Johnston County 4-H Target Sports program honored

Submitted by Jonathan Stovall • Photos by Renee Dorman

SMITHFIELD — The Johnston County 4-H Target Sports program was recognized by the Johnston County Board of Commissioners recently for their performance at the 4-H State Shooting Sports Tournament in Ellerbe last fall.

The Johnston Sharpshooters (senior team, ages 14-18) of Daniel Clayton, Elizabeth Hall and Sarah Guffey won second place in .22 Pistol, Recurve Archery, Air Pistol and Air Rifle.

Daniel Clayton won individual honors, including third-place finishes in Recurve Archery Match class and Compound Archery.

Hannah Winspear brought home second place in Air Rifle and seventh in Air Pistol; and Tyler Clayton finished third overall in Air Pistol.

The Johnston Marksmen (junior team, ages 9-13) of Luke Clayton, Tyler Clayton and Jacob Davis took third in Recurve Archery and Air Pistol and second in Air Rifle.

The Johnston Bulls-Eyes (junior team) of Rhett, Cutter and Chase Dorman also finished sixth in Recurve.

The age range for the target sports program is 9-18. Anyone in that range can join by enrolling through 4honline.com.

The group exposes 4-H youth to shooting, hunting and other related nature activities and teaches character growth, sportsmanship, citizenship and safety through the use of shooting sports.

They teach the safe and responsible use of firearms and archery equipment, while developing competition and teamwork skills of 4-H’ers.

The Johnston County 4-H Target Sports teams were recognized by the Johnston County Board of Commissioners recently. Those recognized include instructors Tyrus Clayton, Bill Stovall and Jonathan Stovall; 4-H agent Courtney Stanley and 4-H members Sarah Guffey, Rhett Dorman, Cutter Dorman, Chase Dorman, Bryce Casper, Luke Clayton, Daniel Clayton, Jacob Davis and Elizabeth Hall.

The Johnston County 4-H Target Sports program practices recurve and compound archery and air rifle/pistol shooting at its range on N.C. 210, outside of Smithfield. Thanks to a donation by owner Andy Howard, the members shoot .22 rifle/pistol, trap (shotgun) and muzzleloader rifles at H2O Fowl Farms, a private range in Harnett County between Benson and Coats.

The team participates in two main 4-H tournaments a year, a regional tournament at the Eastern 4-H Center and then a state tournament in Ellerbe.

For more information on the program, contact Courtney Stanley at cnsmit23@ncsu.edu, Jonathan Stovall at jlstovall96@gmail.com or call the Johnston County Cooperative Extension at 919-989-5380.