Wallace, Beaman, Morrill and Uptagrafft Claim Day One

[USA Shooting]

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (December 5, 2008) – The first day of competition at the 2008 USA Shooting 3 X Air Match took place today with Matt Wallace, Brian Beaman, Meghann Morrill and Sandra Uptagrafft claiming first place in their respective categories.



Olympic Training Center Resident Athlete Matt Wallace (Fairbanks, Alaska), shot a qualifying score of 592 and a final of 101.0 for an overall score of 693.0 to capture the day one title in Men’s 10m Air Rifle. Tom Csenge (Keene, N.H.) took second place with a total score of 692.0 and Ethan Settlemires (Walnut, Miss.) finished in third place with 690.2, which was also the top score for the juniors, earning him the junior title. Dempster Christenson (Sioux Falls, S.D.) and Joseph Clark (Woburn, Mass.) each ended the final with an overall score of 686.1 and in a shoot-off for second place, Christenson defeated Clark firing a 9.9 to Clark’s 9.5 to earn the second spot, while Clark took third.



In Men’s Pistol, 2008 Olympian Brian Beaman (Selby, S.D.) captured the top spot with a match score of 578, a final of 95.1 for an overall score of 673.1. Jason Turner (Rochester, N.Y.), the 2008 Olympic bronze medalist in Men’s 10m Air Rifle took second place with a total score 671.4. Nick Budnella (Colorado Springs, Colo.) finished in third place with 670.2. For the Junior Pistol men, Anthony Lutz (Tonganoxie, Kan.) took the day one title with a total score of 668.8 while Gary Reburn (Kensington, Md.) finished second with 657.8 and Jack Dutoit (Arlington, Texas) claimed third place with 644.0.



It was a close match today in the Women’s Air Rifle event with Meghann Morrill (Verdi, Nev.) grabbing the title with a qualification score of 397, a final of 101.8 for a total of 498.8. Two-time Olympian Emily Caruso (Fairfield, Conn.) grabbed second place with 498.2 and 2008 Olympian Jamie Beyerle (Lebanon, Pa.) finished right behind Caruso in third place with 498.1. Emily Holsopple (Wilcox, Pa.) finished in first place for the Junior Rifle women with a total score 495.4, while 2008 Olympian Sandra Fong (New York, N.Y.) took second place with 493.1 and Caitlin Morrissey (Topeka, Kan.) claimed third place with 491.6.



In Women’s Air Pistol, Sandra Uptagrafft (Phenix City, Ala.) captured first place with a match score of 378, a final score of 93.5 for an overall score of 471.5. Elisabeta Nishica (Acworth, Ga.), finished right behind Uptagrafft in second place with 471.3 and 2008 Olympian Brenda Shinn (Riverside, Calif.) took third place with 470.2. Courtney Anthony (Lexington, Neb.) took the junior title with 459.5, while Kelsey Imig (Westminster, Mass.) claimed second with 459.3 and Hannah Lewis (Colorado Springs, Colo.) captured the third spot with 450.7.



Approximately 220 rifle and pistol airgun shooters from across the United States as well as Canada, France, Great Britain, South Africa and Sweden are competing this 3 X Air Match at the U.S. Olympic Shooting Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., with competition running through Sunday, December 7. Identical competitions will take place in rifle and pistol with finals matches closing out each day of competition. This three-day event will serve as a qualifier for the Bavarian Airgun Match in Munich, Germany, which will be held in January.



A full match schedule as well as complete 3 X Air match results can be found by visiting USA Shooting’s website at www.usashooting.org.







Mary Beth Vorwerk

USA Shooting

Media and Public Relations Manager

719-866-4896

www.usashooting.org