Bavarian Airgun Recap
USA Shooting Athletes Advance to Six Finals Earn Three Medals at Bavarian Airgun Champs
USA Shooting athletes
attending the annual Bavarian Airgun Championships in Munich, Germany, scored big results in the year’s fi rst ma- jor competition including three medals among six fi nalists. The 12-person team made
up of both men and women air rifl e and pistol shooters was selected following results of the Winter Airgun Champion- ships held in November at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. 2012 Olympian Nick Mowrer (Butte, Mont.) and 2008 Olympian Brian Beaman (Selby, S.D.) were among the athletes participating along with shooters representing three NCAA Division I rifl e programs including Kentucky, West Virginia and Murray State. The results are particularly
signifi cant given the number of relative newcomers competing, which generally coincides with the start of any new quad. USA Shooting staff and coaches have identifi ed 2013 as a develop- mental progression year in which they’ll try and expose as many elite and emerging elite athletes to advance training and competi- tion in order to create depth in all shooting disciplines. Historically, the Bavarian Air-
gun Championships is one of the most strongly-contested events outside of the European World Cups. Competition features two days of matches with fi nals each day for juniors and open. Many countries use this competition for selection purposes for later events. This event also marked
the fi rst competition featuring equipment control with the new rules overseen by the Interna- tional Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Rifl e Committee along with new fi nals format to be used in competition. Highlighting the event for the
U.S. contingent were the three event medalists in Men’s Open Air Pistol, Men’s Junior Air Rifl e and Women’s Junior Air Rifl e. An early-morning regular on
the line at the U.S. Olympic Train- ing Center in Colorado Springs where he is a resident athlete, Will Brown (Twin Falls, Idaho) put his exhaustive training to good use in Munich earning a spot in two fi nals. Brown led all competitors in qualifi cation with a 585/600 and would go on to earn a bronze medal in the Men’s Open Air Pistol event on Friday, January 25 as he and Beaman secured two of the eight fi nals positions among the 76 participating shooters.
Brown
would follow that with a 581 qualifying score on Saturday to earn a second consecutive trip to the fi nals. He and Japan’s Tomoyuki Matsuda would be the only two of 16 fi nalists to earn two fi nals visits on the weekend. The Junior Air Rifl e events
were particularly well-executed by Team USA members with USA Shooting Junior Team mem- bers Connor Davis (Shelbyville, Ky.) and Elizabeth Gratz (Sigel, Ill.) securing a gold and sil- ver medal respectively in their events. Already among the top NCAA rifl e shooters on the sea- son, Kentucky standout Davis
has showcased his rise against top national and international competition recently at the Win- ter Airgun Championships and now the Bavarian Airgun Cham- pionships. He shot a 593/600 qualifying score combined with a leading 206.5 fi nal to earn the victory. His 206.5 fi nal was the third highest mark of all com- petitors competing in either the men’s open or junior division over four matches. The 16-year-old Gratz proved wise beyond her years in captur-
Men’s Air Rifl e Dempster Christenson (Sioux Fall, S.D.), 45 (592); 44th (591)
Junior Men’s Air Rifl e Elijah Ellis (Kingsport, Tenn.), 20th (590); 22nd (590) Connor Davis (Shelbyville, Ky.), 23rd (588); 1st (593 + 206.5) Garrett Spurgeon (Canton, Mo.), 63rd (570); 46th (583)
Women’s Air Rifl e Kelsey Emme (Rapid City, S.D.), 8th (398 +79.9); 47th (393) Emily Holsopple (Wilcox, Pa.), 54th (392); 60th (391)
Junior Women’s Air Rifl e Elizabeth Gratz (Sigel, Ill.), 18th (393); 2nd (396 + 206.9)
Men’s Air Pistol Will Brown (Twin Falls, Idaho), 3rd (585+180.6); 5th (581+137.8) Brian Beaman (Selby, S.D.), 8th (581+77.7); 12th (580) Nick Mowrer (Butte, Mont.), 37th (572); 22nd (577)
Junior Men’s Air Pistol Alexander Chichkov (Temple Terrace, Fla.), 19th (564)
Junior Women’s Air Pistol Lydia Paterson (Kansas City, Kan.), 32nd (369)
For complete results, scan this QR code with a smartphone device.
ing the silver medal. Entering the fi nal in sixth position after a 396/400 qualifi cation round, Gratz would move up to second with a 206.9 fi nal. Another notable was Kelsey
Emme (Rapid City, S.D.) who earned a fi nals berth in the Women’s Open Air Final with a 398/400. The Murray State sophomore would be the fi rst fi - nalist eliminated after her eighth shot in the fi nals to fi nish eighth.
Spring 2013 | USA Shooting News
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