TALLULAH FALLS, Ga. — Tallulah Falls School senior rifle captain Mitchell McGahee found himself shoulder-to-shoulder with Olympians last weekend as he posted a personal best during an elite Olympic-style competition in Anniston, Alabama.
McGahee was the lone senior traveling with the TFS rifle program, which head coach Tim Stamey described as being in a “rebuilding year” with a roster of one senior, two sophomores and three freshmen.
“This group of four young ladies and two young men have a positive team culture and help each other,” Stamey said. “We are excited to watch their progress.”
McGahee left before dawn Nov. 15 for the Judith Legerski CMP Competition Center, where he competed in the Olympic 60-shot standing event against a national-level field. On the firing line, he was positioned between U.S. Olympian Brian Muske — a three-time NCAA All-American — and former Italian Olympian Gianluca Soldavini, who has previously offered McGahee shooting guidance.
Between the two Olympians, McGahee delivered a personal-record decimal score of 604.1 in standing. The mark fell just shy of qualifying for the eight-person finals but placed him ahead of every high school competitor and several collegiate shooters.
“Mitchell might not have made finals, but he finished above every high school athlete and some college athletes,” Stamey said.
The rest of the TFS squad arrived later in the morning to compete in the three-position match, facing a field that included athletes from as far away as western Arkansas. McGahee placed 10th with a 578.
Sophomore Desi Newkirk, a first-year member of the rifle team, finished 15th with a 572 — a personal record that exceeded the varsity letter requirement by 12 points and earned him the program’s green-and-white jacket.
