Rifle Junior Olympic Championships Will Unveil the Future Generation of USA Shooting This Week at Hillsdale College

[USA Shooting]

Rifle Junior Olympic Championships Will Unveil the Future Generation of USA Shooting This Week at Hillsdale College
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Later this week, the nation's top junior rifle shooters will stand shoulder-to-shoulder in one of the most competitive and thrilling events of 2021 at the National Rifle Junior Olympic Shooting Championships (NJOSC). Traditionally contested at the Olympic and Paralympic Training Center (OPTC) in Colorado Springs, this year the athletes will compete in Hillsdale, Michigan from May 12-16, 2021.

This competition provides an opportunity to clinch the coveted title of Rifle Junior Olympic Champion, while also offering the publicity and exposure necessary for future shooting opportunities well into college and beyond.

"In the summer of 2020, five months into the pandemic shutdowns, Rich Pewe and I stood in the center of the Biermann Athletic Center and contemplated holding the Junior Olympic Championships at Hillsdale. Without the assistance and partnership of Hillsdale College, we would not be able to hold this match in 2021,” said USA Shooting CEO, Matt Suggs.

NJOSC is particularly special this year for a few reasons. This will be one of many 2021 scheduled competitions taking place at Hillsdale College, including Shotgun National Junior Olympic Championships and Shotgun National Championships. Both shotgun events will be held at the state-of-the-art John Anthony Halter Shooting Sports Center, also known as “Home of the USA Shooting National Team.” Along with its new location, Rifle Junior Olympic Championships will be the largest USA Shooting rifle event of the year. This is a highly anticipated match as the last NJOSC took place in 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic cancelling all NJOSC competitions for the year 2020.

In order to gain an invite to the National Junior Olympics, competitors had to compete at the state-level where they had to shoot well enough to meet this year’s cut-off scores, the majority of them champions in their respective state. Out of the 1,400+ total state competitors, only 33%, 487 total received an invite. Competitors hail from 44 states, with the largest number of athletes coming from Texas, Virginia and Pennsylvania with the following clubs producing the most athletes: Arlington Optimist Acorns in Virginia, and ZIA Rifle & Pistol Club from New Mexico. The youngest athletes include Women’s Air Rifle, Shannon Moriarty (Great Mills, MD), Women’s Smallbore, Ella Lee (Roxbury, MA), Men’s Air Rifle, Gavin Carrizales (Scottsbluff, NE) and Men’s Smallbore, Parker Sullivan (Wayne, MN).

NCAA athletes will make a large appearance at this year’s NJOSC. Over 30 NCAA athletes will compete for a title from 15 Universities around the country including: University of Kentucky, ARMY, U.S. Air Force Academy, University of Alaska Fairbanks, University of North Georgia, Moorehead University, Murray State, University of Memphis, Nebraska, West Virginia University, Akron, The Citadel, Ole Miss, Georgia Southern, and Texas Christian University.

Named Air Rifle Olympians and NCAA competitors, Will Shaner (Colorado Springs, CO) and Mary Tucker (Sarasota, FL) will compete at their last Junior Olympic National Championships this year. Tucker tied the Women’s Air Rifle highest qualification score of 598 with Calista Smoyer (Slatington, PA) and shot the sole highest qualifying score in Women’s Smallbore Rifle with a score of 594. Shaner tied the Men’s Air Rifle highest qualifying score of 597 with Olympic Alternate Matt Sanchez (Tampa, FL). Shaner also tied the Men’s Smallbore Rifle qualifying score of 586 with Andrew Duross (Marlboro, MA).

Full match program and daily results for Rifle NJOSC can be found on the USA Shooting website (https://www.usashooting.org/7-events/njosc)

Follow along for competition updates on the USA Shooting website (usashooting.org/news), Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

[jhmartin]

Well it's over now and I applaud first the juniors who were able to make the cut and travel to Hillsdale college for the Championships

Next to Hillsdale of course for opening up their range and dorms and cafeteria for these shooters.

I've always thought (after many years volunteering and coaching juniors at the National JOs) that while there is fierce competition, it is really only the to 15-20 that are in the hunt for harware and slots on the National Junior team .... Most of this match is about the shooters networking and meeting each other. At the OTC they were able to meet athletes in other sports ... oh, the swooning when Phelps or Ohno(sp) we glimpsed and talked to by them.
I always made my shooters come home with info about their roomates and other shooters.
80% of this match should be learning to make lifelong friends and learning how far they really have to push to be in that top 10.
My two daughters who shot, both made the JOs. Lifelong Friends they have because of it are warming to my heart.

I do applaud USA Shooting for coming up with something of this scope rather than inviting only a few.
(But a 3x20 at 50 feet is marginal )
Looking forward to the air pistol event and hope USAS can get a SB pistol event done.

This past year should have been a big wakeup call to USA Shooting.
USAS must now get it's act together and get a range set up out of Colorado that fully supports all of rifle, pistol & shotgun.
The Hillsdale range facility is close, only lacking 25 & 50m.
I know it's hard to contemplate, but cut the cord and live free!

(NOTE: I have recently learned that USAS is in fact scoping out a move. Hooray ... while it will be more than the 5 hours drive I have now --- I suspect it will be so worth it)

[dschaller]

While it is nice that Hillsdale has the facilities and willingness to host the Rifle JOs, I certainly would not put anywhere in Michigan on my list of locations for a national shooting range for USA Shooting. Location more in the center of the country and also closer to a major city transportation hub would be ideal. Located in a 2nd amendment friendly state, and we could have a long-term winner.

[jhmartin]

I've heard Central East Coast - would be no more driving there for me, but CO is just way too anti-gun and it has permeated the USOC.

[Tavishwm]

It would be nice to see Hillsdale College field an NCAA Rifle team

[jhmartin]

It would be nice to see Hillsdale College field an NCAA Rifle team

ABSOLUTELY!!!

I'd take any College/University in the entire US adding a rifle team.