Rawlings wins shooting contest, meets President

Matt Rawlings of Wharton, to the right of President Bush, is the team captain representing the NCAA Men's Championship Rifle Team from the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, which was honored at the White House on Aug. 21.

Wharton resident Matt Rawlings' razor sharp shooting skills have taken him to college, to Olympic-level competition, to a national championship and now, to the Oval Office.

The son of Tom and Sandy Rawlings of Wharton, he recently traveled to Washington D.C. for a personal visit with President George W. Bush.

Rawlings earned the visit as team captain of a championship NCAA sports team.

He is captain of the University of Alaska Rifle Team, which is the 2007 NCAA Champions. He and captains of several other 2007 NCAA champion teams met with President Bush earlier this summer.

Rawlings is currently finishing up his studies on-line with the University of Alaska, majoring in technology. He resides at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.

In July, he won a silver medal in air rifle for the U.S. at the Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Rawlings is scheduled to attend a match in the Czech Republic in November and in January, he will represent the U.S. at a match in Germany.

During the Washington D.C. event, President Bush praised the captains and the teams they represented.

"I'm honored to stand with some of our country's finest student athletes ... and glad to give you an excuse to skip class," President Bush said. "But I'm really glad to welcome you here and to congratulate you on being a champion.

"It is really a lot of fun to be with people who set high standards and work hard to achieve goals, which you've done," he added.

"I want to welcome all the team captains, the coaches, the school officials and all the fans who have joined us. You're different - you've come from different schools, different sports, but you deserve to be called 'champion'."

In speaking about the men's and women's champion rifle team from the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, the president said special recognition was due considering who the team defeated.

"It is safe to say, this team traveled the farthest to be here. You earned the trip. This is, by the way, the eighth time in nine years that the Nanooks have been the NCAA champions in rifle," President Bush said.

"Interestingly enough, guess who they beat? West Point. Anytime you out-shoot West Point, you're really good at what you do."