COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado (July 7, 2016)
There’s plenty to shoot for as the 2017 USA Shooting National Championships for Shotgun get underway Sunday at the International Shooting Park just south of Colorado Springs, Colorado. Attendance is expected to be near capacity as athletes from around the nation ready for 250 targets and the competitive opportunities and national prestige that comes with being a podium finisher at Nationals.
Nationals is serving as the final stage in a three-part Selection Match for open competitors and a two-part Selection Match for junior competitors for nomination to the 2017 World Championships squad that will compete September 1-10 in Moscow, Russia. The first shots toward World Champs qualifying were fired during the 2016 Fall Selection Match in Kerrville, Texas, continued during Spring Selection in Fort Benning, Georgia, and the marathon will conclude in Colorado Springs over the next nine days.
Three male and female athletes in both open and junior Trap and Skeet divisions will be determined following the first of two courses of fire to be contested during Nationals. The top men’s open competitors will have distinguished themselves from the field following 500 targets and four Finals. The top open women’s competitors will be selected from 300 targets and four Finals. The top male juniors earn selection by being among the top-three following 250 targets plus two Finals. The top female juniors earn their selection based on 200 targets plus two Finals.
TRAP
Below is a snapshot of the current World Champs selection standings in Men’s Trap.
Top-5 Men's Trap
NAME
Pts
Jake Wallace (Castaic, Calif.)
366
Sevin Layer (Palm Harbor, Fla.)
344
Dale Royer (Jackson, Mont.)
342
Derek Haldeman (USAMU/Sunbury, Ohio)
342
Seth Inman (USAMU/Lexington, Mo.)
341
Roe Reynolds (Quitman, Ark.)
341
JUNIORS
Dale Royer (Jackson, Mont.)
121
Logan Mountain (Palmdale, Calif.)
118
Mick Wertz (Muncy, Pa.)
118
Ryne Barfield (Poulan, Ga.)
116
Brendan Bligh (College Station, Texas)
116
Jake Wallace competing at the 2016 Spring Selection Match.
The current Trap world-record holder and the recently married Wallace has all but sewn up the top-spot with a 22-point advantage already and will be seeking to put the finishing touches on such while adding a U.S. title to his resume. The real race is for who will look to try and join him with at least five athletes in a fierce battle for two spots. The 20-year-old Layer was the Open Spring Selection Champ in May, but faltered during National Junior Olympics a few weeks later finishing 19th on the same range he’ll shoot on at Nationals. Royer, a double trap specialist before it was recently taken off the Olympic program, will look to earn an Open invite but has some backup going in the Junior category following his march through the National Junior Olympic Shooting Championships (NJOSC) last month. Myles Walker (Elkhorn, Wisconsin) is the defending National Champion.
Below is a snapshot of the current World Champs selection standings in Women’s Trap.
Top-5 Women's Trap
Ashley Carroll (Castaic, Calif.)
216
Caitlin Barney-Weinheimer (Port Lavaca, Texas)
203
Corey Cogdell-Unrein (Eagle River, Alaska)
194
Aeriel Skinner (Jackson, Calif.)
193
Kayle Browning-Thomas (Wooster, Ark.)
192.5
JUNIORS
Emma Williams (Savannah, Tenn.)
117
Emily Hampson (Saint Charles, Mo.)
116
Valentina Pauri (Flower Mound, Texas)
114
Joyce Hunsaker (Corpus Christi, Texas)
111
Madelynn Bernau (Waterford, Wis.)
109
On the women’s side, Carroll is seeking a third-straight national championship and owns a 13-target advantage on the rest of the field for World Champs selection. She’s owned the event of late winning the 2016 Nationals and the last two Selection Matches while collecting her first World Cup medal and with a victory in Acapulco earlier this season. The interesting race to watch will be for the third open selection and whether three-time Olympian and two-time Olympic bronze medalist Corey Cogdell-Unrein (Eagle River, Alaska) can regain her 2016 form to claim a Moscow bid on her home range. In the junior division, Williams is a National Team athlete that earned a surprising bronze medal in the open division of last year’s Nationals while Hampson just claimed her second NJOSC title over a three-year span.
SKEET
Below is a snapshot of the current World Champs selection standings in Men’s Skeet.
Top-5 Men's Skeet
Christian Elliott (USAMU/Greenwood, Ind.)
365
Dustan Taylor (USAMU/Carey, N.C.)
365
Hayden Stewart (USAMU/Columbia, Tenn.)
364
Frank Thompson (Alliance, Neb.)
363
Phillip Jungman (USAMU/Caldwell, Texas)
361
JUNIORS
Elijah Ellis (College Station, Texas)
128
Nic Moschetti (Broomfield, Colo.)
126
Christian Elliott (USAMU/Greenwood, Ind.)
124
Eli Christman (Hixson, Tenn.)
124
Alexander Ahlin (Bamberg, S.C.)
119
Dustan Taylor competing at the 2016 Nationals.
By far the most intriguing race for World Champs selection is found in the Men’s Skeet division with as many as eight athletes within 10 targets of one another. Taylor tied for the top spot at 2016 Fall Selection with Kyle Johnson (Phoenix, Arizona), who is 10 targets back. Meanwwhile,0 Stewart claimed the top podium spot at Spring Selection and Jungman is the reigning National Champion in the event. Elliott is well-positioned to make either the Open or Junior World Team through his consistency in the Selection Matches. Thompson is a two-time Olympian who just earned his first World Cup medal earlier this season and will fight for every target. In addition, two-time Olympic gold medalist Vincent Hancock (Eatonton, Georgia) is back in action after taken the past 10 months off since his 15th-place finish at the 2016 Olympic Games.
Below is a snapshot of the current World Champs selection standings in Women’s Skeet.
Top-5 Women's Skeet
Kim Rhode (El Monte, Calif.)
221
Caitlin Connor (Winnfield, La.)
217
Haley Dunn (Eddyville, Iowa)
216.5
Dania Vizzi (Odessa, Fla.)
214
Sam Simonton (Gainesville, Ga.)
212
JUNIORS
Austen Smith (Keller, Texas)
123
Katie Jacob (Rochester, Mich.)
123
Sam Simonton (Gainesville, Ga.)
119
Jacenta Jacob (Rochester, Mich.)
117
Sydney Carson (North Liberty, Ind.)
115
Kim Rhode competing here at the Acapulco World Cup on the way to winning her second World Cup on the season. Photo courtesy of the ISSF.
There’s been no letup for the six-time Olympic medalist Rhode after becoming just the second Olympian ever to earn six straight Olympic medals. She’s gone on to win the World Cup Finals and three World Cup medals since Rio and is well on her way to representing Team USA in Moscow. Rhode hasn’t actually one either of the Selection Matches figuring into World Champs qualifying, but her consistency match-to-match continues to be unmatched as well. The three-time Junior World Champs medalist Vizzi was the Fall Selection champ, whilethe reigning World Champs runner-up Connor was the top target collector during 2016 Fall Selection. Dunn is shooting to represent USA Shooting at her 11th World Championship, having shot at every World Champs but two held since 2001. Carsonis the reigning National Champion is this event.
2017 USASNC for Shotgun Schedule
Sunday, July 9 – Trap (75 Targets + Women’s Final 1 – Completes Women’s Trap WCH Selection)
Monday, July 10 – Trap (50 Targets + Men’s Final 1 – Completes Men’s Trap WCH Selection)
Tuesday, July 11 – Trap (75 Targets)
Wednesday, July 12 – Trap (50 Targets + Finals)
Thursday, July 13 – Skeet Official Training
Friday, July 14 – Skeet (75 Targets + Women’s Final – Completes Women’s Skeet WCH Selection)
Saturday, July 15 – Skeet (50 Targets + Men’s Final – Completes Men’s Skeet WCH Selection)
Sunday, July 16 – Skeet (75 Targets)
Monday, July 17 – Skeet (50 Targets + Finals)