USAMU Soldiers take 6 medals in National Championships

[USAMU]

USA Shooting & U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit

FORT BENNING, Ga. - Three more U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit Soldiers brought home medals June 21 in the USA Shooting 2005 National Pistol and Rifle Championships at the Pool International Shooting Complex.

In Men’s 50-Meter Free Pistol, Sgt. Keith A. Sanderson of the Army Marksmanship Unit won the National Championship. Sanderson, who just won the Interservice Pistol Championships June 15, took the Free Pistol Gold Medal with a score of 1,195.1.

Olympic Training Center resident athlete and 2004 Olympian Jason Turner took the Silver Medal in Men’s Free Pistol with a 1,192.9, while two-time Olympian Sgt. 1st Class Daryl L. Szarenski, also of the USAMU, took the Bronze with a 1,189.5. Szarenski was in first place going into the finals, but after a gun malfunction had to borrow one of his teammate’s guns, putting him at a great disadvantage.

Sanderson will join USAMU teammate Staff Sgt. Thomas A. Rose at the Championship of the Americas - called the CAT Games - in Salinas, Puerto Rico, in November. Men’s Free Pistol is the second event Rose has qualified to compete in at these games, which is open to U.S. juniors and first-year National Team members.

The USAMU Team of Szarenski, Rose and Sgt. John C. Ennis won the Free Pistol Team Match.
In the Women’s 25-Meter Sport Pistol event, three-time Olympian Rebecca “Beki” Snyder of Grand Junction, Colo., walked away with the win. Snyder, also an OTC athlete, won the Air Pistol competition earlier this week, and went into the Sport Pistol finals with a three-point lead on her next competitor Army Reserve Staff Sgt. Elizabeth “Libby” Callahan of Upper Marlboro, Md. Snyder finished with a 1,354.8 compared to Callahan’s second place total score of 1,351.4.

Teresa Meyer took third place with a 1,337.8, along with a place on the CAT Team, as well as a Gold Medal in the Junior Division. Meyer will be joined by Michelle Lacko, who came in fourth in this event and qualified for the National Team as well.

Olympic Gold Medalist OTC athlete Matt Emmons became the National Champion in the Men’s 10-Meter Air Rifle competition. He won his second event this week with a 1,291.5, one point over two-time Olympian Sgt. 1st Class Jason A. Parker who took the Silver. University of Nevada-Reno’s Ryan Tanoue got the Bronze with a 1,289.2. The Men’s Air Rifle CAT Team will be made up of brothers Jonathan and Joseph Hall of Carrollton, Ga.

The U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit Team of Parker, 1996 Olympian Lt. Col. Robert E. Harbison and Spc. Henry “Hank” L. Gray won the Men’s Air Rifle Team Match.

OTC athletes dominated the Women’s 10-Meter Air Rifle event. 2004 Olympian Emily Caruso won the Gold Medal with an 891.4 total score, and Amber Darland clinched the Silver with an 889.4. University of Alaska-Fairbanks junior Jamie Beyerle took the Bronze shooting an 887.8, then it was 2004 Olympian Sarah Blakeslee of the OTC, who finished in fourth and rounded out the National Team in this event. Going to the CAT Games will be Shasta Little and Kari Baldwin.

In the Men’s Air Pistol competition June 18, Szarenski won the Gold Medal and national championship title with a 1,259.4, four points above Turner, who got the Silver Medal. Rose took the Bronze Medal with a 1,247.6; this placed Rose on his first USA Shooting National Team and the CAT Games Team. Stephen Swartz was the next competitor to qualify, and finished in sixth with a 1,234.0; Brian Beaman was named to the CAT Team. The USAMU Team of Szarenski, Rose and Ennis won the Air Pistol Team Match.

In Women’s Air Pistol, Snyder walked away the champion with a score of 859.1. Diana Nee placed second with an 842.5 and Michelle Lacko took third with an 838.1. Nee and Lacko also won a spot on their first National Team, and will both be headed to the CAT Games. Callahan, a three-time Olympian, won the Gold Medal in the Senior Division and Navy Reserve Petty Officer 2nd Class Sandra Uptagrafft won the High A award.

University of Alaska-Fairbanks graduate Joe Hein won the Gold Medal with a 1,297.4 in the Men’s Free Rifle Prone event. 1996 Olympian U.S. Naval Reserve Lt. Eric Uptagrafft of Longmont, Colo., took the Silver Medal with a 1,296,2 and two-time Olympian Sgt. 1st Class Thomas A. Tamas of Columbus, Ga., received the Bronze Medal with a 1,296.0. Going to the CAT Games in this event will be Joseph Hall and Chris Abalo of Glendora, Calif., with scores of 1,287.7 and 1,286.7, respectively. The USAMU Team of Tamas, Parker and Sgt. Shane M. Barnhart won the Prone Rifle Team Match.

In the Men’s Three-Position Free Rifle competition, Emmons took the Gold Medal with a 2,447.6. Joseph Hall got Silver with a 2,434.6 and Uptagrafft the Bronze with 2,423.2. Hall will be joining Jason Dardas on the CAT Team in this event as well. USAMU Deputy Commander Robert W. Aylward got the Silver Medal in the Senior Division. The USAMU Team of Parker, Barnhart and 2004 Olympic Silver Medalist Maj. Michael E. Anti won the Three-Position Rifle Team Match.

“USA Shooting’s 2005 National Championships has turned out to be one of the biggest and best events it has seen in years,” said Sara Greenlee, USA Shooting media director. “It’s not only bigger, but it is definitely better, with more awards being given for the growing number of shooters. For the first time ever, thanks to Pilkington Competition, cash prizes have been thrown into the mix.”

Scott Pilkington, the owner of Pilkington Competition Equipment and is a frequent gunsmith for the USA Shooting Team at national and international events, said he was eager to do his part. Pilkington Competition is offering up to $7,000 cash to nonsupported shooters of various disciplines at different levels. Supported shooters such as the Olympic Training Center residents or U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit members are not eligible.

The U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit is hosting the USA Shooting National Championships for International Rifle and International Pistol through June 26 at Phillips and Pool ranges. For more information on the CAT Games Selection Process or for full results from the 2005 National Championships, log on to www.usashooting.org <http://cl.exct.net/?ffcc17-fe5b16737c6c ... 6d06797c1d>.