Junior Shooters

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Sanchez Wins Air Rifle Gold at National Junior Olympic Shooting Championships

Colorado Springs, April 11, 2019

 Matthew Sanchez picked up his second medal this week at the National Junior Olympic Shooting Championships (NJOSC), but this time he was atop the podium today, winning gold in Men’s Air Rifle at the Olympic Shooting Center in Colorado Springs.

The high school junior from Tampa, Florida entered the Final with the highest two-day Qualification score of 1245.8 Though he finished in seventh place in today’s Final (Additional points – four for first, 3.5 for second, three for third and so on –  were awarded based on finish in the Final), Sanchez was able to keep the gold from Finals winner and eventual silver medalist Jared Eddy (Midland, Georgia), who shot an impressive Finals score of 247.2.

The West Virginia freshman’s Finals win also featured three, 10.9 shots – two of them occurring in a row. A 10.9 is a perfect shot in international rifle or pistol. As this was a selection match for the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Junior World Cup in Germany this summer, all athletes shot two Qualification matches and were selected for the Final based on cumulative points. Medals were awarded on the total points from Qualification and Finals finish.

“I had a little trouble with air right before the match, but I managed to sort things out,” Sanchez said. “Once the first day hit, I had my stuff together and was able to put up a really good score.” Sanchez, 16, departs for Beijing, China in one week where he will compete in the ISSF World Cup.

“This was like my third or fourth time out here and I remember coming in first as a J3,” Sanchez said. “I was looking at all these people and seeing how good the competition was, then fast forward a couple years to now, I’m now one of the top-10 consistently and it’s been a long journey! It’s definitely been a good, long trip and I was feeling good for this one after the Spring Selection Match.”

Air Force Academy sophomore Nate Peterson (Sharpsburg, Georgia) finished second in the Final and took the bronze medal overall. The top-three overall finishers not only won medals, but appointments to the National Junior Team, along with their berths at the ISSF Junior World Cup.

Sanchez also won silver in the Men’s Three-Position Rifle event on Tuesday. He also won silver in Men’s Air Rifle at last year’s NJOSC.

Winning gold in the J2 (age 15-17) classification awards were Scott Rockett (Cary, North Carolina) for gold, Phillip Becker (Granbury, Texas) for silver and Gavin Barnick (Mora, Minnesota) for bronze.

In the J3 (ages 14 and younger) category, Braden Peiser (San Angelo, Texas) won gold, Logan Michael (Lincoln, California)won silver and Marcus Klemp (Missoula, Montana) won bronze.

The 172 athletes competing in Men’s Air Rifle won their chance to compete at NJOSC because of their finishes at the state-level Junior Olympic matches. Overall, 607 athletes from 48 states will compete in Rifle, Pistol and Paralympic events throughout the three-week NJOSC. The NJOSC features the top 34 percent of all competitors in 2019 and will feature invitees that either won their state championship or were selected based on a score they attained.  The competitors range in age from nine to 20 years old.

Complete results, start lists and more information about the NJOSC program: http://www.usashooting.org/7-events/njosc/njoscrifle. 

View and download images from the Men’s Air Rifle competition at NJOSC: https://flic.kr/s/aHskQpM4RB.

Fiori Repeats as National Junior Olympic Champion

Colorado Springs, April 9th, 2019

The first medals of the National Junior Olympic Shooting Championships (NJOSC) for Rifle and Pistol were awarded today in the Men’s Three-Position Rifle competition at the Olympic Shooting Center in Colorado Springs.

Winning the gold medal today was defending NJOSC champion and Air Force Academy freshman Peter Fiori, Jr. (Lebanon, New Jersey). As this is a selection match for the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Junior World Cup in Germany this summer, all athletes shot two Qualification matches and were selected for the Final based on cumulative points. Additional points (eight for first, seven for second and so on) were awarded based on finish in the Final. By a dominating 14-point margin, Fiori had already locked down the gold, even before the Finals. During his second day of Qualification, Fiori shot a score of 1178 – a world-class score at the Open (adult) level and a new National Junior Record to give him the points for the win.

“My second day of Qualification was 23-points higher than the first!” said Fiori. “I have no idea what was working. I had a test at 6:30 in the morning that day and was really tired, and I just kind of showed up to the match and it just worked! I don’t know. It’s a personal best too, so maybe I need to take more tests at 6:30 in the morning?” Fiori joked.

Also sealing the silver medal before the Final was Matthew Sanchez (Tampa, Florida) with a two-day cumulative score of 2325. Sanchez will leave for China next week to compete in the ISSF World Cup in Beijing.

The bronze medal was determined by finish in today’s final and went to University of Alaska Fairbanks freshman Kellen McAferty (Little Rock, Washington), who won the Final. The top-three overall finishers not only won medals, but appointments to the National Junior Team, along with their berths at the ISSF Junior World Cup in Germany this summer.

Winning the J2 (age 15-17) classification awards were Scott Rockett (Cary, North Carolina) for gold, Kyle Kutz (Darien, Connecticut) for silver and Philip Becker (Granbury, Texas) for bronze.

In the J3 (ages 14 and younger) category, Braden Peiser (San Angelo, Texas) won gold, Griffin Lake (Emmaus, Pennsylvania) won silver and Nathan Engman (Albertville, Minnesota) won bronze.

The 61 athletes in Men’s Three-Position rifle won their chance to compete at NJOSC due to their finishes at the state-level Junior Olympic matches. Overall, 607 athletes from 48 states will compete in Rifle, Pistol and Paralympic events throughout the three-week NJOSC. The NJOSC features the top 34 percent of all competitors in 2019 and will feature invitees that either won their state championship or were selected based on a score they attained.  The competitors range in age from nine to 20 years old.

Complete results start lists and more information about the NJOSC program: http://www.usashooting.org/7-events/njosc/njoscrifle.

View and download images from the Men’s Three-Position Rifle competition from NJOSC: https://flic.kr/s/aHskQkuN3D.

Way Wins Air Rifle at National Junior Olympic Shooting Championships

Colorado Springs, April 15. 2019

That’s what local athlete Macey Way proclaimed today after winning gold in Women’s Air Rifle at the National Junior Olympic Shooting Championships (NJOSC) at the Olympic Shooting Center in Colorado Springs.

Way, 17, won her first overall medal at NJOSC on her home range before the Final even began, posting two impressive Qualification scores of 623.9 and 623.7. With the two-day total of 1247.6, Way had already put the gold medal out of reach for anyone else, regardless of her finish in the Final. (Additional points – four for first, 3.5 for second, three for third and so on –  were awarded based on finish in the Final. )

As this was a selection match for the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Junior World Cup in Germany this summer, all athletes shot two Qualification matches and were selected for the Final based on cumulative points. Medals, National Junior Team appointments and slots on the team going to Germany were awarded on the total points from Qualification and Finals finish.

“I was so nervous, even going into Finals because it’s the most fun part of all the matches!” said Way. “I just really wanted to do well, but in the months before this I just trained, and I trained, and I tried to get coaching from everyone I could that was bigger than me or that I knew, and I just knew I was prepared, and I came in mentally prepared, physically prepared – knowing I was ready. This was the first time I’ve won something so big and I’m just so excited because I’ve got my team jacket! It’s been a goal since I was 13 just to get this medal so achieving it just feels so good!” Way, who will enter Nebraska this fall as a freshman, will also make her international competition debut at the Junior World Cup in Germany.

NCAA Air Rifle National Champion Kristen Hemphill (Lohn, Texas) won the silver medal, but the bronze medal was decided in a shootoff between the second-place finisher from the NCAA National Championships Angeline Henry (Fort Worth, Texas) and 15-year-old Katie Zaun (Buffalo, North Dakota). Zaun had won the Final so the additional four points she earned for that effort put her in a tied position of 1244.2 points with Henry. Zaun won the shootoff with Henry, 10.6 to 10.3 for the bronze.

Winning medals in the J2 (age 15-17) classification awards were Morgan Kreb (Colorado Springs, Colorado) for gold, Martina Gratz (Sigel, Illinois) for silver and Sarah Lough (Morgantown, West Virginia) for bronze.

In the J3 (ages 14 and younger) category, Shadya Maymes (San Diego, California) won gold, Nicolette Hoffman (Armour, South Dakota) won silver and Elizabeth Probst (Brady, Texas) won bronze.

Results from this match: https://bit.ly/2KDt1lG.

The Women’s Three-Position Rifle competition at NJOSC begins tomorrow with Finals Thursday at 3:30pm MT.

The 202 athletes competing in Women’s Air Rifle won their chance to compete at NJOSC because of their finishes at the state-level Junior Olympic matches. Overall, 607 athletes from 48 states will compete in Rifle, Pistol and Paralympic events throughout the three-week NJOSC. The NJOSC features the top 34 percent of all competitors in 2019 and will feature invitees that either won their state championship or were selected based on a score they attained.  The competitors range in age from nine to 20 years old.

Complete results, start lists and more information about the NJOSC program: http://www.usashooting.org/7-events/njosc/njoscrifle. 

View and download images from the Women’s Air Rifle competition at NJOSC: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmCTRHzq.

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