CAT report, Gold Medals, Olympic Quota Slots

[USAMU and USAS]

SALINAS, Puerto Rico - Five Soldiers with the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit of Fort Benning, Ga., brought home five individual medals and won three Olympic quota slots for the United States at the IX Championships of the Americas. USA Shooting sent a team of 31 shooter-athletes to Puerto Rico for the Championships of the Americas - called the CAT Games - which was conducted Nov. 1 to 11.

USAMU international pistol shooters Sgt. 1st Class Daryl L. Szarenski, Staff Sgt. Thomas A. Rose and Staff Sgt. Keith A. Sanderson and USAMU shotgun shooters Sgt. 1st Class Bret E. Erickson and Pfc. Joshua M. Richmond competed in the CAT Games and each one won at least one individual medal.

The CAT Games, Campeonato de Tiro de las Americas, is the shooting championships for the Western Hemisphere, which is conducted every four years. The CAT Games is one of four big international matches - along with the Olympics, World Championships and Pan American Games - where shooters can win medals, set world records and win Olympic Quota Slots. At the CAT games, the USAMU shooters competed against other teams from North, Central and South America for the title of being the best in the Americas.

2004 Olympian and Olympic Training Center resident athlete, Emily Caruso was the first U.S. victor at the CAT Games winning a Gold Medal and an Olympic quota slot Nov. 3 in Women’s Air Rifle.

Caruso clinched the top spot on the podium with a 499.2 (397 qualifier + 102.2 in the finals) total score. She finished just above her teammate 16-year-old Shasta Little of Redmond, Ore., who walked away with the Silver Medal and a 493.3 (391 +102.3) score. Mexico’s Martha De Luna got with the Bronze, just 2/10ths of a point below Little.

Szarenski, a two-time Olympian, secured the U.S. its second Olympic country quota spot, finishing first in Free Pistol Nov. 5 with a total score of 641 (538 + 93). Sanderson received the Bronze Medal in Free Pistol, shooting a 638.4 (538 + 92.4) total score. Rose finished just short of the medal stand, placing fourth with a 636.5 (536 + 92.5). The U.S. Team of Szarenski, Sanderson and Rose received the Team Silver Medal.

In Men’s Air Pistol, however, Rose took the Gold Medal, placing first with a score of 680.5 and securing the U.S. a country quota spot. Rose had to shoot a personal best of 581 just to get into the final. He then hit a string of seven 10s in a row, in the final, finishing on top and winning his first international medal for the U.S. Shooting Team. Szarenski finished fourth in Air Pistol with a total score of 675.2. The U.S. Team of Rose, Szarenski and Brian Beaman took the Team Silver Medal.

In Women’s Sport Pistol, Army Reserve Staff Sgt. Libby Callahan of Upper Marlboro, Md., walked away with the win and Olympic quota, shooting a 568 qualifying score. She finished nine points above the next competitor, Brazil’s Rachel Silveira.

In Men’s Trap, Erickson, a three-time Olympian, ran away with the competition. Erickson led by two points going into the final round with a 73. In the final, Erickson shot a 22 to finish with a 141, the Gold, and a country quota spot. Seth Inman of Lexington, Mo., finished fifth overall, with a score of 133. Richmond won the Double Trap event. There were no quota slots in Men’s Doubles.

In Women’s Trap, Emma Simpson of Hartsfield, Ga., Amanda Dorman of Colorado Springs, Colo., and Canadian shooter Sandra Honour tied for first after the final, with a 78. After the shoot-off, Honour took the Gold, while Dorman and Simpson finished second and third, respectively. Collyn Loper of Birmingham, Ala., entered the final with a three-point lead on her competitors, but shot a 14 and placed fourth.

In Men’s Free Rifle Prone, Johannes Sauer, of Canada, walked away with the Gold, shooting a 691.2 total score. USA’s Joe Hein of Colorado Springs finished just 2/10ths of a point short of the Canadian, shooting a 691 (589 +102) for the Silver Medal. Jason Dardas of Essexville, Mich., placed fifth for the U.S. with a 689.2 total score, while Jonathan Hall finished eighth with a 687.3.

Nineteen-year-old Kimberly Chrostowski of Rockville, R.I., won her first international medal for the USA Nov. 6, in Women’s Three Position Sport Rifle. Chrostowski finished with a 577 qualifying score to enter the final with a three-point lead. 2004 Olympian Sarah Blakeslee of Colorado Springs entered the final with a 574, but came back in the final to give Chrostowski a run for her money. In the end, however, Chrostowski was able to hold on to that top spot, while Blakeslee finished in second. Taylor Beard, also of Colorado Springs, ended up in fourth after qualifying with a 562.

Rebecca Snyder of Colorado Springs battled her way to the top of the awards podium Nov. 7 in the women’s air pistol event. Snyder finished with a 379 qualifying score, three points below the leader, El Salvador’s Luisa Maida. But after shooting a 96.3 in the final, Snyder found herself in a tie for the top spot. Snyder finished with a 10.7, just 1/10th of a point above Maida’s shot of 10.6, but good enough for the Gold Medal and the Olympic country quota spot.

In Men’s Air Rifle, the U.S. Shooting Team was represented in the finals by brothers Joseph and Jonathan Hall. Joseph qualified with a 589, just three points below the leader, Mexico’s Roberto Elias, while Jonathan qualified with a 587, and was tied for seventh. In the end, Joseph finished fourth with a 689.9, and Jonathan finished fifth with a 689.7.

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