MUSCATINE, Iowa–For a second year, Kiara Hallett, a senior at Muscatine High School and member of the Muscatine American Legion’s Junior Shooting Club, competed at the Civilian Marksmanship Program National Three-Position Air Riffle Championships in Camp Perry, Ohio. Her years of shooting experience and dedication to improving paid off, and she placed second in the nation this June.

Kiara joined the Junior Shooting Club five years ago and has improved her air rifle skills by leaps and bounds since she started. Throughout the school year, Kiara competes at numerous individual and team competitions, attending air rifle competitions hosted by the American Legion, Iowa Rifle and Pistol Association, and the Junior Olympics. Even before the run-up to the national championship, Kiara had a successful season, earning the highest score at the Muscatine American Legion’s Ray Dietrich Invitational and placing second in a Junior Olympic team event along with her friend and fellow Junior Shooting Club member Ella Evans and two others.

At the national competition, each participant completed the same qualifying shoots, taking 20 shots in the prone, standing, and kneeling positions. After the contestants finished, the top eight placers advanced to the final round. Kiara put up an impressive showing in her initial shoots, scoring 195 points out of a possible 200 prone with 12 bullseyes, 178 points standing with two bullseyes, and 183 kneeling with seven bullseyes for a total of 556 out of 600 possible points with 21 bullseyes.

Kiara Hallett (third from left) and the seven other athletes who qualified for the finals at the Civilian Marksmanship Program National Three-Position Air Rifle Championships. Photo courtesy of Kiara Hallett.

In the final speed round, the top eight took five shots in each position in random order. At the end of each shoot, the athlete with the lowest score got eliminated until only three people remained. The final three competitors each shot one shot standing, with the lowest-scoring shot facing elimination.

Though Kiara had experience at the national championship and had trained hard, she never imagined she would place second nationally: “I wasn’t expecting it, but I know I put in the work. I’ve been seeing really good scores in the last month,” she shared. “I’m happy and excited because I always wanted to place at nationals.”

The Civilian Marksmanship Program National Three-Position Air Rifle Championships represents the end of the competitive air rifle season for the year. However, with her senior season approaching, Kiara has already started looking forward to a final year of competing with the Muscatine American Legion Junior Shooting Club. When practices resume the week after Labor Day, Kiara shared, “I want to make it to nationals again and enjoy the experience of my last year.”