Texas A&M Corps of Cadets Marksmanship Unit sweeps 2016 SASP National Championship with record smashing performance.
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – -(Ammoland.com)- On Saturday, March 12 2016, at the CMP Talladega Marksmanship Park in Talladega, Ga., the CCMU Maroon Centerfire Team, firing Glock 34’s, won the Scholastic Action Shooting Program (SASP) National Championship in the largest event of its kind ever held.
In a day of amazing firsts, the CCMU Centerfire team won the event and the national title by firing an SASP team record score of 177.99 seconds. (An SASP team is a four person squad plus alternate, the team score for the competition is the total time of the four individuals on the squad.) The cadets of the CCMU also swept all four of the individual awards for the match: High Overall Centerfire Shooter, High Overall Rimfire Shooter, High Lady in Centerfire and High Lady in Rimfire.
The top two individual Centerfire scores in the match were fired by CCMU cadets led by CCMU Commander Zach Williams ’16 with a score of 40.90 seconds. Cadet Williams returns to his place at the top of the Collegiate Nationals after firing the top score in 2013, being one of three cadets in the top four overall as his team won the Championship in 2014, and firing the second overall score in 2015.
The individual award for fastest Rimfire score, top score in the match and possibly the fastest recorded score in the history of the SASP was fired by freshman Cadet Kyle Post ’19. Cadet Post completed the match in an astonishing 36.94 seconds
Both High Lady trophies were also taken home by CCMU cadets. In Centerfire the award went to senior Cadet Naomi Boyer ’16 as she fired on the National Championship winning team. In Rimfire, High Lady was awarded to freshman Cadet Savannah Butters ’19 in her first trip to a national level match as she fired a score of 53.38 seconds.
Narrowly defeating the team from West Point for the National Championship, The Maroon Centerfire Team members fired three match scores below 50 seconds. Three of the team members fired personal bests, and at the most important match of the year.
- Cadet Zach Williams ’16, of Weatherford, TX 40.90 Seconds
- Cadet Lee Dimaculangan ’16 of Houston, TX 41.07
- Cadet John Burton ’17 of The Woodlands, TX 45.88
- Cadet Parker Zaitz ’17 of Willis, TX 50.47
- Cadet Naomi Boyer ’16 of Blooming Grove, TX 69.09
The CCMU’s Maroon Rimfire Team finished 1st overall at the match, also narrowly defeating the rimfire team from United States Military Academy, with a team score of 190.24 seconds, securing the Colliegiate National Championship in Rimfire.
- Jason Sartor ’18 of Baytown, TX 52.58 seconds
- Kyle Post ’19 of Alvin, TX 36.94
- Nicolas Mrak ’18 of Emerald Isle, NC 53.99
- Steven Bartlett ’19 of Columbus, IN 46.73
The Commandant of Cadets at Texas A&M University, Brig. General Joe E. Ramirez, Jr USA(R) issued the following statement: “I am extremely proud of our cadets on the CCMU who represented our Corps and our University in such a professional manner last weekend in winning the 2016 SASP National Championship. Our cadets have excelled to become one of the premier collegiate shooting teams in the country. We are all very proud of this significant accomplishment by our CCMU, and look forward to their continued success in the future.”
CCMU Coach Kevin Jimmerson of North Zulch, TX commented “It is a great honor for me to lead this team as their Coach. I can’t express how proud I am of this team, or how impressed I am with each of them for the way they have responded to the pressure of the most important match of the year.” Adding, “Our senior team leadership were members of our first freshman class and in their fourth year they have become great shooters and professional leaders. This team is dedicated to each other and to Excellence. But, they never lose sight of the fact that we win and lose together as a team and they always focus on enjoying this sport and having fun as we work at it.”
Tammy Mowry, the National Director of the SASP issued the following statement about the match: “The College National Championships were held this weekend at the beautiful CMP Marksmanship Park in Talladega, Alabama. The staff there made us feel right at home and were eager to help us with anything that needed to be done.”
She added that “Teams traveled from across the country to compete for top awards. Congratulations to the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets Marksmanship Unit for taking home 1st Place Centerfire with a time of 177.99 and 1st Place Rimfire with a time of 190.24. USMA at West Point placed 2nd in Centerfire with a time of 188.05 and also 2nd Place in Rimfire with a time of 195.93. Third place Centerfire went to the University of Florida with a time of 195.76 and 3rd Place Rimfire went to Michigan State with a time of 196.89. We have to thank our Safety Officers, without you we couldn’t do what we do! I also want to thank our Founding Partners Ed Fitzgerald at GLOCK, and Tom Yost at Smith & Wesson, for being with us this weekend and working the match.”
The CCMU trains and competes in action shooting sports with other college teams and at 3Gun matches around the country, but it also works to grow participation in the shooting sports at all ages and among both men and women. The CCMU is very grateful to its industry sponsors for their support of this team and its activities both on and off the range. The cadets of the CCMU want to recognize all of the companies large and small who graciously sponsor the team for their continued support and also the team’s primary equipment sponsors that aided in this win: Freedom Munitions, TRUGLO, Apex Tactical, Vista Outdoor and Glock for the cutting edge gear they provide, and the Texas A&M TEEX for the use of their training facility. Please take a moment to visit the Sponsor page on the CCMU web page and thank these businesses for their support of our future officers.
The CCMU was officially formed in December of 2011, but today’s squad represents the latest in over 100 years of history of marksmanship teams competing for the Corps of Cadets at Texas A&M. The CCMU fields competitors in the action pistol sports, steel pistol sports, 3Gun and international trap and skeet. Team members are drawn exclusively from the 2,600 men and women of the Corps of Cadets who are all undergraduates at Texas A&M. Scholarships and in-state tuition are also available for CCMU cadets. The cadets of the CCMU are supported and funded through the Office of the Commandant of the Corps of Cadets, and the generous efforts of the Corps of Cadets Association ( https://www.corpsofcadets.org ) a private non-profit group committed to sustaining the 140 year old traditions of the Cadet Corps at Texas A&M. Please contact them to make a tax deductible donation on the teams behalf.
For more information on the Corps of Cadets at Texas A&M University, visit https://corps.tamu.edu/. For information on the Corps of Cadets Marksmanship Unit visit www.cocmu.com or follow the team on Facebook.
