Aspiring US Olympian Dominates Utah Pistol Championships

[scott engen]

Media Release from the Utah Precision Marksmanship Society

For Immediate Release to All Media – 7 March, 2004

Aspiring US Olympian Dominates Utah International Pistol Championships

SALT LAKE CITY- Aspiring US Olympian John Ennis soundly thrashed a field of more than 25 athletes from around the country and set several new state records on his way to a near sweep of the five men’s events at the 2004 Utah State International Pistol Championships, held last weekend at the UPMS range in the Naval Sciences Building on the University of Utah campus.

Currently shooting for the US Army Marksmanship Unit in Ft. Benning, Georgia, Ennis, 27, won the men’s air pistol match with a stellar qualifying round score of 578 of a possible 600, combined with a solid 101.4 of 109.0 in the medals final round to take the win over another aspiring Olympian and the current US national champion, John Zurek of Phoenix. Ron Kiiha of Sandy was the top scoring Utah shooter with a 561.

“My latest goal has been to fix one problem at a time in my training,” Ennis explained as he left the firing line after his air pistol win. “That’s what prepares me to win my next match.”

Currently sitting in fifth position after the first round of selections for the 2004 US Olympic pistol team bound for Athens, the native of Simi Valley, California, is cautious about his chances to pick up one of only two slots available in the final US team selection match slated for next month in Georgia. “I just came over from the Marine Corps and was in NCO school last fall, so I had less than a week to prepare for the first round of the Olympic selection process,” Ennis lamented. “It’s hard to come from behind. I just plan to shoot my best, and that’s all I can expect of myself.”

Ennis triumphed in the free pistol match with a 545, with the Shootin’ Ute’s Quinndon Sparks as the top in-state finisher with a 520. Ennis also brought home the gold in standard pistol with a 550, besting a 546 from Sparks. In the centerfire match, it was Ennis on top with a 572 against the 560 from Salt Lake City’s Scott Engen. Ennis’ USAMU comrade Keith Sanderson, 29, of San Antonio, Texas, won the state title in the rapid fire match with a 556, while Cedar City’s Arnie Vitarbo, a member of the 1968 US Olympic team was the top Utah finisher with a score of 536.

On the women’s side of the scoreboard, Japan’s Fumiko Ie, a graduate student in Communications at the University of Utah, won both state titles, taking the Women’s Sport Pistol match with a 559, and the Women’s Air Pistol crown with a 365 of a possible 400 points.

Next weekend UMPS will host the Utah State Indoor Conventional Pistol Championships, a 900-point match course fired at 50 feet with .22 caliber rimfire pistols under NRA rules on the UPMS range in the Naval Sciences Building on the University of Utah campus. The Shootin’ Utes have also been invited to compete at the US National Collegiate Pistol Championships at Ft. Benning, Georgia, scheduled for March 17-20. The Utes have been invited to participate in four of five team events; a total of 10 individual invitations, given to the top 30 collegiates from across the nation in the Open events and top 15 in the Women’s events, have been received.

Along with their other competition and training activities, the Utah Precision Marksmanship Society conducts local monthly USAS pistol matches. These matches function as preliminary tryouts (PTO’s) for athletes looking to secure an invitation to the annual USA Shooting National Championships. UPMS welcomes shooters of all ability levels to any of their events.

-end-

Photo Editor note: Reproduction quality 300 DPI JPEG digital photos for this event are available for download under the ‘Pressbox’ section at: www.upms.org

You may also request digital event photos directly from scott@scott-engen.com

Upcoming 2004 UPMS Shooting Events of Media Interest:

13 March- Utah State Indoor NRA Conventional Championships, U of U
17-20 March- US national Collegiate Championships, Ft. Benning, GA
30 April, 1 May- USAS International Pistol PTO, U of U
8 May- NRA Approved Conventional 2700, Hendriksen Range
4-5 June- USAS Southwest Regional Pistol Championships, U of U

Media Contact Information:

Matt DeLong
115 South 1400 East, Room 201
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah 84112-0830 USA
Phone (801) 581-7462
Fax (801) 581-4801
e-mail: delong@mail.physics.utah.edu

If you would like to be added to or dropped from our e-mail media list, or to redirect this UPMS event coverage to others within your media organization, please send your name, publication or station name, and e-mail address along with “UPMS Media List Subscribe/Unsubscribe/Redirect” in the subject line to:

scott@scott-engen.com

Thank you for your interest in and support of Utah’s aspiring Olympic shooting sports athletes.