Championships of the Americas:

[USA Shooting]

Competition Recap

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.


The USA Shooting Team left Brazil with a sense of accomplishment. At the Championships of the Americas, the developing elite shooters sent down to Rio de Janeiro, came home with 14 medals, seven quotas and a strong presence in the finals. The team's quota-winning ways began with Spc. Matt Rawlings (Wharton, Texas) and his world-class score of 697.7 total points for the gold medal. Olympic Training Center Resident Athlete Bryant Wallizer (Little Orleans, Md.) moved up in the standings with the highest final of 102.2 points to finish with 693.2 total points for the bronze medal. National Rifle Coach Major Dave Johnson commented, "We had a good day today. Matt Rawlings shot a world class score of 597 to win the match and quota; Bryant Wallizer made his international debut for the USA with a Bronze--almost catching the silver from two points behind."

In Men's 50m Pistol, 2008 Olympians Jason Turner (Rochester, N.Y.) and Brian Beaman (Selby, S.D.) both shot in the final. Turner won the quota and gold medal with 665.6 total points. Beaman finished eighth with 631.1 total points. In Women's 25m Pistol, the USA Shooting Team's Libby Callahan (Columbia, S.C.) shot 565 points in qualification and an outstanding 202.5 points in the final to finish fifth. Teresa Meyer (Dearborn, Mich.) shot for 767 total points to finish sixth. Brenda Shinn (Riverside, Calif.) tallied 765.1 total points for seventh place.

The United States proved that it is home to the best Women's Trap shooters in the Western Hemisphere. Corey Cogell (Eagle River, Alaska) and Rachael Heiden (Clinton, Mich.) battled it out for the gold medal. Heiden was leading by one target headed into the final (73 out of 75 targets to 72 out of 75 targets), but Cogdell's 18 out of 25 targets sent the pair to a shoot-off. Cogdell bested Heiden four targets to three to win the gold and quota. Kelsey Zauhar (Lakeville, Minn.) finished with 62 out of 75 targets in qualification and beat two other shooters to claim a spot in the final. She shot 19 targets out of 25 targets in the final to tie Brazil's Karla de Bona for the bronze medal. In just three targets, Zauhar would have earned the bronze medal and the American sweep, yet a single country sweep is not allowed.

Olympic Training Center Resident Athlete Amy Sowash (Richmond, Ky.) narrowly missed the quota as she finished third in Women's 10m Air Rifle with 392 qualification points and 102.7 points in the final for 494.7 total points. Meghann Morrill (San Antonio, Texas) tied Sowash with 391 qualification points and a strong final of 103.7 points for 494.7 total points. In a shoot-off for the bronze, Sowash fired a 9.9 to Morrill's 9.8 for the bronze medal.

In Men's Trap, Collin Wietfeldt (Hemlock, Mich.) was situated in third entering the final with 117 out of 125 targets. Wietfeldt finished with 136 out of 150 targets for fourth place. National Shotgun Coach Bret Erickson, said, "In his first international competition, Collin delivered a solid performance and handled the pressure like a veteran. We are looking forward to the World Cups in 2011."

In Men's Rapid Fire Pistol, Emil Milev (Tampa, Fla.) brought home the silver medal with a total of 774 points. His teammate, Cpl. Brad Balsley (Uniontown, Pa.) shot 568 points in qualification and 192.1 points in the final for 760.1 total points and a fifth place finish.

In Men's Double Trap, Junior Team Members Ian Rupert (Muncy, Pa.) and Billy Crawford (Johnstown, Ohio) made a fierce run for the gold medal. Rupert finished with the silver medal as he shot a total of 178 out of 200 targets. Crawford scored 130 out of 150 targets in qualification and was seeded low in the final. With a strong final of 46 out of 50 targets, he shot his way up to tie with Brazil's Luiz Fernando Mogor da Garca. Crawford powdered the first two targets as Mogor da Garca missed both, and ended the shoot-off for the bronze.

On Nov. 27, Beaman was seeded in the middle of the final with 580 points in qualification. The leader, Brazil's Julio Almeida, had a commanding 585 points in qualification. Beaman forged ahead with an outstanding 102.3 points in the final. With just one shot left, Beaman fired a 9.7 to Almeida's 7.5 for the gold medal and quota. Turner finished fourth with 677.5 total points. Olympic Training Center Resident Athlete Nick Mowrer (Butte, Mont.) shot a solid 570 points in qualification and a terrific final of 101.3 points for 671.3 total points and fifth place.

In Men's 50m Rifle Three Position, the USA Shooting Team was represented by Sgt. Joe Hein (Mason, Mich.), Sgt. George Norton (Fort Benning, Ga.) and Matt Wallace (Fairbanks, Alaska). Hein shot a world-class score of 1170 in qualification and 98.4 points in the final to finish with 1268.4 total points. Hein's superior score was the gold . . . and quota standard. Norton brought home the silver medal with 1157 points in qualification and a solid final of 98.8 points for 1255.8 total points. Continuing the strong American showing was Wallace who shot 1160 points in qualification and 91.9 points in the final for 1251.9 total points. Though Wallace's score was mathematically the bronze medal winner, he finished fourth.

In Women's 10m Air Pistol, Meyer finished fourth in Women's 10m Air Pistol. Meyer shot for 374 qualification points and a final of 97.3 points for a total of 471.3 points. Meyer stayed on target to narrowly beat the fifth place finisher, Canada's Lynda Hare, by just two-tenths of a point.

Wrapping up the CAT Games, the USA Shooting Team won two more quotas on the last day of competition. In Men's Skeet, Frank Thompson (Alliance, Neb.) finished with 146 out of 150 targets. Thompson was just one target shy of the gold medal, but his silver medal finish brought home a quota for the USA. In Women's 50m Rifle Three Position, Sandy Fong (New York, N.Y.) shot her way to the silver medal and quota with 574 points in qualification and 92 points in the final to finish with 666 total points. Her teammate, Amanda Furrer (Spokane, Wash.) fired 575 points in qualification and 81 points in the final. Furrer's third shot in the final was not counted because she fired after 75 seconds. With a total of 656 total points, Furrer finished in sixth place. National Rifle Coach Dave Johnson said, "Sandy did pretty well. Her kneeling was well-shot in hard wind and put her in position to earn a quota."

The USA Shooting Team ends the 2010 competition season with a total of 12 London 2012 quotas. Quotas will be available at World Cups in the 2011 season, where the USA Shooting Team plans to win the rest of its quotas for the Olympic Games. Aside from regional competitions, the USA Shooting Team will spend the next two months recuperating before flying overseas for more international competitions. With a strong finish on 2010, the USA Shooting Team is looking forward to a successful 2011.
ELEY is a Proud Sponsor of the USA Shooting Rifle and Pistol Teams: ELEY Limited, manufacturer of the world's most consistently accurate rimfire ammunition, has been the Official Sponsor and Official Supplier of .22 rimfire ammunition of the USA Shooting rifle and pistol teams since 2000. For more information on ELEY and their products, please visit www.eley.co.uk.

Winchester Ammunition is a Proud Sponsor of the USA Shooting Shotgun Team: Winchester® Ammunition has been the exclusive ammunition sponsor and supplier of the USAShooting Shotgun Team since 1999. Members of the 2008 shotgun team brought home four medals from Beijing using Winchester AA International Target loads. Winchester is an industry leader in advancing and supporting conservation, hunter education and our country's proud shooting sports heritage. For more information about Winchester and its complete line of products, visit www.winchester.com.

About USA Shooting:
USA Shooting, a 501c3 non-profit corporation, was chartered by the United States Olympic Committee as the National Governing Body for the sport of shooting in April 1995. USA Shooting's mission is to prepare American athletes to win Olympic medals, promote the shooting sports throughout the U.S. and govern the conduct of international shooting in the country. Check us out on the web at www.usashooting.org and on Twitter at twitter.com/USAShooting.


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[Brian21]

Firstly, congrats to the shooters.

One question I don't understand the statement, "a clean sweep is not allowed".

Does that mean any country that theoretically places in 1st, 2nd and 3rd gets 1st, 2nd and 4th, with the 4th placed country taking the bronze?

Is this because in normal Olympic level shooting, only 2 participants from one country can compete in any single event, and therefore a clean sweep would not be possible?