WA-HI News
The Walla Walla Blue Devil Marching Band spent Saturday the 23rd at the Autumn Leaf Festival Parade in Leavenworth.
July 2023
256 of the top High School Precision Rifle Marksmen in the US met in Camp Perry, Ohio last week for the Junior Olympic National Rifle Championships. WAHI’s JROTC Precision Rifle Team competed against 52 other precision teams during the 2 day match.
The team, comprised of Cadet Captain Raquelle Justice, Cadet Lieutenant Colonel Kaden Kerr, Cadet Captain Micah Vawter and Cadet Captain Aviella Wilson qualified for this match through a 6 month process that had them shooting qualifying matches at the local and regional level in order to gain an invite to the final contest this summer. For Justice and Kerr, this match marks the end of their high school shooting careers and for Vawter, it signaled his transition from team member to team captain for the 2023-24 season.
“We have been training hard for this match.” Said WAHI Rifle Coach Mark Mebes. “Micah and Aviella just returned from a week-long training camp in Wyoming last month where we did a lot of positional work in preparation.”
Preliminary qualifications for this match began last November, when the team traveled to Spokane for the Washington State Junior Olympics 3 Position Match. From there, they advanced to the CMP Western Regional Championship in Salt Lake City, Utah. WAHI’s score at the match in Utah advanced the team to the National Championship in Ohio. There they joined over 250 of the top ranked shooters in the United States, vying for trophies and honors.
Shooters competed in a course of fire that included 20 shots each from the prone, standing and kneeling positions. Each shot is worth a possible 10 points for a total match score of 600 points per shooter. As the WAHI team finished their relay on the first day, they had accumulated a total of 2243 points out of 2400, putting them 11th place in the high school team category and 40th place overall. Team scoring was led by Justice, who posted a 576 out of 600, followed by Wilson with a 559.
On the second day of the competition, Justice again led scoring for the Blue Devils, bettering her performance the previous day by a point, turning in a 577. She was followed by team captain Vawter, shooting a career-high 574. The Blue Devil marksmen surpassed their previous day’s scoring, turning in a 2255 on the second day and moving up one place to 10th in the high school teams category.
The team returned to Walla Walla this week to reconfigure and take a one month break before beginning the 23-24 season under Vawter’s captaincy. The Blue Devil Battalion will open their season by hosting the US Army Junior Air Championships at Walla Walla High School in late October. Admission is free and all students and members of the community are invited to attend.
Cadet Lieutenant Colonel Kaden Kerr (center) and Cadet Captain Aviella Wilson (right) compete in the Junior Olympic National Rifle Championships held July 2023 at Camp Perry, Ohio.
Cadet Captain Micah Vawter competes in the Junior Olympic National Rifle Championships held July 2023 at Camp Perry, Ohio.
Cadet Captain Raquelle Justice Competes in the Junior Olympic National Rifle Championships held July 2023 at Camp Perry, Ohio.
Courtesy Mark Mebes
Below is a summary from this year’s Walla Walla Fair and Frontier Days.
• Total sale of market animals from the Youth Livestock Sale: $80,576 for 33 animals sold
• Eight species of animals exhibited by FFA members
Hogs:
• Every Walla Walla FFA hog received a blue ribbon in the market classes
• 6 of 7 hogs in the FFA market champion drive were raised by Walla Walla FFA members
• Grand Champion Market Hog and FFA Champion Market hog was raised by Natalia Horn-Quintero
• FFA Reserve Champion Market hog was raised by Allison Eakins
• Three of the four showman in the final FFA advanced showmanship champion drive were Walla Walla FFA members
• Reserve Grand Champion FFA Showman and FFA Advanced Reserve Champion Showman - Ashley Lane
• Two of the four showman in the final FFA novice showmanship champion drive were Walla Walla FFA members
• Reserve Champion Novice FFA Showman - Allison Eakins
Goats - All awards earned by Kenny Gabel
• FFA Champion Market Goat
• FFA Advanced Champion Showman
• Reserve Grand Champion FFA Showman
• Reserve Grand Champion Breeding Doe
• Reserve FFA Champion Breeding Doe
Beef
• Reserve Grand Champion FFA Showman and FFA Advanced Reserve Champion Showman - Jaycee Cox
• 2 Walla Walla FFA members competed in the showmanship championship drive
Sheep
• Reserve Grand Champion Market Lamb raised by Owen Hand
• Reserve Grand Champion FFA Showman and FFA Advanced Reserve Champion Showman - Kendra Kelly
• Reserve Champion Novice FFA Showman - Teegan Timmons
Rabbits - All awards earned by Alexa Kemp
• Grand Champion FFA Showman
• Best of Opposite Breeds
Chickens - All awards earned by Mica Hartman
• FFA Best in Show Poultry Breed
• FFA Champion English Breed
• FFA Champion Novice Showman
Livestock Judging
• 1st Individual @ Pre-Fair Livestock Judging Contest - Hanna Wright
• 1st Individual @ Fair Livestock Judging Contest - Jaycee Cox
Horse Judging
• 1st Individual - Hanna Wright
• 2nd Individual - Teegan Timmons
Tractor Driving
• 1st Place Team - Sheldon Coburn, Wyatt Aycock, Rem McBride
FFA Herdsmanship awards by species won by Walla Walla FFA
• Chickens
• Rabbits
• Sheep
• Goats
• Hogs
There were over 400 entries from FFA members in Agriculture Education classes including various educational posters, Ag mechanics projects, photography, sewing, arts and crafts.
In honor of National POW/MIA Recognition Day, September 15, 2023 Walla Walla Army JROTC Program and Volunteers Love Serving Veterans hosted an event to honor local veterans and their families.
In the United States, National POW/MIA Recognition Day is observed on the third Friday in September. It honors those who were prisoners of war and those who are still missing in action. It is most associated with those who were POWs during the Vietnam War.
The keynote speaker was Medal of Honor Recipient Private First-Class James C. McCloughan. Mr. McCloughan, served as a combat medic with Charlie Company, 3d Battalion, 21st Infantry, 196th Light Infantry Brigade, Americal Division. Mr. McCloughan gave an emotional speech honoring those who had served, their families, and those that are still missing in action. To finish his speech, Mr. McCloughan sang to the audience, "Proud to be an American" by Lee Greenwood. View event here
In the audience were representatives for Mrs. Cathy McMorris Rogers, Veteran Affairs, Claudette Becker, Washington State Department of Veteran Affairs, Rudy Lopez and LT Nancy Wilson, US Navy Nurse Corps from 1964-1969.
A special thank you to HAPO Community Credit Union sponsoring the event.
- CSM (R) Anthony Marrero
Senior Army Instructor
Walla Walla H.S.
JROTC has been very active since the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year:
Close to 25 cadets and color guard participated in the Fair Parade 2 SEP and took 3rd place.
JROTC provided a color guard and cadets to hand out 134 trophies during Walla Walla Car Show 9 SEP.
Color guard were present for two home football games.
12-15 SEP cadets and cadre were involved during the WaHi "Into the Blue." During this week we provided group leaders, setup a two-rope bridge, and cadets to assist freshmen navigate across the river.
JROTC hosted the POW MIA Remembrance Day event 15 SEP in the Commons. Some distinguished guests were in the audience, to include a representative from Cathy McMorris Rogers Veterans Affairs Representative. The keynote speaker was Jim McGlouhan, a Medal of Honor Recipient from Vietnam. At the end, he sang "Proud to be an American" to the audience.
On 16 SEP we provided a color guard and volunteers to assist with registering local veterans for the Walla Walla VFW Veteran Stand Down Day. It is a day where local agencies come together to assist veterans in need within the community by providing counseling, free haircuts, clothing, etc.
Cadets have run the concession stand for thee home volleyball games.
--
CSM (R) Anthony Marrero
Senior Army Instructor
A record number of Walla Walla High School students marched in the Walla Walla Frontier Days Parade on Saturday, September 2. Students from the following groups participated: ASB, Softball team, Wrestling team, Soccer team, Cheer team, Dance team, Football team, Marching Band, JROTC, and Latino Club. This year Wa-Hi ASB and some of the sports teams built a float, along with the Latino Club float.
To see more photos from the parade, check out the gallery tab on the Wa-Hi Journal website here
