SHOOTING TO BE THE BEST

MEET KAITLYN CROSS, FLORIDA’S TOP GUN IN LIGHT RIFLE FINALS

Written by: Dale Bliss

When some kids were just lacing their shoes, Kaitlyn Cross was a good shot with a rifle. The North Fort Myers, Florida, girl at 4 was shooting with her father Bill Cross on family outings with mom Christin and an older brother, William.

It was fun family adventures, says Bill Cross, who is now Kaitlyn’s shooting coach. His daughter, Cross says, “is a natural. She has had a gun in her hand from a very young age. When she started shooting with the Florida High School

Rodeo Association, I knew she was going to do great.” Great, for sure, as Kaitlyn, now 18, is the top gun in Florida High School Rodeo Association, or FHSRA, state competition, winning first place in Light Rifle division finals in April at the Quail Creek Plantation in Okeechobee. A 2021 graduate of Riverdale High School in the Buckingham area in Fort Myers, Kaitlyn, along with her fellow light rifle competitors, was allotted 36 rounds—12 standing, 12 kneeling and 12 in the prone position—from 50 yards. Division competitors, boys and girls, use a .22 caliber rifle, with Kaitlyn choosing a Tikka bolt-action model.

Kaitlyn already a crack shot at 8 (top left), firing prone in Okeechobee, ready to compete in rain, wind or 100-degree heat.

LIGHT RIFLE COMPETITORS ARE ALLOTTED 36 ROUNDS— 12 STANDING, 12 KNEELING AND 12 IN THE PRONE POSITION.

And while individual accomplishments are frosting on any cupcake, Kaitlyn enjoys shooting with her friends and family, she says. “It was really fun to be able to have friendly competitions with my teammates. And having my dad coach me throughout the whole process was one of my favorite ways to hang out with him.”

Christin Cross says that 2020-2021 was especially good for her daughter, as “she found her groove and maintained first place throughout the season.” Always with words of encouragement just before tournament shoots, dad and mom offer their daughter these words of encouragement: Have fun, we love you and shoot straight.

For good measure, and because his daughter is super focused and keeps to herself before competition, Bill Cross whispers that “ribs are for winners,” insider stuff and where the family heads after the day’s tournament has ended.

Kaitlyn Cross represented the Sunshine State at the National High School Rodeo Association Finals in mid-July in Lincoln, Nebraska. Those results would be posted at fhsra.com. FCM

Roundup

Florida High School Rodeo Association (FHSRA)

FHSRA.com