PORT ANGELES — Port Angeles’ Cheyenne Maggard celebrated an accomplishment she has spent several years aiming toward — literally — recently while surrounded by family, friends and her fellow Naval Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (NJROTC) members.
Maggard, a sharpshooter who has competed in 4-H, junior rifle team and NJROTC shooting sports competitions for years, signed her letter of intent to compete on the University of Tennesee-Martin rifle team.
An air rifle is a lightweight firearm — similar to a pellet gun — that can weigh no more than 5.5 kilograms (a bit more than 12 pounds) in which the propulsive force is provided by gas or compressed air. They fire small 4.5-millimeter rounds made of lead or other soft material.
And Maggard has honed her sights in competitions both close to home and around the country, including participating with her Port Angeles NJROTC teammates in the National JROTC Service Championships in Anniston, Ala., this week.
Port Angeles NJROTC Naval Science Instructor Justin Beck said he didn’t want to get in the way of Maggard’s progress when she joined the group as a freshman.
“She was already well-accomplished as a shooter,” Beck said. “My main goal with her for NJROTC was don’t screw her up. Don’t mess with her, don’t ruin anything. To keep her going forward in any way I could and help more in terms of leadership and helping you grow as a person.”
Maggard said joining NJROTC was a great fit.
“It was really nice when I came into this. They welcomed me with open arms like, ‘This is Cheyenne, and she’s a shooter,’ so it was really nice that I could walk in and show people what I could do,” Maggard said. “And that’s really helped me be more confident and outspoken and capable of talking to people. Ever since freshman year, all the cadets that come into air rifle, it’s always been my goal to help them out. And this is the sport I love, so I love that I can share this with other people.”
Maggard toured college campuses over the summer and believes she found a home away from home at the 5,000-plus student university.
“At UT-Martin, one thing was different about the coach [MJ Vowell],” Maggard said. “Usually, I would ask coaches what they expected of me and the first thing she said was, ‘What do you expect out of us?’ I really felt like she meant it, and it was cool to have that perspective.”
Maggard will get to shoot at the Skyhawk Rifle Range, which added eight state-of-the-art electronic targets in 2019.
A homeschooled student attending Peninsula College, Maggard said she had a couple of factors in mind when selecting her school.
“I wanted to go to a small college where I could feel at home and connect with everyone in the environment,” Maggard said. “I want the team to be my family and be able to go to them whenever I need to. Because I will be so far away from home in Tennessee, I wanted a coach that I felt could be a mother or father figure to me, and I really got that vibe.”
Maggard is the daughter of Brent and Meghan Maggard.
Port Angeles’ Cheyenne Maggard, seated center, is joined by her family as she signs her letter of intent to compete in air rifle at the University of Tennessee-Martin. (Carmen Geyer/Port Angeles School District)
