GUYANESE Midshipman Czerda Frank who is currently in the United States Naval Academy  rose to the occasion in  copping the 2013  NRA Free Pistol Individual Championship title when the Intercollegiate Pistol Championships got under way last week in Columbus, Georgia. According to a report by Kyle Jillson via NRAblog.com, despite being left off the Naval team, it was Midshipman Czerda Frank who ended up securing their individual championship with a score of 615.2.
In the Free Pistol Championship, the matches are shot with a .22 calibre rimfire pistol and the firearms must have open sights, cannot have grips that come into contact beyond the wrist and feature no limit on barrel length.  There are no restrictions, however, on sight radius or trigger weight.
Competitors have two hours to fire 60 shots from a distance of 50 metres. After the opening round, the top eight shooters gathered for a ten-shot final.  And that was all the Naval Academy needed to get on the winners board with Frank being the ‘Top Gun’.
At the end, it came down to a shooter from North Dakota and a shooter without a team – that’s when eighteen-year-old Naval Academy Freshman Czerda Frank found a way to succeed.

‘SHOW TIME’
To a large extent, we’re defined by how we respond to adversity.  While he was left off the Naval Academy team for the Free Pistol Championships, Frank didn’t let that brush-off hinder him but summoned the mental strength and fired his way to a semifinal total of 521.
Although that was enough for a first place finish, he wasn’t alone since right up there was Matthew Pueppke of North Dakota State University, a  respected shooter in his own right.
“As the finals progressed, shot by shot, the two jockeyed back and forth for the top position. It wasn’t until the final shot, taken with a cool, calm demeanour, that Frank grabbed the lead for good,” reports stated.
Beating Pueppke with a final score of 615.2 to 609.3, Frank was suddenly surrounded by his Naval Academy brothers who lifted the Midshipman over their heads in celebration.
Frank is one of the two Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Cadet Officers of the Standard Officer Cadet Training Course #45, who were awarded scholarships by the US Government.
He is currently reading for a B.Sc. (Engineering) at the United States Naval Academy, which he began in September 2012. Prior to starting his study programme, Frank successfully completed the six weeks Plebe Summer at the Naval Academy.
Frank, however, is not unaccustomed to being a high flyer.  He was among the country’s top 100 students at the National Grade Six Assessment Examination and attended Queen’s College where he copped passes in 14 subjects
The Lamaha Gardens resident has two siblings, Chelsea and Curtly Frank, and he attends the South Road Full Gospel Church.
His parents are Dionne Frank, Head of Department of Sociology at the University of Guyana and Courtney Frank, Senior Air Traffic Control Officer Training, Guyana Civil Aviation Authority.