Stephenville resident Sabrina Muise is becoming pretty handy on the rifle range in a very short time.
Sabrina, an air cadet with Stephenville 708 Air Squadron, will be representing Newfoundland and Labrador at the 2012 National Cadet Biathlon Championships March 3 to 10 in Halifax, N.S.
The 16-year-old Grade 11 student at Stephenville High is the senior member of the female composite team with fellow cadets Natasha Baker and Samantha Budgell.
The cadet movement in this province will also be sending a three-member male composite team as well as a male and female unit team to test their mettle against the best cadet biathlons in the country.
Sabrina won top spot in her individual race in the zone playdowns before participating in the provincial biathlon championships recently at Blow Me Down Trails in Corner Brook. A harsh winter storm caused organizers to cancel races planned for the first day of the event, but the weather cleared up enough the following day to hold a relay race for the 72-odd cadets who converged on the city.
Sabrina has only been involved in the cadet movement for the past four years, but her journey to Halifax next month will mark her third appearance at nationals. She placed fifth overall in her senior women's individual race at the 2011 national event in Val Cartier, Que.
The teenager had an awesome experience in Quebec last year, checking out the sights and sounds of old Quebec City, spending time with fellow cadets doing fun things like tubing and visiting a local sugar shack.
"It was an awesome experience," she said.
Despite a respectable fifth-place showing, Sabrina is quick to point out she wasn't very keen on the shooting range in Val Cartier.
"Last year I wasn't that good of a shooter so I had to do 19 penalty loops, which was equivalent to doing pretty much two extra laps more than what other people had to do," she said, noting a loop is tacked on for every missed target.
She is eager to check out the competition a year later and looks forward to the upbeat atmosphere.
"I found it be very intense ... on your race day anything can go wrong," she said of previous trips to nationals.
Sabrina heads into the nationals with realistic expectations, and knows she can expect a good showing because her marksmanship has improved dramatically since last year. At the recent provincials, she had a great day in the relay race that has her excited about the next challenge.
"Of the 10 targets, I got all 10 down with 11 shots," she said of the provincial event, noting competitors had to shoot at five targets every trip to the shooting range. "My second time going into the range I was the quickest I've ever been so it was my personal best. I'm pretty sure I hit all five targets down in under 30 seconds."
Over the next few weeks, she plans on perfecting her technique and keeping her focus on what she hopes to accomplish this time around.
"I just want to get a medal," she said.
What's her strategy?
"Just think positive and picture the targets going down," she said.
