Oxford High Student Wins Competitive Shooting State Championship

Neal Norman recently won the Junior Division at the 2019 Alabama Steel Challenge State Championship.
Photo provided by the OSD

Oxford High School 11th grader, Neal Norman, recently won the Junior Division at the 2019 Alabama Steel Challenge State Championship. He was also the overall winner of the Rimfire Pistol Iron division.

A few weeks later, at the 2019 Mississippi Steel Challenge State Championship, he won the overall Rimfire Pistol Iron division and the Rimfire Master award. Norman holds the highest Steel Challenge classification, Grand Master Class.

Norman competes throughout the year averaging about 10 major matches across the southeast in addition to about 30 local matches each year. The Lafayette County Law Enforcement Officer’s Association is one of Norman’s sponsors, and he is especially appreciative of their sponsorship.

An avid hunter and fisherman, Norman attributes his interest in competitive shooting to his dad who was a firing member of the United States Marine Corps Pistol Team and the Ole Miss Rifle Team.

According to his mom, Brenda, Neal has been shooting since he was 5 years old.

Norman said the event is not just a bunch of people out shooting guns for fun.

“It requires precision, focus, and consistency,” he said. “I think the thing that I am most proud of is the people I’ve met and the relationships I have established. I even had a competitor supply my ammunition for a competition when I forgot mine.

“Integrity and sportsmanship are a big deal in this sport. Winning and the trophies are just a bonus and something I can look back at to remind me of the more important things.”

Norman hopes to participate in a collegiate shooting team, possibly Clemson or Texas A&M. In his spare time, Norman can be found on the range honing his skills.

Courtesy of the OSD