Soldiers of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit took home numerous medals from the USA Shooting Champion of Champions Rifle and Pistol Matches Sept. 24 to 30; two Navy Reservists, an Army Reservist and a cadet from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., also were awarded.
USAMU international rifle shooter Sgt. Henry “Hank” L. Gray won the Free Rifle Prone Southeast Regional Championships, as well as the USA Shooting Open Division Championship. USAMU’s Olympic Silver Medalist Maj. Michael E. Anti took second place in the Regionals and his USAMU teammate Spc. Michael D. McPhail got third. West Point Cadet Chris Abalo was second and McPhail took third in the USA Shooting Open Championship.
Anti won the Regionals Three Position Free Rifle Championship, followed by USAMU’s two-time Olympian Sgt. 1st Class Jason A. Parker in second place and 2nd Lt. Lucas F. Leinberger of the USAMU in third. 2004
Olympic Gold Medalist Matt Emmons of Colorado Springs, Colo., won the Overall Championship and Anti and Parker also took second and third respectively.
Emmons won the Overall Air Rifle Championship; Parker was second and Ryan Tanoue of Honolulu, Hawaii, was third. Parker won the Regional Air Rifle Championships, Spc. David R. Sprecher of the USAMU was second and Leinberger was third.
USAMU international pistol shooter two-time Olympian Sgt. 1st Class Daryl L. Szarenski won the Men’s Air Pistol and Men’s Free Pistol Regional and Overall Championships. USAMU’s Sgt. 1st Class Thomas A. Rose was second in the Free and Air Pistol Regionals and third overall in Air Pistol. 2004 Olympian Jason Turner of Rochester, N.Y., took second place in the Free Pistol Championship and second place in the Air Pistol Open Division.
Army Staff Sgt. Keith A. Sanderson, who trains at the Olympic Training Center of Colorado Springs, won the Men’s Rapid Fire Pistol Overall Championship; he was also the Interservice Champion. John Bickar of Canton, Ohio, took second place in the overall Rapid Fire Championships.
Pvt. 2 Brad A. Balsley of the USAMU won the Rapid Fire Pistol Regional and Junior Championships and was third overall; he also set a junior national record. USAMU’s Sgt. James A. Ruiz Jr. took second place in the Rapid Fire Regionals and USAMU Executive Officer Robert W. Aylward was the senior winner and set a senior national record.
Navy Reserve Petty Officer 2nd Class Sandra Uptagrafft won the Women’s Air Pistol Overall Championship; Army Reservist Staff Sgt. Elizabeth A. “Libby” Callahan, a three-time Olympian, took second place. Callahan won the Women’s Sport Pistol Overall Championship and Uptagrafft was second.
McPhail won the Free Rifle Prone Interservice Championship, followed by Gray in second place and Sgt. 1st Class Thomas A. Tamas of the USAMU in third. Anti was the Three Position Free Rifle winner, Navy Reservist Lt. Eric Uptagrafft was second and Parker was third.
Parker won the Air Rifle Interservice Championship and Leinberger was third; Uptagrafft was second.
Rose won the Men’s Air Pistol Interservice Championship and Szarenski was second. Szarenski won the Free Pistol Interservice Championship and Rose was second. Balsley was second in the Rapid Fire Championship and Ruiz was third. Uptagrafft won the Women’s Interservice Air Pistol Championship.
(Formed in 1956 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to raise the standards of marksmanship throughout the U.S. Army, the Army Marksmanship Unit is assigned to the Accessions Support Brigade of the U.S. Army Accessions Command. The Marksmanship Unit trains its Soldiers to win competitions and enhances combat readiness through train-the-trainer clinics, research and development. For more information on the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, contact the Public Affairs Office at (706) 545-5436,
paula.j.randall@us.army.mil or
http://www.usaac.army.mil/amu/. USA Shooting is recognized by the U.S. Olympic Committee and the International Shooting Sport Federation as the national governing body for the Olympic and international shooting sports in the United States. For more information on USA Shooting, contact Public Relations Manager Mary Beth Vorwerk at (719) 866-4896,
marybeth.vorwerk@usashooting.org or
http://www.usashooting.com.)