Grauer School Student Wins Junior Division at All Navy Rifle Matches

Encinitas, CA, May 30, 2010 --(PR.com)-- 16-year-old Grauer School student Shawn Bharadwaj (Class of 2012) demonstrated expert marksmanship at the All Navy (West) Rifle Team Matches held at Camp Pendelton on May 4-7, 2010, by outperforming all Navy and Marine Corps team members during the tournament when he shot a bull’s eye at 300 yards standing, earning him the distinguished Daniel Boone Award. Shooters from each of the ten teams, with the highest standing stage score, had 60 seconds to shoot one shot at 300 yards, from the standing position; his was the only bull’s eye. He had the highest score on his team, which consisted of two Distinguished shooters; one a Retired Marine Corps Major and the other a Retired MSGT. In addition to the Daniel Boone Trophy, Shawn earned six leg points toward becoming a Distinguished rifleman. He placed fifth out of 120 competitors in combined matches, first among Junior shooters and third among civilians.

Bharadwaj, who has been shooting since the age of eight with no formal training, explained, “Being the only contestant to shoot a bulls eye during the tournament was exciting---it was very windy and I had to concentrate on calming myself down. The most important thing is to have confidence and to mentally prepare myself to remain steady.” Bharadwaj has been shooting competitively since last September and joined the California Junior Rifle team last month. His recent accomplishments have qualified him to compete in the National competition with the state team in August in Ohio. In June, he will be presented with a Bronze medal from the Civilian Marksmanship Program with a certificate recognizing the six leg points.

Bharadwaj is the only Grauer School student involved in competitive shooting and he was granted special permission to be excused from classes to participate in the tournament. The Grauer School’s willingness to be flexible has been particularly important to him. “I receive a lot of individualized attention at the school and that’s what I like best---it is a small school and they understand that rifle tournaments outside the classroom are important to me.”

The Grauer School is located at 1500 South El Camino Real in Encinitas and scholarships are available. The Grauer School provides special dispensation for competitive extra curricular activities as well as an Independent Studies Program for professional high school athletes. For additional information, call (760) 944-6777 or visit www.grauerschool.com.

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