Emmons, Sanderson, Turner and Shinn Finish on Top

[USA Shooting]

Emmons, Sanderson, Turner and Shinn Finish on Top at Rifle/Pistol National Championships



FT. BENNING, Ga. (July 2, 2008) – Matt Emmons, Keith Sanderson, Jason Turner and Brenda Shinn, who will all be representing the U.S. on the 2008 Olympic team, each earned the National Title in their respective event today at the 2008 USA Shooting National Championships for Rifle/Pistol.



Emmons (Browns Mills, N.J.), the 2004 Olympic gold medalist, captured the national title in the Men’s Prone Rifle event after shooting a score of 597 in his first match, followed by a perfect 600 in his second match and secured the win with a final of 105.1. Emmons finished with a total score of 1302.0. U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU) member Eric Uptagrafft (Spokane, Wash.), a 1996 Olympian, took second place with an overall score of 1299.1, while his USAMU teammate Michael McPhail (Darlington, Wis.) finished in third place with 1297.4. Forrest Klein (Columbus, Ga.) claimed the national title in the Junior Men’s Prone Rifle event after finishing with a total score of 1280.0. Cody Rutter (Palmyra, Pa.) took second place with 1279.6 and Thomas Santelli (Prosperity, Pa.) finished in third place with 1277.3.




In the Men’s Rapid Fire Pistol event, 2008 U.S. Olympic team member Sanderson (San Antonio, Texas) finished in first place, claiming the national title and setting a new national record for his second match score of 590. Sanderson shot a 577 in his first match and a 198.2 in the final to finish with an overall score of 1365.2. USAMU member John Ennis (Simi Valley, Calif.) took second place with 1339.3, while USAMU member Brad Balsley (Uniontown, Pa.) finished in third place with 1338.4. Balsley also claimed the junior national title.



In the Men’s Air Pistol event, 2004 Olympian Turner (Rochester, N.Y.) took the national title for the second year in a row with a final score of 1270.8. Turner, who will represent the U.S. on the 2008 Olympic team in Beijing next month, also set a new national record for a match score of 587, plus a final score of 101.8. Turner’s 2008 U.S. Olympic teammates Brian Beaman (Selby, S.D.) and USAMU member Daryl Szarenski (Saginaw, Mich.), a two-time Olympian, finished in second and third places respectively with scores of 1254.5 and 1254.0. For the junior men, Nick Mowrer (Ramsay, Mont.) finished first with 1237.2, Alex Callage (Columbia, Md.) took second with 1223.2 and Anthony Lutz (Tonganoxie, Kan.) finished in third place with 1204.4.



In Women’s Air Pistol, 2008 U.S. Olympic team member Shinn (Riverside, Calif.) claimed the national title with an overall score of 854.6. Three-time Olympian Libby Callahan (Columbia, S.C.), who is also on the 2008 U.S. Olympic team, finished second with 832.5 and Teresa Meyer (Dearborn, Mich.) took third place with 831.8. Courtney Anthony (Lexington, Neb.) earned the national title for the Junior Air Pistol Women with 830.0, while Kelsey Imig (Westminster, Pa.) finished in second place with 824.3 and Hannah Lewis (Colorado Springs, Colo.) took third with a total score of 806.7.



The 2008 USA Shooting National Championships for Rifle and Pistol are being held at Ft. Benning’s International Shooting Complex, home of the USAMU and run through July 5.



Complete Rifle/Pistol National Championship results are available on www.usashooting.org