Mary Tucker and Kinga Aletto, Sarasota Military Academy cadets from the graduating class of 2018, have recently earned recognition for their talents in national shooting competitions, including the 2018 ELEY high school All-American team and the 2018 American Legion National Championships competition.
SMA senior Mary Tucker earned a spot on both the 2018 ELEY high school All-American smallbore team and the 2018 ELEY high school All-American air rifle team, marking her as the first and only All-American in any sport in Sarasota Military Academy history. ELEY, a leading British engineering company, hosted the top junior shooters in the US at the USA Shooting National Championships in June.
Kinga Aletto, a senior at SMA, was only one of 15 in the country to receive a spot at the 2018 American Legion National Championships in Colorado at the Olympic Training Center held in July. During the competition, she finished third overall in standing and seventh in the country. Aletto is the first SMA cadet to compete at this level and the first to receive a rifle scholarship to compete at the University of Nebraska where she will attend college.
“Since 2005, our cadets have earned various state and regional championship titles and currently, our team is in the top 5 throughout the country,” said SMA SFC Riess Pellegrino, Leadership Education Training (LET) 2 instructor and rifle team coach. “Our rifle team is incredibly talented and competitive, and our cadets use their skills as a motivator to work even harder in school. We enjoy being able to recognize our talented, hard-working cadets and show them that anything is possible with patience, practice and determination.”
Over the summer, 8 cadets from SMA traveled to Camp Perry in Ohio with SMA SFC Riess Pellegrino, Leadership Education Training (LET) 2 instructor and rifle team coach, to compete in the Advanced Standing Camp, which began after the CMP National Championships. The SMA team finished in the top 10 out of 55 teams on both days of the competition, which pulls clubs and teams throughout the country.
“We are incredibly proud of our recent graduates, and these young ladies are no exception. SMA is proud to celebrate the accomplishments of our cadets and athletes – we are always impressed by their vigor, tenacity and their ability to set and exceed goals,” said SMA Colonel Christina Bowman, Sarasota Military Academy Executive Director of Schools. “Congratulations to our cadets and athletes on your well-deserved achievements; we are excited to see what great things you’ll continue to do in our community.”
To learn more about Sarasota Military Academy, visit http://www.sarasotamilitaryacademy.org/.
About Sarasota Military Academy
Founded in 2002, Sarasota Military Academy (SMA) is a public charter school with two campuses located in Sarasota, Florida. Combining extraordinary academics with the highest military principles of camaraderie, focus, leadership, integrity, compassion, poise, honor and respect, SMA’s mission is to graduate young men and women who will confidently define their personal and unique goals for success in a multi-cultural and globalized world. Sarasota Military Academy High School is located at 801 N. Orange Avenue and Sarasota Military Academy Prep Middle School, is located at 3101 Bethel Lane. To learn more about SMA, visit http://www.sarasotamilitaryacademy.org/.
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