A Clifton State High School student shot straight to the top of the pack of one of the Darling Downs' first interschool sport shoots on Saturday.
Twenty-five students from six high schools competed in a 50m, fifty shot target shoot with .22 rimfire rifles.
Clifton State High School offers students on the right behaviour level a weekly shooting program as a sport elective.
Students are initially put through their weapons licence safety course over a period of four weeks by a qualified instructor and then visit the range for about 16 weeks a year.
The idea was formed to invite other students from local schools to test their skills against one another.
Local Clifton year 12 student Malaika Valerio, who had been undertaking the school's shooting program since year nine, held the highest individual score after two rounds of 370.4 points.
Ryan Staines from Faith Lutheran College Plainlands was only one point behind Ms Valerio on 369.4 points and Mack Morris from St. Mary's College Toowoomba and Toby Hilton from Clifton were third on 369.3.
Organiser Brendon Thorpe thanked the township of Clifton and the wider community for their support with getting the interschool shoot off the ground.
Also read: Mount Martin country off to auction
"When you work at a school in the bush and you teach bush kids, you need to tap into the skills and interests that they have and put energy into where they are keen to spend their time," he said.
"Clifton has a proud history in Benchrest shooting with ex-student and local legend Laurie Bowe (who the range is named after) leaving school and going on to shoot for the Australian team, on more than one occasion in the Olympics 'a while before I was born' he tells me.
"We've had a few good footballers, but I don't know of any other Olympians that went through C.S.H.S."
"We have access to such a fantastic facility, it's even undercover in case of bad weather and we have the human resources, the committee members, who are willing to volunteer and coach the juniors coming through, it just doesn't add up to not take them up on their offer."
A mixed school team of Ryan Staines (F.L.C), Hank and Cody Zammit (both Scott's P.G.C), Mac Williams and Toby Hilton (both C.S.H.S) claimed the trophy for the best team score.
Leyburn local Dan Kirby (W.S.H.S) also came from no-where in the second round to shoot an impressive 192.5, which was the highest card of the day.
Both the Clifton Benchrest Shooting club and the community would like to see the school host the interschool shoot annually.
