Aiken High duo will compete on national stage

Brothers Bradley and Tim Wilke II knew their way around firearms; their dad, Tim, is a Pelion police officer.

When the boys arrived at Aiken High School as freshmen and joined the Naval Junior ROTC unit, they got involved with the air rifle team.

That was a much different experience "but we enjoyed it from the start," said Bradley, now a senior. "We had good people training us."

He and his brother eventually took leadership roles as the older cadets graduated. Now Bradley and Tim are headed to the All-Service Nationals after qualifying at the Navy Nationals in Anniston, Ala., last weekend.

Both finished in the top 20 of about 192 shooters - Bradley 14th and Tim 15th. The point differential between them and the overall winner was just a few points. The number of bull's-eyes overall are used to break ties.

The rifle squad as a team - including captain Nick DeLoache, Jacob Morris and Teddy Hoyle - just missed qualifying as well at the Navy Nationals. The top seven teams go on to the All-Service nationals, and Aiken High was seventh with just 30 seconds to go in the final round, but another team scored just enough to snare the last spot.

The team has had some bad luck the past two seasons, said unit commander Tony Negron.

"They were going to shoot for the area showmanship last year, but it was in Asheville and got snowed out," he said. "We didn't get a chance to shoot, and I think we would have won that year."

At the Navy championships, participants get set times to complete 20 shots each in prone, standing and kneeling positions. Each target isn't much larger than a silver dollar. The bull's-eye is a tiny blip within the target. Shooters can rest their rifles on a stand between shots while standing but only long enough to get ready for the next attempt.

"The rifle weights 8 pounds," Bradley said. "Try holding that standing for two hours. You have to get your breathing right."

The brothers' formal participation with competitive shooting will end this spring for the Wilke brothers. Both plan to major in criminal justice - Bradley at USC Aiken and Tim for the first two years at Aiken Technical College before transferring to a four-year school.

If they can find another venue to continue their favorite sport, they said, that would be great.

Contact Rob Novit at rnovit@aikenstandard.com.