Perhaps the most misunderstood and least visible part of the athletic heritage at John Carroll belongs to those who competed as part of the rifle team between 1951 and 1984.
 
Sponsored by military science but housed as a varsity sport, the John Carroll rifle team went up against teams both locally and nationally over the course of its four-decade long run.


The ROTC Influence
 
The roots of the rifle team were born from a decision made in the spring of 1950. That was when University officials announced that the Department of the Army had approved the establishment of a cadre of the Reserve Officers Training Corps on the Carroll campus.
 
That opened the door for the ROTC program to be invested within the campus. The first step was the construction of the ROTC Military Science Building, which was dedicated on October 26, 1950. Housed within this building was a rifle range. It was announced at this dedication by Major. General F. A. Heileman that there would be a rifle team.
 
The first official match for the rifle team was February 9, 1951. The way that first match worked was that the two John Carroll ROTC teams fired rounds in the Military Science Building that day for the William Randolph Hearst Trophy. Targets of the match were sent to the Second Army area headquarters at Fort Meade, Kentucky, where they would be scored and graded against targets from the other ten ROTC groups comprising the Second Army area.
 
Teams ranging in the upper ten percent of the scoring would then compete for the Hearst Trophy on March 24, 1951.
 
The first team consisted of Harry Ohlrich, Water Weickenand, Peter Cashy, John Carson and Lawrence Snitzky. The second team was comprised of John Ziegler, Jerry Popow, Frank Evans, Roberty Wischmeyer and Pat Molohan. The team was coached by Lt. John W. Houtz.


Momentum Gained And History Made
 
By 1953, John Carroll had earned its way into its first national championship competition. Paced by freshman Steve Turney, who won the National Rifle Association medal as high point man, the Blue Streak team placed seventh in a field of 72 schools in national Hearst Intercollegiate ROTC matches.
 
To encourage competition in the region, John Carroll would enter into a league called the Lake Erie Intercollegiate Rifle Conference, and in its first three years would finish third, second and third against the likes of Kent State, Youngstown, Akron, Case Tech and Gannon.
 
There were also events like competing against Tulane at the Sugar Bowl, or hosting the likes of Ohio State, that would dot the landscape of the intercollegiate rifle competition in which John Carroll engaged.
 
The Rifle team may also hold the distinction of being the first co-ed sport at John Carroll. It was noted by Carroll News columnist Lee Henning in the March 21, 1955 issue that "The rifle team is one of the few in the country to have a woman on its squad. Miss Yvonne Pitt handles her rifle like a veteran. Because of her diligent practice, she is steadily improving according to Captain Homer C. Ellett."
 
Cathy Falbo would become the first woman to compete for the varsity in 1967.
 
The late 1950's, followed by the 1960's and 1970's, were marked inconsistent returns in terms of team records and scores. Individual stars were more prevalent than team success, with the likes of Pete Bernardo (John Carroll's current Director of Philanthropic Giving), Frank Castelli, Jim Zahora and Jim Atten emerging as accomplished marksmen. As for team accolades, the Blue Streaks chased but never tracked down that elusive LEIRC title.


Momentum Lost
 
By the time the decade of the 1980's arrived, the interest in the sport was beginning to wane at John Carroll. It was a sport that already competed far from the spotlight, and also had the burden of being a shared endeavor between military science and athletics.
 
The ultimate death knell came in the summer of 1984, which was when John Carroll's rifle range, the home of the rifle team, was torn down with the military science building. It was announced, by recommendation from the Military Science Department, that the sport would be discontinued for the 1984-85 school year.
 
The building was torn down to make room for the recreation complex which stands in the same space today.
 
In an article for the Carroll News written by Julie Spiker in the February 22, 1985 issue, Bernardo – who had returned to his alma mater as the commanding officer of the military science department – spoke to the future for the sport which was not promising.
 
"We lost the range and we have some major problems to overcome," said Bernardo. "When I got back here, I started running around looking for ways to continue the rifle team. But there were too many variables, too many unknowns. So I sent a letter to Dean (James) Lavin with the recommendation that we put it off for this year."
 
In the same article, then athletic director Jerry Schweickert also expressed regret for the sports demise.
 
"Being the athletic director. I don't like to see any sport discontinued," said Schweickert. "But, that was their (the military science department's) recommendation. As of now, l do not have a budget from them for next year."
 
Without a home range, not only was competition difficult but so was practice. Plus, the financing became an issue without the support of the military.
 
"Previously, the military paid for the coach and the equipment - the rifles, bullets, jackets and so on," said Bernardo. "All the school had to pay for was the travel expenses and the awards - the varsity jackets and letters - since it is a varsity sport."

The sport never returned to John Carroll.