With a record of 10-2 overall and 5-1 in area competition — and finishing as runner-up in Area 6 — the Buford High School riflery team has set its sights on qualifying for the state finals.
Since its inception in the 2012-2013 school year, the riflery team has advanced to the state tournament finals in six of the 11 seasons in which the team has competed. The team finished 10th in state competition in 2023-2024, and the highest team place was seventh in the state in 2017-2018 and again in 2020-2021.
Buford’s highest team score this season of 1143 came Feb. 11 in its final regular match of the season against Parkview, which posted a score of 1068.
The team’s head coach, Marianne Cagle, explained how a match is conducted and scored.
“Team competitions consist of five members of each team shooting 10 targets each in three positions: kneeling, prone and standing,” she said. “A perfect score in one position is 100 and a perfect round would be 300. The top four scores for each team count towards the team total. The team with the highest team total wins the match.”
The riflery team consists of 13 members this season — seniors Carolyn Cagle, Emory Curry, Morgan Sparks and Cooper Purcell II; juniors Carter Waycaster, Aiden Rice and Ali Slinde; sophomores Olivia Nagel, Jake Ward and Emma Barragan; and freshmen Charley Wiist, Caden Holcombe and Coleman Manley.
In addition to Marianne Cagle, the team’s coaching staff includes Morgan Adams, a 2020 graduate of Buford and former rifle team member, and Steve Curlee, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel. Cagle said they both bring “a wealth of knowledge and experience in competitive precision air rifle.”
In individual accomplishments, the following team members hold high scores — Nagel (291), Carolyn Cagle (287), Waycaster (286), Curry (285) and Ward (284). The team has posted seven perfect scores of 100 points in the prone position this season. Carolyn Cagle has shot a 100 in the prone position in five matches, and Ward, Waycaster and Nagel have each shot a perfect 100 in the prone position once this season.
Buford will face LaFayette, the No. 5 team from Area 10, in the first round of the state playoffs on Feb. 24. Buford will host the match as the higher seed. With a win, the team will advance to the state semifinals set for March 4.
What is the team mindset going into playoffs?
“At this point, it all depends on who we match up with in the state brackets,” Marianne Cagle said. “We have to focus on our score and doing the best we can as a team and not worry about factors outside of our control.”
The GHSA riflery state championship will be held March 15 in Waycross with the top 17 teams in the state vying for the title of state champion — Buford’s team intends to be one of those 17 competitors.
