Pistol, Prone and Paralympic Medals Awarded at

USA Shooting National Championships

FORT BENNING, Georgia   – The champions in Prone Rifle, Air Pistol and the Paralympic events contested at the USA Shooting National Championships won their gold medals today in dominating fashion at the home of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit in Fort Benning, Georgia.

On the line are National Championship titles, as well potential invitations to the National and National Junior Teams for medalists in the Olympic events. Medals were awarded in Men’s and Women’s Air Pistol, P1 and R6 events based on the cumulative score from two days of Qualification matches, as well as additional points earned based on finish in the Final.

In the Women’s Air Pistol competition, Alexis Lagan (Boulder City, Nevada) won the title by 16 points over the woman she’s looked up to for years in the sport, 2012 OlympianSandra Uptagrafft (Phenix City, Alabama). Seventeen-year-old Sarah Choe (Los Angeles, California) won the bronze medal.

Choe was also the Junior Women’s National Champion. Katelyn Abeln (Douglasville, Georgia) won the silver medal and Kellie Foster (Rockdale, Texas) won the bronze. These three athletes will be teammates once again later this summer for the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Championship in Changwon, South Korea.

2012 Olympian Nick Mowrer (Butte, Montana) won the Men’s Air Pistol title by 15 points over Jack Leverett III (Bainbridge, Georgia). James Hall (Anniston, Alabama) would win the bronze medal.

Jack Leverett III’s lead was so large in the Junior Men’s Air Pistol competition that he won that title too, even without competing in the Final as it conflicted with one of his other events. Samuel Gens (Andover, Massachusetts) won the silver and Jack Leverett III’s brother, Henry, won the bronze.

The first of two days of Rapid Fire Pistol competition also started today. 1996 Olympic silver medalist and Ohio State Pistol Head Coach Emil Milev (Temple Terrace, Florida) leads the field after the first day with a score of 588. Jack Leverett III is currently in second with a score of 578 and Henry Leverett is in third with a score of 572. Another round of Qualification and Finals will occur tomorrow in this event.

The non-Olympic events of Men’s and Women’s Prone Rifle were also contested with National Titles awarded, as well as potential slots on the World Championship Team in these events. Results were based on the cumulative score of the two days of Qualification. Complete selection procedures for the World Championship Teams for Rifle and Pistol can be found here: http://www.usashooting.org/library/2018_WCH_World_Cup

_CAT_Selection_-_Rifle_and_Pistol_1-25-2018.pdf.

Former Prone Rifle specialist Michael McPhail (U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit/Darlington, Wisconsin) won the gold in this event by 11.4 points over his 2012 and 2016 Olympic teammate Matt Emmons (Browns Mills, New Jersey). Daniel Martz(Columbia, Missouri) won the bronze medal.

In the Junior Men’s competition, Will Shaner (Colorado Springs, Colorado) won the gold and 13-year-old Braden Peiser (San Angelo, Texas) won the silver. Matthew Liao (Yorba Linda, California) won the bronze medal.

In the Women’s Prone Rifle competition, Morgan Phillips (Salisbury, Maryland) won the gold and Katie Zaun (Buffalo, North Dakota) won silver. Randi Loudin (Post Falls, Idaho) won the bronze. Phillips and Zaun were also gold and silver in the Junior Women’s competition, with Jaden Thompson (Bloomington, Illinois) winning the Junior Women’s bronze.

In addition to the National Championships, this event is also a World Shooting Para Sport-sanctioned (WSPS, formerly IPC) match so Paralympic athletes from the U.S., Ireland, Canada, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Columbia are competing across the Paralympic Rifle and Pistol events.

In R6 (Mixed 50m Rifle Prone SH1), Andrii Doroshenko of Ukraine won the gold, edging out silver medalist Kevin Nguyen (Westminster, California) by 1.4 points. John Joss(USAMU/Corsicana, Texas) won the bronze.

American shooters also won the silver and bronze in the P1 (Men’s 10m Air Pistol SH1) event. Oleksi Denysiuk of Ukraine won the gold, with Americans Marco DeLaRosa (San Antonio, Texas) winning silver and Aaron Causey (Riverside, Alabama) winning the bronze.

On the women’s side in Pistol, Ukraine was once again on top with Iryna Liakhu winning gold, Tricia Downing (Denver, Colorado) winning silver and Maria Teresa Restrepo Rojas of Columbia winning bronze.

2016 Paralympic bronze medalist McKenna Dahl (Arlington, Washington) won the gold medal in R9 (Mixed 50m Rifle Prone SH2) and Phil Eaglesham of Ireland won the silver.

Learn more about the Paralympic shooting events: https://www.paralympic.org/shooting.

More than 200 athletes are competing in the National Championships that run throughSunday. This event is free and open to the public, please stop by the Fort Benning Visitor Center for a pass prior to coming to the range. View the complete schedule of events: http://www.usashooting.org/library/Competitions/0_2018/RP

_Nationals/Schedule/18_RP_Natls_Schedule_6.12.pdf.

View complete competition results thus far: http://www.usashooting.org/library/Competitions/0_2018/RP_

Nationals/Results/18_RP_Natls_6.14_Results.pdf.

View and download images at www.flickr.com/usashooting.  

 

Jessica Delos Reyes
jessica.delosreyes@usashooting.org
719-866-4896

 

About USA Shooting: USA Shooting, a 501c3 non-profit corporation, was chartered by the United States Olympic Committee as the National Governing Body for the sport of shooting in April 1995. USA Shooting's mission is to prepare American athletes to win Olympic medals, promote the shooting sports throughout the U.S. and govern the conduct of international shooting in the country. Check us out on the web at usashooting.org and on Twitter at twitter.com/USAShooting.

ELEY is a Proud Sponsor of the USA Shooting Rifle and Pistol Teams: ELEY Limited, manufacturer of the world's most consistently accurate rimfire ammunition, has been the Official Sponsor and Official Supplier of .22 rimfire ammunition of the USA Shooting rifle and pistol teams since 2000. For more information on ELEY and their products, please visit eley.co.uk.

Federal Premium, headquartered in Anoka, MN, is a brand of Vista Outdoor Inc., an outdoor sports and recreation company. From humble beginnings nestled among the lakes and woods of Minnesota, Federal Premium Ammunition has evolved into one of the world's largest producers of sporting ammunition. Beginning in 1922, founding president, Charles L. Horn, paved the way for our success. Today, Federal carries on Horn's vision for quality products and service with the next generation of outdoorsmen and women. We maintain our position as experts in the science of ammunition production. Every day we manufacture products to enhance our customers' shooting experience while partnering with the conservation organizations that protect and support our outdoor heritage. We offer thousands of options in our Federal Premium and Federal® lines-it's what makes us the most complete ammunition company in the business and provides our customers with a choice no matter their pursuit.