Versailles Legion Jr. Shooting Club to compete at state

Team consists of local students

(GREENFIELD,  Ind.) – A group of young shooters are hoping to defend their crown at a state championship this weekend. 

The Versailles American Legion Junior Shooting Team will compete at the American Legion State Championship in Greenfield on Saturday. 

Versailles has won the air rifle competition for the past five years. 

Eight shooters are on this year’s team and are from Batesville, Jac-Cen-Del, South Ripley and Southwestern. 

The students are Katie Miller, Maria Vittoria Belisardi, Chloe Grable, Lilly Guerra, Anna Block, Phillip Buamgartner, and Quinn Faust. 

Belisardi is an exchange student from Italy who had never picked up a rifle before entering the program.

The team is coached by Jerry Hewitt and Steve Scoggins. 

Hewitt says this year will be a challenge as some new teams competing have reported good scores. 

The program welcomes all students from the area to enter the program. They have to be under the age of 18-years-old. 

The one requirement is that the students have to be available for practice on Monday evenings in Friendship. The season runs from late September to March. 

The Versailles American Legion (Post 173) first launched the program in 2015 and they won their first state championship in 2019. 

They have also won the Civilian Marksmanship Tournament six years in a row as well as the Indiana Rifle and Pistol Association tournament the past five years.