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The combat shooting club team at Virginia Military Institute, coached by Paul Lahah, outperformed the competition at the 2024 ROTC College Clash Marksmanship Competition April 19-21 at Fort Barfoot, Va.
The match included 59 ROTC cadets from six schools - George Mason University, James Madison University, Liberty University, Radford University, Virginia Tech and VMI.
Over the course of the competition, shooters tested their marksmanship skills on both rifle and pistol, and competed as individuals in matches called combat excellence in competition (EIC), and as two-person teams in matches called cold steel combat shooting course of fire, which was tallied for a final aggregate score.
For individual pistol, winners were Kenneth Dinkel ’25, first place; Alex Bodner ’26, second place; and Cameron West ’25, third. For individual rifle, winners were Paul Doty ’26, first place; Dinkel second place; and Jayedon Creach ’27, third. For the two-person team match, Dinkel and Bodner came in first, Doty and Colin Russell ’26 came in second, and Garret Kelenske ’24 and Carter Hugate ’24 came in third.
In addition, 12 badges were awarded at the competition, with VMI receiving nine. Doty, Russell and Hugate each earned combat EIC pistol and rifle badges, West earned a combat EIC pistol badge, and Dinkel and Creach each earned a combat EIC rifle badge.
Dinkel, a history major from Armonk, N.Y., has been on the team for two years. “Last year, we came in second by one point, and only two of our team members earned EIC badges. Coming back this year, sweeping the podium in every category, and grabbing nine out of 12 EIC badges, was an awesome win for the team, and for VMI,” he said. “It is a testament to the team’s hard work, bond, and excellent coaching.”
This was the first year on the team for Bodner, a history major from Chesapeake. “I credit our success to our coach, and the time he has taken to train us,” he said. “He is a great teacher, and I don’t think that we would have been able to obtain such success without his coaching. I also believe the comradery within our team elevated our ability to win. The team feels like a family, and a place where we are able to have fun, and develop our shooting.”
Lahah, shared that the cadets trained hard all year in preparation for the event. “Competition breeds excellence! I am proud of the team’s achievements and wish the best for the departing 1st Class cadets,” he said. “The newly selected members of the team have big shoes to fill.”
