USA Shooting Shotgunners Roll a Lucky Seven in Acapulco

[USA Shooting]

USA Shooting Shotgunners Roll a Lucky Seven in Acapulco

Colorado Springs, CO (March 10, 2010)

ACAPULCO, MEX--USA Shooting’s National Shotgun Coach, Bret Erickson, shook his head in near-disbelief as US Skeet shooter Sean McLelland stepped onto the podium to accept his silver medal. Erickson held out his hands—one waving five fingers and the other waving two—and thought to himself, “Seven . . . .”

He was thinking of the seven medals won by US Shooting Team members at the season’s first World Cup. American shotgunners garnered at least one medal in all five events—Women’s Trap, Men’s Trap, Double Trap, Women’s Skeet, and Men’s Skeet—the most individual medals won by an American team at a World Cup in recent memory. McLelland’s silver medal in Men’s Skeet was the last award in an event that spanned six days beginning on March 3rd.

2008 Olympic bronze medalist in Women’s Trap, Corey Cogdell, began the cascade of US medal-mining with a fast start and solid hits that had her US teammates cheering. Her 91 X 100 earned a silver medal, her best performance since the Beijing games. Her teammate on the men’s side, John Mullins, had his best international performance to date with a 144 X 150 to grab the bronze. While trapshooting hasn’t been the strongest event for the US team in recent years, Cogdell and Mullins proved they can compete with the world’s best.

There was no doubt about who has the world’s strongest Double Trap team—the US trio of Josh Richmond, Jeff Holguin, and 16 year-old Billy Crawford combined to win the team gold medal in a rout. With Richmond capturing the individual gold with a score of 192 X 200, and Holguin grabbing the bronze with 191 X 200, there was solid consensus on the strength of this US team. Holguin was especially impressive as he cruised through the final shoot-off round with 50 X 50 hits, a rare accomplishment that left the Acapulco onlookers in awe.

"Awesome” might be the perfect word to describe the US Skeet team. America’s most decorated Olympic shooter, Kim Rhode, showed the form that has won her four Olympic medals in the past four Olympic games. Her 97 X 100 made her the walk-away winner, while her relatively inexperienced teammate, Amber English, dropped but one point behind with 96 X 100. Although she fell short in a sudden-death shootoff for the silver medal, English is gaining the confidence and poise that will make her a threat to Rhode and the World’s top women skeet shooters for years to come.

Indeed, the future looks bright for the US Team as it prepares for the three remaining World Cups and the season’s biggest event, the World Shooting Championship in Munich, Germany, in August. Head Coach Erickson’s medal-count goal for the entire season was 16, but now he may need to reset his sights. When asked how many medals he’d like to win in each of the remaining events this year, he simply shook his head and held up those fingers: Seven

For complete results of the Acapulco World Cup, click here ISSF Website & Results. Results of each World Cup and other major ISSF competitions appear at that site, and regular updates will be available at USA Shooting