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Home Winter Sports Rifle Crills captures LL Rifle Title

Crills captures LL Rifle Title

18 February 2009
Written by Todd Ruth
Sometimes, you can discover your talents when you least expect it.

That was the case for Ephrata junior Jes Crills, who realized she was a good shot two years ago while on a retreat with her youth group.

"The only time I ever shot a gun before was the summer before last year," she explained. "I was at the cabin shooting with my youth group and I hit targets from like 200 yards away. I was like, "I'm going to join the rifle team,' and that's what I did."

It was a decision that ultimately culminated in Crills becoming an L-L League champion just two short years later.

This past Saturday at the L-L Individual Rifle Tournament held at EHS, Crills shot a perfect score of 200, tying her with CV's Ben Nyce and Angela Gordon of MC. However, Crills hit one center while her other two opponents failed to do so. As a result, Crills, who was competing in her first L-L Individual Tourney, was awarded the gold medal.

"I was shocked," Crills said Tuesday. "I couldn't believe I actually did something like this. I consider it probably bigger than any other soccer award I've won  because this is an individual thing. It was just me, and going in I was not expecting it."

This season, her second as a member of the squad, Crills did tie teammate Kris Brown for top shooting honors on the team with an average of 97.34. Still, her goals heading into Saturday were quite modest.

"I was hoping to shoot higher than in the doubles tournament where I shot a 197," she said. "I was hoping to shoot better than that but I didn't honestly think I would place. When I did shoot the 200 I was like, 'that never happens,' so I was pretty sure I was placing. I just didn't know where.

Turns out, the girl who never before was perfect (her best score in a league match prior to Saturday was 99) made it happen on the most important day.

"I was so calm (Saturday)," she explained. "I pray before every match and this time I just felt so calm."

Crilss says her breathing is one of her best attributes when she competes in a rifle match.

"You basically have to hold your breath when you shoot," she said. "My breathing is the key, but being able to have clear sights is really good too because some times there are fuzzies (in the sight), and then you have to shut your eyes and go through the whole process over again. You have to be able to calm your body down, get your breathing right ... People don't realize how difficult it is."

In addition to Crills, Ephrata's Kathryn Maurer also placed in the top 10.

Maurer, who said she joined the rifle team as a ninth grader thinking she was signing up for the color guard, competed in her first L-L Individuals Saturday. The EHS junior finished ninth overall with a score of 197-0.

Also competing for Ephrata were Kristie Rathman (23rd, 193-2), Kris Brown 24th (192-2), Caitlyn Mertz (26th, 192-0), and Steph Brubaker (33rd, 189-1).