A 15-year-old Carihi student in just his third competition came home last week with seven medals — including four gold — from the National Smallbore Rifle Championships in Beachburg, Ont.
Mark Anthony Roberts won three gold, two silver and one bronze medal in the individual junior and intermediate junior divisions in the national competition. He added a fourth gold in the junior team competition while partnered with fellow B.C. shooters Leah Hoot and Sully Fagan of Kamloops.
Roberts, who took up shooting less than three years ago after visiting the Campbell River Gun Club on a whim, has been training at the club with coach Mark Johnson since. In his only two previous competitions, Roberts won a provincial championship last year and placed second at provincials this year.
In addition to his strong showing in the smallbore rifle nationals, he also competed in Match Rifle, a discipline he only picked up this May. While he did not medal in the Match Rifle events, he competed against Olympic and world championship competitors.
“These guys are all in their 30s and 40s, shooting $10,000 guns,” said Roberts’ mother, Dawn Duncan. “They’re pros. We went with a club gun, an old wood .22, but they were all very generous about giving Mark tips and advice. It was a great learning experience.”
Campbell River Gun Club is accepting memberships for the 2015-16 season. For more information, call 250-287-3646 or visit crgunclub.bc.ca.