COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado (July 12, 2019)
Thirty-one of the top junior shooting sport athletes are spending part of their summer vacation in Suhl, Germany as part of the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Junior World Cup. The event begins Saturday with Standard Pistol competition and the Opening Ceremony.
This event will serve as a showcase for a junior class that is turning heads in all disciplines for America’s Shooting Team. Shotgun will be represented by the same junior athletes that just recently completed their match at the 2019 Shotgun World Championships. Rifle and Pistol athletes include many who shined at the recent National Championships.
Women’s Skeet Team World Champion Sam Simonton (Gainesville, Georgia) along with Skeet Junior Mixed Team World Champions Alex Ahlin (Bamburg, South Carolina), Austen Smith (Keller, Texas) and Junior Trap Team World Champions Carey Garrison (Crossville, Tennessee), Nicole Manhave (Longview, Texas) and Faith Pendergrass (Valley Springs, California) will compete as will Women’s Skeet Junior World Championship silver medalist Katie Jacob (Rochester, Michigan). Junior Team members contributed six of the 10 medals earned by Team USA at the World Championships.
Shotgun competition gets underway with Trap on Sunday followed by Skeet on Wednesday.
The U.S. Rifle Team is led by promising high school talents and Junior National Champions Matt Sanchez (Tampa, Florida) and Katie Zaun (Buffalo, North Dakota). Both have competed at the World Cup circuit earlier this year. Other current Junior National Champions will include West Virginia University’s Sarah Osborn (Hampton, Virginia) and Jared Eddy (Midland, Georgia) as well as University of Alaska Fairbanks standout Kellen McAferty (Littlerock, Washington) along with reigning NCAA National Air Rifle Champion and Texas Christian University sophomore Kristen Hemphill (Lohn, Texas). Junior Olympic Champion and Air Force Academy sophomore Peter Fiori (Lebanon, New Jersey) will also compete.
In Pistol, look for Junior National Champions Luke Simon (Fargo, North Dakota), Paul Kang (Los Angeles, California), Sam Gens (Andover, Massachusetts) and Ryan Yi (Diamond Bar, California) to help bolster the roster. Also, competing will be Junior Olympic champion Abbie Leverett (Bainbridge, Georgia).
Also competing in Suhl will be 22-year-old Jason Spaude (Saginaw, Michigan) in a Target Sprint event. Not actually a part of the Junior World Cup, but Spaude is competing in the ISSF World Tour Target Sprint match happening at the same time right next to the range.
Athletes were selected for competition based on performances at the National Junior Olympic Championships for Rifle/Pistol as well as the Spring Selection Match for Shotgun.
Jr. World Cup Schedule/Results
Here’s the full roster of Team USA competitors at the Junior World Cup:
Steven Brown
Men’s Trap
Grayson Davey
Men’s Trap
Roe Reynolds
Men’s Trap
Carey Garrison
Women’s Trap
Nicole Manhave
Women’s Trap
Faith Pendergrass
Women’s Trap
Alex Ahlin
Men’s Skeet
Ben Keller
Men’s Skeet
Conner Prince
Men’s Skeet
Sam Simonton
Women’s Skeet
Katie Jacob
Women’s Skeet
Austen Smith
Women’s Skeet
Roe Reynolds
Mixed Team Trap 1
Carey Garrison
Mixed Team Trap 1
Steven Brown
Mixed Team Trap 2
Nicole Manhave
Mixed Team Trap 2
Jason Spaude
Target Sprint
Matthew Sanchez
M3x40/Prone/MAR/MT 1
Jared Eddy
MAR/MT 2
Macey Way
WAR/MT 1
Morgan Kreb
W3x40/Prone
Katie Zaun
W3x40/Prone/WAR
Kellen McAferty
M3x40/Prone
Sarah Osborn
W3x40/Prone
Peter Fiori
M3x40/Prone
Nate Peterson
MAR
Kristen Hemphill
WAR/MT 2
Samuel Gens
MAP/MFP/MT 2
Kyler Swisher
MAP/MSTD
Ryan Yi
MRF/MSP
Abbie Leverett
WSP/WSTD
Ada Korkhin
WSP/WAP/MT 2
Paul Kang
MAP/MRF/MSP/MT 1
Bryston McPherson
MRF
Luke Simon
MSP/MSTD
Maria Tsarik
WAP/MT 1