NEWBERRY — Newberry College senior John Patton was selected as a member of the 2017 Collegiate All-American Standard Pistol Team.
The honor was bestowed at Collegiate National Pistol Championships the awards ceremony for the conducted by the National Rifle Association at Fort Benning, Ga.
All-Americans in International Standard Pistol are selected based primarily on their season average in at least five matches, including the College Sectional, which is a national match fired in regional locations that serves as a qualifying match for invitation to the Collegiate Championships. Other considerations for All-American status include grade point average, sectional score and leadership ability. The individual must also be nominated by his or her coach or a college official.
Patton is coached by “Doc” Sexton, a retired pathologist for Newberry County Memorial Hospital and long-time coach of the nationally ranked Citadel Pistol Team.
Patton is a Sport Management major at Newberry College with a minor in coaching. He is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who served two tours in Iraq. He and his wife, Sharon (who Sexton notes also is a good shot) are the parents of three-week-old Betty Jean and seven-year-old Hannah.
With help from Newberry College, he attended the National Pistol Championships at Camp Perry, Ohio, where earned leg points toward his Distinguished Pistol Badge.
He started this year’s season training smart, managing to juggle his regular job and an internship helping to coach the Wofford Rifle Team. Because Patton did not have the time or resources to travel to the next closest college match at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., as well as a wife expected their second child, Patton obtained special permission to fire twice at each of the collegiate matches conducted at the Citadel.
The International Standard Pistol Event is fired in world competition with a .22 caliber semiautomatic pistol. The standard designation means it is not specialized like the International Free Pistol event, which features a wrap-around grip that fits the hand like a glove, a hair trigger (1-2 ounces) and a foot-long barrel and sight radius for greater accuracy.
“It was very challenging to shoot on the outstanding Citadel Pistol Range with the top college teams from U.S. Naval Academy, U.S. Military Academy, U. S. Coast Guard Academy, Ohio State University and The Citadel,” Patton said. “All of those teams have two or more All-Americans on their teams.”
“I enjoyed my internship at the Newberry Junior Air Pistol Club [coached by Paramedic Ben Blanton],” Patton said. “Training, coaching and interacting with young shooters, several of whom qualify each year for the National Junior Olympics, was a challenge that was both exciting and educational.”