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ACUI Shotgun


Collegiate Shotgun Competitors Aim for Spot on USA Shooting Team


Forty-fi ve collegiate shotgun competitors took to the range at the National Shooting Complex in San Antonio, Texas, in late March hoping to either solidify their National Team standing or earn a coveted spot on the USA Shooting National Development Team. Partnering with the Associa- tion of College Unions Interna- tional (ACUI) during their Colle- giate Clay Target Championships, USA Shooting along with team sponsor Winchester Ammunition, held the First Annual Internation- al Shootout (ISO) as a prelude to the Championships. The course of fi re for International Bunker Trap and International Skeet was a 75-target Preliminary Round plus Final.


When the dust had settled, USA Shooting’s Youth Programs and Athlete Development Man- ager Michael Theimer welcomed two new members to the USA Shooting Team, but only after four wild fi nals that saw none of the four top qualifi ers win as competitors were introduced to the new International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) rules in place that throws out qualifying scores in the fi nals. In Men’s Skeet, Lindenwood


University’s Ryan Smithart (Os- kaloosa, Iowa) beat out team- mate and National Junior Team member Dustin Perry (Lovelady, Texas) and Damian Giles of Fort Hays State University to grab the win in Men’s Skeet. Perry would qualify in fi rst position hit- ting 71/75 targets, but with the new rules, Smithart was able to climb up from his fourth qualify-


Pictured: Women’s Trap medalists Wilder, Nau and Dunford


ing position to earn the top po- dium spot. With his win, Smithart earned USA Shooting National Junior Team status for the fi rst time in his young career. In Women’s Skeet, National


Team member Caitlin Connor (Winnfi eld, La.) defeated a top-notch fi eld of competitors that also featured Junior Na- tional Team members Brandy Drozd (Bryan, Texas) and Gayla Gregory (College Station, Texas) along with nationally-ranked Morgan Craft (Muncy Valley, Pa.). Drozd would lead after qualify- ing, shooting a 70/75, which would have gave her fi ve-clay advantage under the previous rules. However, Connor and Craft would both push ahead in the new format with Drozd fi nishing third and Gregory fourth.


Con-


nor, who has medaled in each of the last four USA Shooting National Championships dating back to 2009, competed in the ISSF World Cup in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates (UAE) where she placed 31st in Qualifi cation. In Men’s Trap, Andrew Reed,


28 USA Shooting News | May 2013


competing for the University of Texas-Arlington,


withstood the


constant pressure of National Development Team member Casey “Jake” Wallace (Castiac, Ca- lif.) to secure victory. Ian Dupre of Hillsdale College would fi nish third. With his win, Reed also earned USA Shooting National Junior Team status. In Women’s Trap, USA Shoot- ing National Team member Mi- randa Wilder (Diana, Texas) of Schreiner University had little trouble separating from the com- petition once the event Finals be- gan. Ashley Nau of Fort Hays State University and Kassidee Dunford of the University of Utah fi nished second and third, respectively. At the recent International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup in Acapulco, Mexico, Wilder fi nished fi fth overall, making it to the semifi nal with 73/75 hits. She was unable to advance in the 15-shot semifi nal, hitting 11. Wilder, a four-time National Ju- nior Olympic champion, has fi n- ished runner-up at the past two USA Shooting National Champi-


onships and was the 2010 Ju- nior World Champion. Participants consisted of the top six competitors in the men and women’s division from the ACUI International Divisional Championships earlier this year in Tucson, Ariz., and Ft. Benning, Ga., as well as college athletes that participated in the ACUI Di- visional Championships but did not make the top six, and fi nally by any athlete who has partici- pated in a USAS-sanctioned event in the last 12 months. ACUI has organized the colle-


giate clay target championships for 45 years, the last 20 years at the National Shooting Complex. This week’s event will feature 550 collegiate athletes from over 60 colleges and universities taking part in competition featuring all the major disciplines of shotgun including: American Skeet and Trap; International Skeet & Trap; 5-stand and Sporting Clays. Founded in 1914, ACUI is a


nonprofi t educational organiza- tion that brings together college union and student activities professionals from hundreds of schools in seven countries. Its members work on urban and rural campuses, in two-year and four-year institutions, and at large and small schools.


For complete results of the 2013 International Shootout,


please scan this QR code with a smartphone.


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