Mar 30, 2009
Jenna Compton wore No. 48 in the NCAA Rifle Championships, symbolic of her being the last of the 48 shooters invited to compete in the event.
When it was over, the only number that mattered was 1, which was her finish in the air-rifle division.
Compton, 19, a freshman at the University of Akron, provided a memorable storyline at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas, on March 14 by overcoming the odds and becoming just the second Division I national champion in school history.
''I can't believe I am No. 1 in the nation. It's hard to believe now. At the time it happened, it was really hard to believe,'' said Compton, a Pittsburgh resident. ''There were so many amazing shooters there. All I could say after was, 'What? Did I really do that?' ''
Compton won the title despite having shot an air rifle competitively for only eight months. At Mount Lebanon High School in the Pittsburgh area, she shot only a small-bore rifle for four years, and took up air rifle when she committed to the Zips.
That made her championship a Cinderella story, as was the fact that she was one of nine at-large invitees in a field that included 39 qualifiers on teams. And, yes, she was assigned No. 48 as the final selection by the NCAA rifle committee.
''She was very self-conscious about wearing that number. She knew what it meant,'' said Newt Engle, the Zips' rifle coach for 31 years. ''She said during the season and in the NCAAs how good the others were. I would tell her, 'You know what, Jenna, you are pretty good, too.' ''
Forty colleges have NCAA rifle teams, and competition is held in small-bore and air-rifle divisions that are not broken down by gender.
In small bore, a .22-calibre cartridge is shot at a target 50 yards away. Each competitor has 60 shots, with 20 each from the standing, kneeling and prone positions.
In air rifle, a .177-calibre pellet is shot at a target the size of a half-dollar from 10 meters. Each competitor has 60 shots, all from the standing position.
In the preliminary rounds, 10 points are awarded for a bull's-eye hit, and 1-to-9 points for hits in the circle, depending on the proximity to the center. In the 10-shot Olympic-style final round in the NCAAs, more precise scoring is used, with shots being tallied to the tenth of a point, i.e., 9.9 or 7.9.
The 5-foot-6, 125-pound Compton had won an NCAA qualifier in mid-February at Ohio State in air rifle with a personal-best score of 587 (out of 600), which was the 14th-best score in the nation.
The NCAA rifle committee was then charged with inviting the eight best teams in the nation and the nine best at-large individuals.
On Feb. 25, Compton received word that she was an individual invitee, joining Mark Beres (in 1979) as the only UA shooters to compete in the nationals.
At TCU, she shot a personal best 590 in her first 60 shots to stand second behind junior Bryant Wallizer of eventual team champion West Virginia, who had a 591.
Then came the Olympic-style final round of 10 pressure-packed shots. She recorded a 101.60, to a 100 for Wallizer. That left her with a cumulative score of 691.6, to 691 for runner-up Wallizer.
''I was just so focused the entire time. I have never been that focused. I just saw it as a series of one-shot matches,'' Compton said. ''I was nervous, but everything clicked.''
When the final scores were announced, the arena gave her a long and loud ovation because of her status as an underdog.
''In the finals, I was right behind her, and I was more of a nervous wreck than she was,'' assistant coach Bryan Cargould said. ''Once she won, I went out on the floor and we were both in tears. It was quite an emotional time.''
With the victory, Compton joined Christi Smith (2000 outdoor women's heptathlon) as the Zips' only national champions.
Such an achievement is all the more noteworthy because she almost gave up the sport just one year earlier.
She began shooting as a high school freshman, competing in the only division and only style that Pennsylvania offered — small bore from the prone position. She went on to lead Mount Lebanon to a state title and finished fourth in the state as an individual.
However, she made a decision to quit shooting competitively — and then changed her mind.
''Shooting is like therapy to me. It gets everything out of my head,'' she said. ''At the beginning of my senior year, I thought I should just concentrate on academics in college, so I applied to schools without rifle.
''When March came around, I was looking at pictures of the rifle team on the Akron Web site. I realized then that I would miss it. I didn't think I could go a year without it, so I called him [Engle].''
Engle told Compton, a microbiology major, that she would have to join the Zips as a walk-on and try out for a spot. Rifle is an NCAA equivalency sport, meaning scholarships can be divided up among many athletes. UA has 3.6 scholarships available for 16 shooters.
Compton agreed to be a walk-on and soon earned a starting spot, but she struggled because she was competing in air rifle for the first time and was shooting small bore from the standing and kneeling positions for the first time.
''I had a slow start, but I knew I was still learning. I stayed after practice and I kept listening to the coaches and my teammates,'' Compton said. ''I kept getting information and seeing how things were done. I picked up stuff, started to feel settled and my scores picked up.''
As the Zips' schedule progressed, she became the team's best in air rifle and among the best in small bore.
''The biggest advantage we had with her is that she had no bad habits because she had not shot it [air rifle] before. She was a clean slate,'' Cargould said. ''We were able to work with her from scratch and build a good, solid position. Her position and mechanics are in good shape. We just need to work on her psyche.''
Compton will need all her physical and mental skills in every match next year because opponents will be trying to defeat the national champion, not an unproven freshman.
''I have thought about that. It is kind of intimidating,'' she said. ''But I can't think like that. I have to take it one bullet at a time. That's what this is all about.''
Being the national champion has provided opportunities that were just dreams for her in the past. She has been asked to become a member of the National Developmental Team by coach Dave Johnson. The team is composed of adults and college students who compete in international events, including the Olympic Games.
''She is so open to coaching and so willing to work. She processes information well and gives us good feedback,'' Engle said. ''Mechanically, she is so well-balanced and can pull the trigger without moving.
''Jenna is just beginning to realize where she is at and where she is going.''
Tom Gaffney can be reached at tgaffney@thebeaconjournal.com.
Jenna Compton wore No. 48 in the NCAA Rifle Championships, symbolic of her being the last of the 48 shooters invited to compete in the event.
When it was over, the only number that mattered was 1, which was her finish in the air-rifle division.
Compton, 19, a freshman at the University of Akron, provided a memorable storyline at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas, on March 14 by overcoming the odds and becoming just the second Division I national champion in school history.
''I can't believe I am No. 1 in the nation. It's hard to believe now. At the time it happened, it was really hard to believe,'' said Compton, a Pittsburgh resident. ''There were so many amazing shooters there. All I could say after was, 'What? Did I really do that?' ''
Compton won the title despite having shot an air rifle competitively for only eight months. At Mount Lebanon High School in the Pittsburgh area, she shot only a small-bore rifle for four years, and took up air rifle when she committed to the Zips.
That made her championship a Cinderella story, as was the fact that she was one of nine at-large invitees in a field that included 39 qualifiers on teams. And, yes, she was assigned No. 48 as the final selection by the NCAA rifle committee.
''She was very self-conscious about wearing that number. She knew what it meant,'' said Newt Engle, the Zips' rifle coach for 31 years. ''She said during the season and in the NCAAs how good the others were. I would tell her, 'You know what, Jenna, you are pretty good, too.' ''
Forty colleges have NCAA rifle teams, and competition is held in small-bore and air-rifle divisions that are not broken down by gender.
In small bore, a .22-calibre cartridge is shot at a target 50 yards away. Each competitor has 60 shots, with 20 each from the standing, kneeling and prone positions.
In air rifle, a .177-calibre pellet is shot at a target the size of a half-dollar from 10 meters. Each competitor has 60 shots, all from the standing position.
In the preliminary rounds, 10 points are awarded for a bull's-eye hit, and 1-to-9 points for hits in the circle, depending on the proximity to the center. In the 10-shot Olympic-style final round in the NCAAs, more precise scoring is used, with shots being tallied to the tenth of a point, i.e., 9.9 or 7.9.
The 5-foot-6, 125-pound Compton had won an NCAA qualifier in mid-February at Ohio State in air rifle with a personal-best score of 587 (out of 600), which was the 14th-best score in the nation.
The NCAA rifle committee was then charged with inviting the eight best teams in the nation and the nine best at-large individuals.
On Feb. 25, Compton received word that she was an individual invitee, joining Mark Beres (in 1979) as the only UA shooters to compete in the nationals.
At TCU, she shot a personal best 590 in her first 60 shots to stand second behind junior Bryant Wallizer of eventual team champion West Virginia, who had a 591.
Then came the Olympic-style final round of 10 pressure-packed shots. She recorded a 101.60, to a 100 for Wallizer. That left her with a cumulative score of 691.6, to 691 for runner-up Wallizer.
''I was just so focused the entire time. I have never been that focused. I just saw it as a series of one-shot matches,'' Compton said. ''I was nervous, but everything clicked.''
When the final scores were announced, the arena gave her a long and loud ovation because of her status as an underdog.
''In the finals, I was right behind her, and I was more of a nervous wreck than she was,'' assistant coach Bryan Cargould said. ''Once she won, I went out on the floor and we were both in tears. It was quite an emotional time.''
With the victory, Compton joined Christi Smith (2000 outdoor women's heptathlon) as the Zips' only national champions.
Such an achievement is all the more noteworthy because she almost gave up the sport just one year earlier.
She began shooting as a high school freshman, competing in the only division and only style that Pennsylvania offered — small bore from the prone position. She went on to lead Mount Lebanon to a state title and finished fourth in the state as an individual.
However, she made a decision to quit shooting competitively — and then changed her mind.
''Shooting is like therapy to me. It gets everything out of my head,'' she said. ''At the beginning of my senior year, I thought I should just concentrate on academics in college, so I applied to schools without rifle.
''When March came around, I was looking at pictures of the rifle team on the Akron Web site. I realized then that I would miss it. I didn't think I could go a year without it, so I called him [Engle].''
Engle told Compton, a microbiology major, that she would have to join the Zips as a walk-on and try out for a spot. Rifle is an NCAA equivalency sport, meaning scholarships can be divided up among many athletes. UA has 3.6 scholarships available for 16 shooters.
Compton agreed to be a walk-on and soon earned a starting spot, but she struggled because she was competing in air rifle for the first time and was shooting small bore from the standing and kneeling positions for the first time.
''I had a slow start, but I knew I was still learning. I stayed after practice and I kept listening to the coaches and my teammates,'' Compton said. ''I kept getting information and seeing how things were done. I picked up stuff, started to feel settled and my scores picked up.''
As the Zips' schedule progressed, she became the team's best in air rifle and among the best in small bore.
''The biggest advantage we had with her is that she had no bad habits because she had not shot it [air rifle] before. She was a clean slate,'' Cargould said. ''We were able to work with her from scratch and build a good, solid position. Her position and mechanics are in good shape. We just need to work on her psyche.''
Compton will need all her physical and mental skills in every match next year because opponents will be trying to defeat the national champion, not an unproven freshman.
''I have thought about that. It is kind of intimidating,'' she said. ''But I can't think like that. I have to take it one bullet at a time. That's what this is all about.''
Being the national champion has provided opportunities that were just dreams for her in the past. She has been asked to become a member of the National Developmental Team by coach Dave Johnson. The team is composed of adults and college students who compete in international events, including the Olympic Games.
''She is so open to coaching and so willing to work. She processes information well and gives us good feedback,'' Engle said. ''Mechanically, she is so well-balanced and can pull the trigger without moving.
''Jenna is just beginning to realize where she is at and where she is going.''
Tom Gaffney can be reached at tgaffney@thebeaconjournal.com.
Comments
Click here to post your comments
Canton, OH
Posted 07:01 PM, 03/30/2009
ConGrats, Jenna. .
FEAR THE ' ROO. . .
Akron, Oh
Posted 08:37 PM, 03/30/2009
Hey, when will we hear that the first game at UA's new football stadium has been moved up to September 12th instead of the 19th?
Akron, OH
Posted 08:42 PM, 03/30/2009
Way to make 'em recognize.
Posted 09:16 PM, 03/30/2009
Congratulations. What a great story. UA is very proud of you Jenna.
Akron, oh
Posted 08:15 AM, 03/31/2009
Very proud of the Akron U tradition of developing shooters. I was on the team myself and enjoyed it.
You got a great attitude girl aND I WILL SUPPORT YOU BY keeping Obama and the dsemocratic congress from taking our guns away.
Akron, oh
Posted 08:16 AM, 03/31/2009
democratic
Leesburg, GA
Posted 10:12 AM, 03/31/2009
Wow! a positive story about shooting and guns! Way to go ABJ and congrats to Jenna. NOW ABJ continue this and look for other positive stories dealing w/ firearms. You could start w/ local trap clubs which sponsor youth trap leagues.
It is a shame we'll never see any coverage of this on the nightly news or ESPN. Our government is doing everything it can to make guns, gunowners and shooters look like demented individuals.
Not too many years ago it was popular to teach marksmanship in high school PE class. Now one would be accused of terrorism if it were attempted. What a sick society we have become.
Barberton, OH
Posted 11:11 AM, 03/31/2009
Congrats. Good story.
akron, oh
Posted 12:03 PM, 03/31/2009
Why did it take so long for them to finally do a story on this. She won the national championship on March 14th. Sorry but winning the school's 2nd national championship is FAR more important than the men's basketball team just making the NCAA tournament.
Akron, OH
Posted 01:08 PM, 03/31/2009
The title of the article indicates nothing about a UA student winning a national championship in Rifle. I almost didn't click on the link.
This achievement should get more attention.
Posted 02:08 PM, 03/31/2009
Perhaps she can help the APD with Spring cleaning.
Akron, OH
Posted 07:27 PM, 03/31/2009
test
Akron, OH
Posted 07:27 PM, 03/31/2009
test
akron, oh
Posted 07:52 PM, 03/31/2009
What's really amazing is that she was able to accomplish so much IN SPITE of her coach and fellow team members. I think this truly shows the caliber of athlete she really is.
Rome, OH
Posted 09:58 PM, 03/31/2009
is this the "titlist"?
Methron, OH
Posted 10:11 PM, 03/31/2009
already another reason to be proud (again, again)...kudos
Akron, OH
Posted 11:15 AM, 04/01/2009
Way to go Jenna! And congrats to Newt and Bryan, too!
