The MAC Smallbore Shooter of the Month is Kayla Johnson of the Virginia Military Institute.

 Kayla is VMI’s Women’s Team Captain and competed in 3 matches during February 2012.  On 25 February at MIT Kayla shot a 549 in air.  Through February her small bore season high was a 543 and her air season average was 524 with a high score of 542         

Kayla is consistently the team’s top female shooter and one of the leading overall VMI shooters.  Diagnosed with thyroid cancer last spring, she completed surgery and radiation in order to return as team captain in the fall.  She is an Institute Scholar and a member of the Institute honors program with a cumulative Institute GPA of a 3.8 and cumulative major GPA of a 4.0

Kayla plans to Commission at graduation as a Second Lieutenant in U.S. Army.  She is

Cadet in Charge of Cadet Counseling, writes for the Cadet VMI Newspaper and is a Member of Phi Eta Kappa, Sigma Tau Delta, Phi Kappa Phi, and Omicron Delta Tau Honors Societies.

All VMI cadets face the same structured and demanding schedule and are required to participate in ROTC activities.  However, as NCAA athletes these individuals face even more demands due to practice and travel schedules.  It is also important to note that this student athlete plans to commission (optional at VMI) in the US Armed Forces – another choice that only adds to the demands on their time. 

The MAC Air Rifle Shooter of the Month is Jenna Hansen of John Jay College

This is Jenna’s second year as team captain and she has done an outstanding job. Jenna spends several hours each week working with the new shooters on the team and helping them to adjust to the rigors of being a student/athlete. The “newbies,” as she calls them, look up to Jenna as she counsels them on team do’s and don’ts. Something she has done for the past 3 years. Living 2 hours away from the College creates a hardship for her to stay late for practices to work with the new shooters. Yet, she does so willingly and never complains about the hour at which she returns home.

During this past shooting season Jenna maintained a 565.43 air rifle average and tied the team high score with a 579. She was a member of the 2010 – 2011 MAC All-Academic Team and is a strong contender for the 2011 – 2012 MAC All–Academic Team. Jenna must juggle her schedule to make time for practices and matches as well as a part time job from which she helps her mom to pay her tuition. The sliver of free time she has is used to do volunteer work in her community.

Jenna’s air rifle scores for February are:           

            555      USciences                                2/08/12

            568      USNA                                       2/18/12

            550      MAC Championships              2/25/12

 Jenna is a senior at John Jay College where she is majoring in Forensic Science.

Her hometown is Middletown, NY where she lives with her mom and brother.