Lehighton High School is no slouch at graduating quality athletes who continue their careers in college. They perform their chosen sport in front of a supportive band of cheering fans.

Jennifer Plocinik was not the "typical" high school athlete. Her sport takes place on a target range, where competitors and spectators stay quiet.With no high school rifle team at Lehighton, Plocinik developed her skills with the Ontelaunee Rod & Gun Club's Junior Rifle team, and through quality coaching from Tom Fister (Kutztown) and Rich Frantz (Tamaqua).The competition and coaching paid dividends as Plocinik landed a scholarship to shoot for Division 1 University of Tennessee at Martin.Plocinik, the daughter of Ron and Kathy Plocinik, said that being on a rifle team, both at Ontelaunee and Tennessee, has opened the door for lots of travel, and also given her opportunities to meet people from all over the country."Being on the team at college has made moving to Tennessee so much easier because I have made so many friends to help me along the way," Plocinik said. "Being 15 hours from home I thought would've been so hard, but my teammates made me feel like I was already home the minute I got here."The Plociniks were members of Ontelaunee for about three years. They joined so they could have a place to practice shooting their deer-hunting rifles. When Jenn got injured playing soccer, she wanted to find another competitive sport and found the Junior Rifle Team. She loved it, and practiced from three to nine hours a week."Being on the rifle team at Ontelaunee was the best experience I could have ever had because I met so many amazing people," she said. "I never would have thought about going to school in Tennessee if it weren't for coach Fister helping me the past two years. Training to make me the best I could be."Finding the sport changed me as a person because shooting can be an outlet - I can be stressed out about school work but shoot all the stress away and feel like a new person. I think rifle was the best part about my life because it brought my family closer together, helped me make so many new and amazing friends and also is a challenging, competitive sport that is like no other."Participants in the sport must have good concentration, and also the physical strength needed to hold the correct position while shooting. Plocinik, a high school National Honor Society member, was a natural fit.During her first year of college competition, Plocinik excelled. She led her team in small bore average (563.7) and air rifle average (573.5). She also had a high score of 577 in the small bore. She was named to the Ohio Valley Conference "Small Bore All Newcomer Team."Facts about Small Boreand Air Rifle Shooting• The small-bore indoor range is 50 feet. The air rifle range is 10 meters.• There is no limit to how many team members can compete at a match, but only the top five scores count.• Small-bore matches are "three position" and shooters compete in rounds standing, kneeling and prone (lying down.)