COLUMBUS — Local veterans gathered on Tuesday night to help further the ambitions of a young athlete. Mathiston native Josie Carr received a check for $5,000 from Commander Maggy Wesley of the Lowndes County Veterans of Foreign Wars, money that will be put toward a custom competition air rifle that she will use to enter the qualification process for the junior Olympics in Colorado next year.
Carr, 18, has participated in shooting competitions with 4-H since she was a child, and first began shooting when she was 12.
“She started going out on Thursday nights and learning everything she could,” Carr’s mother Carolyn said. “This gun became available, it’s a .22, and we bought it. Come to find out if you want scholarships to go to college you have to do both the air rifle and the .22.”
Carr has competed across multiple events in the Civil Marksmanship Program, National Rifle Association, International Shooting Sport Federation and USA Shooting.
Carr hopes to continue shooting at a collegiate level and attain a scholarship to compete in Division I. Her goal is to join the all-female shooting team at Ole Miss. Carr also wants to compete in the junior Olympics in Colorado, where college scouts and international team scouts will be observing the best competitive shooters in the nation.
“We just ordered her a brand new suit, and now thanks to the VFW we’re going to have a brand new gun on the way so she can compete with the air rifle and the .22.
Carr’s grandfather is a veteran, as is her coach, Alex Heberlein, and several put in the recommendation to donate to her growth in the sport as she looks to up her game with professional coaching and new equipment.
“She hasn’t been doing it that long but her skillset is good,” Heberlein said of Carr’s marksmanship. “She’s advancing, and in other words she is further along than some shooters. She’s able to compete at a high level already.”
Heberlein is a United States Marine Corps veteran and has been working with Carr over the past year as she started to ramp up her competition shooting and work toward earning a scholarship. He complimented her drive and skill despite other competitors having more time and experience in the sport.
“We’re basically refining her skills,” Heberlein said. “We’re talking about working on something the size of the head of a pin, or a ball-point pen, so it’s very finite adjustments. We’re working in millimeters, not inches.”
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