Lafayette’s Kiser among top prep shooters in nation

Lafayette’s Alyssa Kiser has been the top shooter for the school’s JROTC rifle team all season long.

She has since proved herself to be one of the top youth shooters in the country and elsewhere.

At the recent JROTC Service Championship, C/LTC Kiser was one of 48 shooters competing in the Precision Class of the two-day event. She took the lead after the first day with a score of 590 (out of 600) and followed up the next day with another 590 to remain in the lead.

The top eight shooters then faced off in a 10-shot final with the highest cumulative score from the first two rounds of shooting, plus the final, being declared the winner. Kiser finished with a total of 1279.3 to win the event and the gold medal to become the No. 1 Army JROTC shooter in the Southeastern United States.

She is the first Lafayette High School cadet to win the gold medal in school history.

Later, when Kiser’s scores were compared with those of other regions, including United States AJROTC on military installations in Germany and other parts of the world, she finished as the No. 2-ranked AJROTC shooter in the nation.

“Last year, our team made it to the national championship with two shooters exceeding beyond anything our rifle program has ever done,” said First Sergeant (retired) David Tomlinson, Lafayette High’s JROTC instructor and rifle team coach. “This year we have a shooter, ranked No. 1 in the Southeast and No. 2 in the nation about to compete for the (title of) Top Shooter in the United States Army JROTC Service Championship. I don’t know if anyone in the history of the GHSA athletic program at Lafayette High School has ever had an opportunity to be considered as No. 1 in the nation.”

The National JROTC Championships will be held March 21-23 in Anniston, Ala. and will feature all service branches of the ROTC program.