U.S. Rifle Team makes another strong showing--
Posted: Thu Mar 11, 2004 5:23 pm
Sydney, Australia - The U.S. Rifle Team barely caught its breath from Bangkok before going at it again in Sydney, making its second appearance at a World Cup this year just as successful as the first.
Eric Uptagrafft (Longmont, Colo.) clinched a gold medal in men's prone. The U.S. Navy sponsored Uptagrafft's trip to Sydney and he made sure it didn't go to waste, grabbing his second medal in a World Cup event in 10 months.
Uptagrafft led throughout the qualifying rounds, hitting a 598, which placed him in first going into the finals. There he shot a 102, for a respectable score of 700 and the gold. Uptagrafft, a 1996 Olympian in prone, looks to be one of the favorites going into the Olympic Trials held in late May.
"Eric has truly set himself on the stage as a world-class competitor. He just keeps proving that time and time again," National coach David Johnson said.
The big surprise in this event was from the National Development Team member, Chris Abalo. Abalo, a 17-year-old from Glendora, Calif., stepped in to take the place of a team member, and surprised everyone. First, Abalo shot a world-class score of 597, making it into the finals, and then continued to shoot a 101.3 to finish in a tie for sixth place. He went on to shoot a 9.8 in the shoot-off, which couldn't quite beat the 10.7 from Austria's Wolfram Waibel, but was still a tremendous effort for his first World Cup ever.
"You know you have a great competitor on your hands when they get this kind of an opportunity and run with it," Johnson said. "He showed composure beyond his years." Abalo was the youngest shooter in the finals by at least 10 years.
Matt Emmons (Browns Mills, N.J.) proved that he is one of the strongest three-event shooters the U.S. has by capturing the bronze medal in the men's three-position event. Emmons took a silver medal in the men's air rifle event a couple weeks ago at the World Cup Bangkok, and is also a heavy favorite going into May's Olympic Selection.
Emmons was third going into the finals of the three-position event with a score of 1,174. In the finals he hit a 95.9 and finished out two points ahead of his next competitor. Two-time Olympian Mike Anti (Ft. Benning, Ga.) made it into the finals of the three-position competition with a score of 1,164, and finished in seventh place with a 92.5 final.
Amber Darland (Delta Junction, Alaska) and Jamie Beyerle (Lebanon, Pa.) both made it into the final of the women's three-position event. Darland shot a 580, putting her in fifth place going into the final. She then shot a 97.1 to hang on to her fifth-place position, also marking her highest finish ever at a World Cup. Beyerle couldn't pull much magic out of her eight-place landing spot. Shooting a 97.9 in the final didn't help the Olympic hopeful gain any ground.
The Sydney World Cup was open to all disciplines-shotgun, rifle, pistol and running target, yet the other U.S. teams were hard pressed to find much success. Armando Ayala (Columbus, Ga.) made the final in the running target event, shooting a 570 for fifth place. But, his 98.3 didn't make up the five-point spread he needed to win a medal.
The Pistol Team saw Daryl Szarenski (Seale, Ala.) place ninth, just missing the 50m free pistol final, while Elizabeth Callahan (Upper Marlboro, Md.) and Rebecca Snyder (Grand Junction, Colo.), both favorites for the U.S. in the 25m sport pistol event, finished with a 577 and tied for 10th place.
The U.S. Shotgun Team sent over a handful of Olympic hopefuls to clinch the necessary minimum qualifying scores, however, didn't see any success making the finals.
For more information, please contact USA Shooting's media and public relations director, Sara Greenlee at 719-866-4896 or by email at sara.greenlee@usashooting.org.
Sara J. Greenlee
Director of Media Relations
USA Shooting
1 Olympic Plaza
Colorado Springs, CO 80909
719.866.4896
cell. 719.310.2606
fax. 719.635.7989
Eric Uptagrafft (Longmont, Colo.) clinched a gold medal in men's prone. The U.S. Navy sponsored Uptagrafft's trip to Sydney and he made sure it didn't go to waste, grabbing his second medal in a World Cup event in 10 months.
Uptagrafft led throughout the qualifying rounds, hitting a 598, which placed him in first going into the finals. There he shot a 102, for a respectable score of 700 and the gold. Uptagrafft, a 1996 Olympian in prone, looks to be one of the favorites going into the Olympic Trials held in late May.
"Eric has truly set himself on the stage as a world-class competitor. He just keeps proving that time and time again," National coach David Johnson said.
The big surprise in this event was from the National Development Team member, Chris Abalo. Abalo, a 17-year-old from Glendora, Calif., stepped in to take the place of a team member, and surprised everyone. First, Abalo shot a world-class score of 597, making it into the finals, and then continued to shoot a 101.3 to finish in a tie for sixth place. He went on to shoot a 9.8 in the shoot-off, which couldn't quite beat the 10.7 from Austria's Wolfram Waibel, but was still a tremendous effort for his first World Cup ever.
"You know you have a great competitor on your hands when they get this kind of an opportunity and run with it," Johnson said. "He showed composure beyond his years." Abalo was the youngest shooter in the finals by at least 10 years.
Matt Emmons (Browns Mills, N.J.) proved that he is one of the strongest three-event shooters the U.S. has by capturing the bronze medal in the men's three-position event. Emmons took a silver medal in the men's air rifle event a couple weeks ago at the World Cup Bangkok, and is also a heavy favorite going into May's Olympic Selection.
Emmons was third going into the finals of the three-position event with a score of 1,174. In the finals he hit a 95.9 and finished out two points ahead of his next competitor. Two-time Olympian Mike Anti (Ft. Benning, Ga.) made it into the finals of the three-position competition with a score of 1,164, and finished in seventh place with a 92.5 final.
Amber Darland (Delta Junction, Alaska) and Jamie Beyerle (Lebanon, Pa.) both made it into the final of the women's three-position event. Darland shot a 580, putting her in fifth place going into the final. She then shot a 97.1 to hang on to her fifth-place position, also marking her highest finish ever at a World Cup. Beyerle couldn't pull much magic out of her eight-place landing spot. Shooting a 97.9 in the final didn't help the Olympic hopeful gain any ground.
The Sydney World Cup was open to all disciplines-shotgun, rifle, pistol and running target, yet the other U.S. teams were hard pressed to find much success. Armando Ayala (Columbus, Ga.) made the final in the running target event, shooting a 570 for fifth place. But, his 98.3 didn't make up the five-point spread he needed to win a medal.
The Pistol Team saw Daryl Szarenski (Seale, Ala.) place ninth, just missing the 50m free pistol final, while Elizabeth Callahan (Upper Marlboro, Md.) and Rebecca Snyder (Grand Junction, Colo.), both favorites for the U.S. in the 25m sport pistol event, finished with a 577 and tied for 10th place.
The U.S. Shotgun Team sent over a handful of Olympic hopefuls to clinch the necessary minimum qualifying scores, however, didn't see any success making the finals.
For more information, please contact USA Shooting's media and public relations director, Sara Greenlee at 719-866-4896 or by email at sara.greenlee@usashooting.org.
Sara J. Greenlee
Director of Media Relations
USA Shooting
1 Olympic Plaza
Colorado Springs, CO 80909
719.866.4896
cell. 719.310.2606
fax. 719.635.7989