Winter Airgun Championships
Collegians Collect but Veterans Rule at 2013 Winter Airgun Championships USA SHOOTING
If the 2013 Winter Airgun Championships proved anything, it’s that dominance is hard to come by in a sport decided by fractions of an inch. The fi nal event on the 2013 USA Shoot- ing calendar saw Olympian Nick Mowrer (Butte, Mont.), Amy So- wash (Richmond, Ky.) and Teresa Chambers (Dearborn, Mich.) each win their respective events dur- ing two of the event’s three days, December 6 – 8. Mowrer and Sowash both had
their chance for a three-peat the fi nal day of competition at the Olympic Training Center (OTC) in Colorado Springs, Colo., but would settle for bronze medals instead. Chambers was .9 points away from winning on the open- ing day Dec. 6, but fell just short with silver. She rebounded over the weekend to earn two wins by .4 margin of victory on Dec. 7 and a .6 edge on Dec. 8. Those shooting veterans highlighted the weekend perfor- mances, but the collegiate rifl e competitors also showcased the sport’s depth and future. Restrained much of the week-
end from reaching the top of the podium, Kentucky rifl e shooter Connor Davis (Shelbyville, Ky.) showcased on the fi nal day the skill that led him to the National Championship this past summer and has him on his way to per- haps an even better 2014. He claimed both the men’s open and junior air rifl e titles on Dec. 8.
A 21st shot decided the Dec.
8 Open fi nal as Davis and George Norton (Ft. Ben- ning , Ga.)
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fi nal over Sarah Beard (Dan- ville, Ind.) to add to an already impres- s i v e week-
silver medal went to Will Brown (Twin Falls, Idaho), a 2013 World Cup gold medalist, who earned his fi rst medal in three events despite being highest qualifi er each of the three days. The other Brown family pistol
end
fin- ished d e a d - locked af- ter their fi rst 20 shots. Davis came out the winner in a fi nal shoot-off shot with a well-placed 10.2 to Norton’s 10.0. University of Memphis rifl e shooter Daniel Hermsmeier (Chesterfi eld, Mo.) followed with bronze. Showcas- ing the event’s depth, three dif- ferent winners graced the top step of the podium with Ryan An- derson (Wasilla, Alaska) and Bry- ant Wallizer (Little Orleans, Md.) also sharing the spotlight. Davis also defeated Ander-
son in the junior fi nal after a fa- tal 8.8 shot by Anderson on his third to last shot. Anderson still walked away from the 2013 WAG Championships having earned fi ve medals, including three gold and two silver. Davis scored four medals with two gold and two silver. Air Force Academy Rifl e ju-
nior Meredith Carpentier (Wauke- gan, Ill.) walked away with fi rst place in the Women’s Air Rifl e
for the 2 0 1 3 Junior Olym- pic champion. Carpentier claimed fi ve medals overall including
three gold and two bronze. Youth wasn’t a factor for Elizabeth Marsh
15-year-old
(Searcy, Ark.), who solidifi ed her potential with an outstanding weekend that included three sil- ver medals, including one in the Open division. Junior Air Pistol competitor
Lydia Paterson (Kansas City, Kan.) showcased the shooting touch that saw her become a Nation- al Team member at this year’s USA Shooting National Cham- pionships, winning four medals overall including two junior gold medals, a junior silver and an open bronze medal. Jason Turner (Rochester, N.Y.),
a three-time Olympian and 2008 Olympic bronze medalist in the event, scored a win on Dec. 8 to go with Dec. 7’s second-place result in the Men’s Air Pistol event that saw Mowrer take gold on two of the three days. The
shooter, Wyatt, picked up two of the three junior air pistol titles over the three days. The 2013 Junior Olympic Champion Brown edged Dec. 7’s event winner, Brian Kim (Los Angeles, Calif.), by 3.7 points on Dec. 8. Alexander Chichkov (Temple Terrace, Fla.) was the bronze medalist. Paralympic events in rifl e
and pistol were also contested throughout the event. In rifl e, Joshua Budd (Fort Benning, Ga.) won two of three events, but it was his Army Marksmanship Unit teammate John Joss (Fort Mi- chael, Ala.) who won the overall aggregate. In pistol, Kerry Morris (Grand Prairie, Texas) won two of the three event fi nals, but it was Erik Trueblood (Fort Benning, Ga.) who walked away as the overall winner using aggregate scoring. Based on Winter Airgun per-
formances, top air rifl e and pis- tol shooters were selected for events including the 2014 Ba- varian Airgun Championships in January in Munich, Germany, and the 2014 World Cup USA in Ft. Benning, Ga., March 26 – April 4.
March 2014 | USA Shooting News
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